Welcome to Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia's Weekly Election Policy Digest. Every Tuesday, we deliver the latest updates on election policy around the country, including nationwide trends and recent legislative activity.
In this week’s edition, we cover 220 bills state legislatures acted on last week and look at the election-related bills passed in the first four months of the year.
The state of election legislation in the U.S.
Lawmakers in 26 states acted on 220 election-related bills last week. Twenty-three state legislatures are in regular or special sessions. Last week, eight bills were enacted, 17 bills passed both chambers of a state legislature, and one bill was vetoed.
Of the bills acted on last week, 87 (39.5%) are in states with Democratic trifectas, 116 (52.7%) are in states with Republican trifectas, and 17 (7.7%) are in states with divided government. The most active bill categories last week were ballot measures (63), election types and stages (54), and campaign finance (48).
We are currently tracking 4,477 election-related bills across the country. The chart below breaks down the status of those bills by where they stand in the legislative process:
Enacted bills
On May 4, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed H 1 into law. As covered in last week’s Ballot Bulletin, the bill creates new maps for the state’s 28 congressional districts ahead of the November 2026 general election.
On May 8, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed HB 1 and SB 1 into law. Together, the bills established that if a federal court issued a judgment or vacated an injunction permitting the reinstatement of the last legislatively enacted congressional districts or state senate districts for the 2026 general election, the state must hold a new special primary for the affected districts. The bill also required the governor to issue a proclamation calling for a special primary to be held as soon as possible for the affected districts and set an election calendar after a federal court made such a ruling. See the news section below for more on the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 11 order in the case and subsequent developments.
On May 7, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed HB 7001, HB 7002, and HB 7003 into law. These bills are discussed in the news section below.
Two others bills were enacted or adopted last week:
Bills passing both chambers
On May 8, the Hawaii House and Senate passed the final version of SB 2471, sending the bill to Gov. Joshua Green (D). The bill stipulates that corporations, as artificial persons under state law, may not spend money on or participate in election or ballot measure activities and establishes penalties and sanctions. SB 2471’s sponsors aim to limit how the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision applies to corporate political spending in the state. In Citizens United, the Supreme Court held that corporate election spending was protected under the First Amendment.
Sixteen other bills passed both chambers last week:
- Colorado (Democratic trifecta)
- Connecticut (Democratic trifecta)
- Hawaii (Democratic trifecta)
- Louisiana (Republican trifecta)
- Oklahoma (Republican trifecta)
- South Carolina (Republican trifecta)
To see a full list of bills awaiting gubernatorial action, click here.
Vetoed bills
One election-related bill was vetoed last week:
- Arizona (Divided government)
To see a list of all bills vetoed this session, click here.
All bills
The chart below shows all bills Ballotpedia is currently tracking, broken down by partisan sponsorship
We are currently following 4,477 election-related bills, including bills carried over from the previous year.
- Trifecta status
- Democratic: 1,911 (42.7%)
- Republican: 1,638 (36.6%)
- Divided: 928 (20.7%)
- Partisan sponsorship
- Democratic: 1,963 (43.8%)
- Republican: 1,834 (41%)
- Bipartisan: 416 (9.3%)
- Other: 264 (5.9%)
In the news
On May 11, the Virginia Democratic Party filed an emergency request in the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of a Virginia Supreme Court decision. The May 8 decision by the state high court nullified the result of the April 21 redistricting amendment election, which voters approved 51.5% to 48.5%. The state court ruling blocked the amendment, which would have allowed the Virginia General Assembly to implement a new congressional map ahead of this year's midterm elections. The proposed map would have shifted four Republican-held districts to be more Democratic, based on the 2025 gubernatorial election results.
The 4-3 ruling said that the results of the measure were void because the General Assembly violated procedural requirements when placing the measure on the April 21 ballot. Specifically, the case addressed Article XII, Section 1, of the Virginia Constitution, which says that a general election for the House of Delegates must occur between the two legislative sessions in which the General Assembly puts a constitutional amendment on the ballot. The Court found that the amendment was unconstitutional because legislators approved it after voting had started for the 2025 House of Delegates elections.
Here are other news stories from across the country:
- On May 7, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed HB 7001, HB 7002, and HB 7003 into law, repealing existing provisions in state law prohibiting mid-decade redistricting and enacting newly drawn congressional districts. The bills were passed in a special session Lee called on May 1 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais. On the same day the bill was enacted, the Tennessee NAACP filed an emergency petition in the Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville, saying the Legislature's mid-decade redistricting violated the state constitution and statute. The ACLU and the Tennessee Democratic Party also sued the state over the redistricting.
- On May 8, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) signed HB 1 and SB 1 into law. The bills were passed in a special session called by the governor on May 1 to allow the Legislature to alter congressional and state senate districts, in the event the U.S. Supreme Court dissolved an order blocking Alabama from drawing new maps until 2030. On May 11, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned a May 8 decision of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama denying the state’s motions to dismiss injunctions against the mid-decade redistricting efforts, allowing the efforts to move forward. On May 12, Gov. Ivey called a special primary election for the state’s 1st, 2nd, 6th, and 7th congressional districts to be held Aug.11, 2026.
- On May 11, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss the plaintiffs’ complaint in Quinn v. Secretary of State. In 2024, two Georgia voters sued Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, saying the state was failing to conduct voter list maintenance in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). In the court’s opinion, Judge Elizabeth Branch said the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue because they “failed to allege a particularized injury” in the case.
Policy spotlight: State legislatures enact more than 200 election-related bills in first four months of 2026
States have enacted 236 election-related bills so far this year, 66% more than at this point in 2024 and nearly two-and-a-half times the total from 2022.
These figures come from Ballotpedia's State of Election Policy 2026 Spring Report, which covers election-related legislative activity captured in our Election Administration Legislation Tracker through April 24 of this year.
Those 236 bills were enacted across 34 states. Republican trifecta states enacted the most bills, accounting for 53.4% of all bills enacted. Democratic trifectas accounted for 37.7% of all enacted bills, while 8.9% were enacted in states with divided governments.
At this same point in the 2024 session, states had enacted 142 election-related bills. In 2022, 96 election bills had been enacted.
As of April 24, legislators had introduced 4,427 election-related bills and resolutions — nearly as many as were introduced in all of 2025. Democratic trifecta states introduced the most legislation, accounting for 42.8% of all bills introduced. Republican trifectas accounted for 36.6% of all introduced bills, while 20.6% were introduced in states with divided governments.
At this same point in the 2024 session, states had introduced 2,149 election-related bills. In 2022, legislators had introduced 1,434 election bills.
Lawmakers across the country have considered election-related bills related to each of the 127 election legislation categories Ballotpedia covers. Legislators have given particular attention to seven noteworthy policy topics.
The administration of absentee/mail-in voting
All states allow for some form of absentee/mail-in voting. Fourteen states require voters to provide a valid excuse to vote absentee/by mail. Twenty-eight states allow any eligible voter to cast an absentee/mail-in ballot. Eight states have automatic mail-in ballot systems, also known as all-mail voting systems.
No states have made changes relevant to these broader categories this year, though legislators enacted 16 laws that changed elements of the absentee/mail-in voting process. Notable bills enacted include Mississippi HB 908 and Virginia SB 58 and HB 82. Click here and here to see our coverage of these bills.
Lawmakers in 40 states have introduced 330 bills and resolutions related to absentee/mail in-voting. These bills address different elements of the absentee/mail-in voting process, including how and when voters can request and return an absentee/mail-in ballot, when election officials must mail ballots, and deadlines and procedures for curing problems with an absentee/mail-in ballot.
Regulations governing law enforcement presence near polling places
Ten states have introduced or advanced 22 bills or resolutions concerning the presence of law enforcement, National Guard members, or immigration authorities at or near election sites.
The majority of the bills would prohibit law enforcement personnel from being within a set distance of polling places, tabulation sites, or election offices.
The only bill enacted on this issue to date was New Mexico’s SB 264. Click here to see our Daily Brew coverage of that bill.
Changes to how primary elections are run
Currently, 14 states require open primaries, 13 require closed primaries, 10 require semi-closed primaries, five require top-two style primaries, and in 11 states parties have discretion to choose participation rules for their primaries.
No states have enacted changes to these broader categories via legislation this year, but six states have enacted laws changing a primary date or how primaries are administered. Notable bills enacted include Arizona HB 2022 and Rhode Island S 2147. Overall, legislators have introduced 167 bills related to primary elections.
Policies prohibiting or authorizing the use of ranked-choice voting
In 2026, two states with Republican trifectas, Indiana and Ohio, enacted legislation prohibiting the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV).
Virginia, meanwhile, became the first state since 2023 to approve legislation, SB 176, that allows or requires the statewide use of RCV for state or local elections. Click here to see our Ballot Bulletin coverage of SB 176.
Seven states have laws authorizing or requiring the use of RCV for certain elections, while 19 states have laws prohibiting or restricting its use.
In total, lawmakers have introduced 67 bills related to RCV. Forty-seven of those would authorize or require the use of RCV in at least some elections, while 20 would prohibit or repeal RCV.
Mid-decade redistricting
Indiana, Maryland, and Virginia considered mid-decade redistricting in their 2026 regular sessions, with Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Tennessee meeting in special session to consider redistricting. On April 21, Virginia voters approved a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment that would have enacted new maps. The Virginia Supreme Court nullified the amendment vote on May 8.
Changes to voter ID requirements
Thirty-six states require voters to present identification to vote at the polls on election day, but many states have exceptions to these rules. Of these states, 24 require voters to present identification containing a photograph, with certain exceptions, and 12 states do not explicitly require photo identification. The remaining 14 states do not generally require voters to present identification in order to vote at the polls on election day.
None of the 14 states without voter ID requirements have advanced bills in 2026 to require it. And no state that allows non-photo identification has enacted legislation to require photo identification.
However, nine states have enacted bills modifying existing voter ID requirements. Notable enacted bills include Florida HB 991 and New Hampshire HB 323. Oklahoma SJR 47 would place the state’s existing voter ID requirement in the state constitution if approved by voters in August. Click here, here, and here to see our past coverage of those bills.
Legislators have introduced 196 bills related to voter ID. In 2025, there were 279 such bills, more than in 2024, 2023, or 2022.
Policies related to voter registration
Legislators in 44 states have introduced 602 voter registration bills, accounting for 13% of all bills introduced this year. Overall, 29 bills have been enacted related to voter registration.
These bills change various aspects of the voter registration process, including creating documentary proof of citizenship requirements, changing the data sources election officials are required to use for voter list maintenance, and expanding automatic voter registration systems.
A notable focus for state legislators was bills requiring documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration. Twelve states have laws requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in at least some cases.
In 2025, Wyoming was the only state to enact a requirement that voters provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. In 2026, four states enacted new proof of citizenship requirements or expanded existing laws. Those bills were Florida HB 991, Mississippi SB 2588, South Dakota SB 175, and Utah HB 209. Click here to see our Ballot Bulletin coverage of those bills.