Welcome to the Tuesday, July 8, 2025, Brew. 

By: Lara Bonatesta

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

1. Vermont, Ohio, North Carolina, and Oregon enact K-12 cellphone bans 
2. Nine candidates running in Aug. 5 primary for mayor of Seattle, Washington
3. 70% of June’s elections were uncontested

Vermont, Ohio, North Carolina, and Oregon enact K-12 cellphone bans 

As part of our ongoing coverage of education policy, we’ve been following state legislation to ban cellphone use in K-12 schools.  Here’s the latest information, along with a look at these policies nationally.

Since June 27, Vermont, Ohio, North Carolina, and Oregon have all enacted statewide bans on cellphone use in K-12 schools.

• On June 27, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) signed H480 into law, directing the Secretary of Education to collaborate with the Vermont School Boards Association, the Vermont Independent School Association, and the Vermont Coalition for Phone and Social Media Free Schools to develop a policy prohibiting the use of cellphones in K-12 Schools. The policy, which must include exceptions for students with individualized healthcare or education plans and allow for administrator discretion, must be completed by Jan. 1, 2026, to take effect during the 2026–2027 school year. H480 also prohibits schools from requiring students to use social media unless the school district approves it for recorded communication. 
• On June 30, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) signed the state budget for fiscal year 2026-2027 into law. Inside that bill was a provision amending an existing state law that required school boards to limit cellphone use in the K-12 classroom. The new law requires school boards to adopt policies that prohibit cellphone use by Jan. 1, 2026. It included exceptions for students with individualized education plans and those monitoring their health on a wireless device.
• On July 1, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) signed H959 into law, requiring school districts to adopt policies prohibiting cellphone use in K-12 schools. The policies must include exceptions for individualized education plans, curricular activities that teachers have authorized, and student health care management. The bill also requires instruction on social media and mental health to be included in elementary, middle, and high school curricula. School districts are required to restrict student access to social media and other content on an internet device while at school. 
• On July 2, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek (D) issued an executive order requiring school districts to adopt a policy prohibiting cellphone use in K-12 classrooms by Oct. 31, 2025, to take effect by Jan. 1, 2026. The policies must include exceptions for students with individualized health or education plans. 

Background

Twenty-five states have enacted cellphone bans or limits in K-12 schools, with at least 17 doing so this year. Three states require all school district boards to adopt a policy on cellphones, but do not specify requirements. Four other states have policies encouraging school districts to establish restrictions on cellphone use in the classroom. Click here for more information about state policies.

State cellphone policies vary. Most require local school boards to adopt and enforce bans or limits on cellphone use.  According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 76% of schools said they banned the non-academic use of cellphones or smartphones during school hours during the 2021-22 school year, down from 91% in 2010. In many high schools, administrators allowed cellphone use at designated times during the school day, such as lunch.

There are statewide cellphone bans or limits in four states with Democratic trifectas, five states with divided governments, and 16 states with Republican trifectas.

Click here to learn more about state policies on cellphone use in schools.

Nine candidates running in Aug. 5 primary for mayor of Seattle, Washington 

As part of our ongoing coverage of local elections in the 100 most populous U.S. cities, today we’re looking at the Aug. 5 primary election for mayor of Seattle. 

Nine candidates are running. The two candidates who receive the most votes will advance to the Nov. 4 general election.

Incumbent Bruce Harrell was first elected in 2021, when he defeated M. Lorena González 58.6%-41.2%. No incumbent Seattle mayor has been re-elected since former mayor Greg Nickels in 2005.

Four candidates— Harrell, Ry Armstrong, Joe Mallahan, and Katie Wilson—lead in media attention and campaign fundraising. Although the election is nonpartisan, all four candidates are Democrats.

All four candidates listed public safety and housing as priorities on their campaign websites. Here’s a breakdown of each candidate and some more information about their campaigns. 

• Before he was elected mayor, Bruce Harrell was a lawyer and a member of the Seattle City Council from 2008 to 2020. He is running on his record, and his campaign website said he would prioritize “a transportation system focused on safety, sidewalks, road infrastructure, bus and light rail,” and support policies challenging the Trump Administration.
• Ry Armstrong is the co-executive director of Sustainable Seattle and a member of Actors’ Equity Association’s National Council. Armstrong’s campaign website said they would support “policies that prioritize fair wages, safe working conditions, and the right to organize in Trump’s America” and invest in childcare. 
• Joe Mallahan is the former vice president of business development at T-Mobile and ran for mayor in 2009. In the 2009 general election, Mike McGinn defeated Mallahan 51.1%-47.65%. Mallahan’s campaign website said he would implement a community policing model, invest in alternative crisis responses, and participate in 50 patrol ride-alongs in his first year as mayor. 
• Katie Wilson is an activist and the co-founder and executive director of the Seattle-based Transit Riders Union. Her campaign website said she would “open 4,000 new units of emergency housing and shelter in four years” and support policies challenging the Trump Administration.

Seattle voters approved three ballot measures in February 2025, including Proposition 1A, a citizen initiative that established a new tax to fund the city’s new social housing developer. Proposition 1A appeared on the ballot along with Proposition 1B, which the Seattle City Council and the mayor referred to the ballot as an alternative measure. Proposition 1B would have used existing payroll expense tax revenues from the next five annual budgets to fund the social housing developer. Voters approved Proposition 1A and defeated Proposition 1B 63.1%-36.9%. Wilson, Armstrong, and Mallahan have all said they supported Proposition 1A, while Harrell supported Proposition 1B.

As of July 2, Harrell had raised $450,000 and spent $132,000. Wilson raised $450,000 and spent $60,000. Armstrong raised $101,000 and spent $81,000. Mallahan raised $116,000 and spent $11,000.

Other candidates for mayor include Alexander Barickman, Clinton Bliss, Joe Molloy, Thaddeus Whelan, and Isaiah Willoughby.

This election shares the ballot with Proposition 1, which would replace an expiring levy to fund the city’s public campaign finance program. Voters established the program in 2015, when they approved Initiative Measure No.122, 63.2%-36.8%. If approved, Proposition 1 would raise the property tax limit in Seattle by $1.50 per $100,000 of assessed value for 10 years. In April 2025, the Seattle City Council passed, and the mayor signed Ordinance 127204 referring the measure to the ballot.

Seattle is also holding elections for city attorney and city council in 2025. Click here to learn more about those races.

Click here to learn more about Seattle’s 2025 mayoral election. 

70% of June’s elections were uncontested

Ballotpedia will cover more than 32,000 elections this year. Most are for local offices such as city councils, mayors, and school board members – the ones closest to the people. One thing we’ve discovered in our coverage of these races is how many are uncontested. 

Our most recent data from June shows that 70% of the 900 elections we covered in 20 states were uncontested. In May, we covered 2,892 elections, 43% of which were uncontested.

We define an uncontested election as one where the number of candidates running is less than or equal to the number of seats up for election. This analysis does not account for write-in candidates.

Most of the races we covered in June were in New York, Virginia, and Maine. Of the 338 elections in New York, 287 (85%) were uncontested. Of the 236 elections in Virginia, 213 (90%) were uncontested. Of the 103 elections in Maine, 57 (55%) were uncontested.

So far this year, we have covered 23,647 elections in 39 states – 17,706 (75%) were uncontested. Between 2018 and 2024, an average of 64% of the elections we covered were uncontested, ranging from a low of 49% in 2021 to a high of 70% in 2024.

Click here to learn more about uncontested elections nationwide last month and in all previous months through 2025.