North Dakota could become the 17th state to have a single-subject rule for ballot initiatives
On June 9, North Dakota voters will decide on Constitutional Amendment 1, which would create a single-subject rule for future constitutional amendments. A single-subject rule requires ballot measures to address a single subject, topic, or issue. The amendment would also establish a separate-vote requirement for constitutional amendments, requiring that proposed constitutional amendments placed on statewide ballots must be decided by voters as separate ballot questions.
North Dakota voters rejected a single-subject rule amendment in 2024 that would have applied to both statutory and constitutional initiatives and would have increased the signature requirements for initiated constitutional amendments and required voters to pass constitutional amendments twice in two consecutive general elections. Voters rejected that measure, Constitutional Measure 2, 56% to 44%.
This year's amendment is narrower — it only applies the single-subject rule to constitutional amendments and does not address signature requirements or require voter approval of constitutional amendments in multiple elections.
Sixteen of the 26 states with the citizen initiative and referendum process have a single-subject rule, while 10 do not. Thirteen state constitutions require initiatives to abide by the single-subject rule, while the remaining three states — Alaska, Nevada, and Ohio — have it in their statute.
The most recent state to adopt a single-subject rule was Arizona, when voters approved Proposition 129 in 2022.
U.S. Postal Service proposes absentee/mail-in voting rule
The United States Postal Service filed a proposed rule on May 29 that would prohibit absentee/mail-in ballots for general elections from being delivered to anyone not on a list provided to USPS by state election officials. The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on June 2.
Under the rule, states would submit to USPS the names of absentee/mail-in voters, as well as "the unique barcode applied to the outbound and return ballot mail envelope for such individuals." States would be allowed to modify this list up to the final day for sending out absentee/mail-in ballots. The rule would not apply to primary elections or to military or overseas voters.
Additionally, USPS would be required to confirm before mailing an absentee/mail-in ballot that the recipient is on the list provided by their state. The agency said that it would not change the information provided by state officials and that "states would retain full control over who would (or would not) be able to vote by mail in federal elections within each state."
The rule would also create a new design for ballot envelopes, including "placement of a uniquely serialized Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) on each outbound and return ballot envelope."
Stakeholders have until July 2 to submit comments on the proposed rule to USPS.
Thirteen states require voters to provide a valid excuse to vote by mail. Twenty-nine states allow any eligible voter to cast an absentee/mail-in ballot. Eight states have all-mail voting systems in which every eligible voter is automatically sent a mail ballot.
California is the 50th state to begin enforcing expanded SNAP work requirements
On June 1, California became the final state to implement the expanded work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). These requirements were enacted on July 4, 2025, as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), completing a national rollout of expanded work requirements for the program. The OBBBA made various changes to SNAP, including expanding work requirements, changing certain noncitizens’ eligibility, and modifying how utility expenses are used to determine eligibility and calculate benefit amounts.
SNAP has two types of work requirements, which are activities that certain recipients must complete to remain eligible for food assistance. These activities generally include work for pay, for goods or services, unpaid work, hours as a volunteer, participation in SNAP Employment and Training or another federal, state, or local work program, or a combination of work and work program hours. The two types of work requirements are:
- General work requirements, which apply to most adult recipients, including able-bodied adults without dependents (ABAWDs)
- ABAWD work requirements, which apply to ABAWDs in addition to general rules
The OBBBA expanded ABAWD work requirements by removing exemptions for certain individuals, though it added other exemptions. For more details on exemptions, click here.
Between January and April 2026, Ballotpedia conducted research into state compliance with these and other SNAP-related provisions of the OBBBA. Forty-nine states implemented the new work requirements between Nov. 1, 2025, and April 22, 2026. California was the final state to do so on June 1.