On March 15, 2023, the North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments in a case concerning a 2018 law requiring a photo ID to vote.
The Southern Coalition for Social Justice filed the lawsuit on behalf of six state residents against the North Carolina Board of Elections, Speaker of the House Timothy K. Moore (R), Senate President Phil Berger (R), state Sen. Ralph Hise (R), and former state Rep. David Lewis, Sr. (R). In December 2022, the court, which had a 4-3 Democratic majority, upheld a lower court’s determination that the law was unconstitutional. After Republicans won both of the state’s supreme court seats up for election in 2022, gaining a 5-2 majority on the court, the justices agreed to re-hear the case.
In the most recent hearing, Attorney Paul Brachman said, “This law does bear more heavily on African American voters because they’re more likely to lack a qualifying ID, more likely to face difficulties acquiring an ID.” The defendants’ attorney Pete Patterson said, “The law does not bespeak discriminatory intent, racially discriminatory intent, to enact a voter ID law that allows everyone to vote.”
Welcome to The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration.Every Friday, we deliver the latest updates on election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news.
In today’s issue, you’ll find:
Legislative activity: About the bills acted on this week.
The big picture:
Legislative status: The number of bills introduced, voted on, or enacted into law.
Concentration of activity: The states that have had the most legislative activity.
Partisan affiliation of sponsorship: The number of bills that Democrats and Republicans have sponsored.
Recent news: Noteworthy developments in election policy at the federal, state, and local levels, including litigation and ballot measures.
Legislative activity
Since Feb. 17, state legislatures have acted on 294 bills, a 1.7% increase from last week’s 289 bills. These 294 bills represent 18.4% of the 1,596 pieces of legislation we are currently tracking. Of these bills, 124 are from states with Democratic trifectas, 127 are from states with Republican trifectas, and 43 are from states with divided governments.
231 bills were introduced (or had pre-committee action).
Democratic trifectas: 120
Republican trifectas: 81
Divided governments: 30
13 bills advanced from committee.
Democratic trifectas: 2
Republican trifectas: 6
Divided governments: 5
37 bills passed one chamber (or had pre-adoption action in the second chamber).
Democratic trifectas: 2
Republican trifectas: 30
Divided governments: 5
Ten bills passed both chambers. Those bills, with their official bill titles, are:
Republican trifectas: 7
ID H0001: Amends existing law to provide requirements for post election audits ordered by the Secretary of State.
SD SB102: Require the continued maintenance of the official list of candidates prior to an election.
UT SB0063: Election Candidate Replacement Amendments
This bill allows voters to use a valid concealed carry permit as a form of voter identification.
WY HB0005: Voter registry list – voter ID and absentee ballots.
This bill requires that each voter have a unique identification number generated by the state. It also requires each official registry list to include voters’ unique identification numbers, information regarding absentee ballot status, and information regarding registration status.
The big picture
To date, we have tracked 1,596 election-related bills. These bills were either introduced this year or crossed over from last year’s legislative sessions.
Legislative status
The pie charts below show the legislative status of the bills we are tracking. The following status indicators are used:
Introduced: The bill has been pre-filed, introduced, or referred to committee but has not otherwise been acted on.
Advanced from committee: The bill has received a favorable vote in committee. It has either advanced to another committee or to the floor for a vote.
Passed one chamber: One chamber has approved the bill.
Conference committee: Chambers have passed differing versions of the bill, and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences.
Passed both chambers: The bill has cleared both chambers of the legislature.
Enacted: The bill has been enacted into law, by gubernatorial action or inaction or veto override.
Vetoed: The bill has been vetoed.
Dead: The bill has been defeated in committee or on the floor.
The pie charts below show the legislative status of bills in Democratic and Republican trifectas, respectively.
Concentration of activity
The map below shows the concentration of legislative activity across the nation. A darker shade of orange indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of orange indicates a lower number of relevant bills.
Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)
The pie chart below shows the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors.
Bills by topic
The chart below shows the topics of a sample of the 1,596 bills we have tracked this year. The number listed on the blue portion of each bar indicates the number of Democratic-sponsored bills dealing with the subject in question. The number listed on the red portion of the bar indicates the number of Republican-sponsored bills. The purple and gray portions of the bar indicate the number of bipartisan-sponsored bills and bills with unspecified sponsorship, respectively. Note that the sums of the numbers listed do not equal the total number of bills because some bills deal with multiple topics.
Recent news
U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear Maryland election lawsuit
On Feb. 21, the United States Supreme Courtdeclined to hear former Maryland gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox’s (R) appeal in a lawsuit challenging mail-in ballot counting procedures during the 2022 general election. Cox appealed the Maryland Supreme Court’s Oct. 7, 2022, ruling upholding Montgomery County Circuit Judge James A. Bonifant’s decision allowing election officials to count mail-in ballots as soon as Oct. 1. Bonifant said the early counting of mail-in ballots was allowable under a Maryland law that permits courts to take action if “necessary to provide a remedy that is in the public interest and protects the integrity of the electoral process.” In the petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, Cox’s attorney said, “The U.S. Constitution requires that the rules for holding an election be made only by the legislative body of the state holding those elections. … [T]he Maryland Circuit Court for Montgomery County prescribed the manner of holding elections in Maryland, in direct contradiction of the manner already set by the Maryland legislature.” Wes Moore (D) defeated Cox in the 2022 general election, receiving 65% of the vote to Cox’s 32%.
Minnesota Supreme Court upholds law restricting felon voting
On Feb. 15, the Minnesota Supreme Court voted 6-1 to uphold a state law that prohibits convicted felons from voting until they have fully served their sentences, including probation periods or parole. The decision is the result of a lawsuit four individuals with felony records filed in 2019. In the majority opinion, Justices Gordon Moore, Barry Anderson, Margaret Chutich, Paul Thissen, Anne K. McKeig, and Lorie Gildea said, the “Minnesota Constitution empowers the Legislature to address the public policy concerns raised” by the lawsuit. The only dissenting judge, Justice Natalie Hudson, said the plaintiffs presented “strong, uncontested evidence that [the law] has a disparate impact by creating a racial classification in practice.” Former Gov. Mark Dayton (D) appointed Chutich, Thissen, McKeig, and Hudson, while former Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) appointed Anderson and Gildea. Gov. Tim Walz (D) appointed Moore.
On Feb. 6, parties in an Indiana lawsuit seeking accommodations for voters with visual disabilities settled, allowing these voters to use a computer software program to complete their ballot and submit it via email.
Welcome to The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration.This is the first edition of a new and expanded version of this newsletter, now including both recent news related to election policy and in-depth data from our Election Administration Legislation Tracker. Every Friday, we’ll deliver the latest updates on election policy around the country, including legislative activity, big-picture trends, and recent news.
In today’s issue, you’ll find:
Legislative activity: About the bills acted upon this week.
The big picture: Bills in the aggregate.
Legislative status: How many bills have been introduced, voted upon, or enacted into law?
Concentration of activity: What states have seen the highest concentration of legislative activity?
Partisan affiliation of sponsorship: How many bills have been sponsored by Democrats vs. Republicans?
Recent news: Noteworthy developments in election policy at the federal, state, and local levels, including litigation and ballot measures.
Legislative activity
Since Jan. 27, state legislatures have acted on 322 bills, a 17.1% increase from last week’s 275 bills. These 322 bills represent 27% of the 1,192 bills we are currently tracking this year. Seventy-three of these bills are from states with Democratic trifectas, 177 are from states with Republican trifectas, and 72 are from states with a divided government.
Sixteen bills were defeated in committee or by floor vote.
Republican trifectas: 16
Two-hundred and seventy-six bills were introduced (or saw pre-committee action).
Democratic trifectas: 69
Republican trifectas: 141
Divided governments: 66
Nine bills advanced from committee.
Democratic trifectas: 1
Republican trifectas: 6
Divided governments: 2
Twenty bills passed one chamber (or saw pre-adoption action in the second chamber). Those bills, with their official bill titles, are:
Democratic trifectas: 2
WA HB1049: Updating timelines for adopting county commissioner district boundaries following expansion from three to five commissioners.
NY S00822: Permits electronic correspondence with regard to determinations on objections to designating petitions, independent nominating petitions, certificates of nomination or ballot access documents upon the consent of the objector.
Republican trifectas: 14
SD SB102: Require the continued maintenance of the official list of candidates prior to an election.
SD HB1115: Revise certain provisions pertaining to the destruction of ballots and pollbooks after an election.
SD HB1112: Modify provisions for a statewide runoff election.
UT SB0063: Election Candidate Replacement Amendments
WY HB0103: Political party affiliation declaration and changes.
AR HB1025: To Amend The Law Concerning Circulation Of Petitions; And To Limit Petition Circulation At Polling Places.
VA HB2161: Local government; standardization of public notice requirements for certain intended actions.
One bill was enacted.
Democratic trifectas: 1
MI SB0013: Elections: presidential primary; presidential primary election date; revise. Amends sec. 613a of 1954 PA 116 (MCL 168.613a).
This bill sets the presidential primary election date as the fourth Tuesday in February for 2024 and each presidential election year thereafter. The bill also requires political parties to have received at least five percent of the total vote cast nationwide for the office of president in the last presidential election to participate in the state’s presidential primary election.
The big picture
To date, we have tracked 1,192 election-related bills in 2023. These bills were either introduced this year or crossed over from last year’s legislative sessions.
Legislative status
The pie charts below show the legislative status of the bills we are tracking. The following status indicators are used:
Introduced: The bill has been pre-filed, introduced, or referred to committee but has not otherwise been acted upon.
Advanced from committee: The bill has received a favorable vote in committee. It has either advanced to another committee or to the floor for a vote.
Passed one chamber: One chamber has approved the bill.
Conference committee: Chambers have passed differing versions of the bill, and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences.
Passed both chambers: The bill has cleared both chambers of the legislature.
Enacted: The bill has been enacted into law, by gubernatorial action or inaction or veto override.
Vetoed: The bill has been vetoed.
Dead: The bill has been defeated in committee or on the floor.
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of bills in Democratic and Republican trifectas, respectively.
Concentration of activity
The map below shows the concentration of legislative activity across the nation. A darker shade of orange indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of orange indicates a lower number of relevant bills.
Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)
The pie chart below shows the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors.
Bills by topic
The chart below shows the topics of a sample of the 1,192 bills we have tracked this year. The number listed on the blue portion of each bar indicates the number of Democratic-sponsored bills dealing with the subject in question. The number listed on the red portion of the bar indicates the number of Republican-sponsored bills. The purple and gray portions of the bar indicate the number of bipartisan-sponsored bills and bills with unspecified sponsorship, respectively. Note that the numbers listed here will not, when summed, equal the total number of bills because some bills deal with multiple topics.
Recent news
Federal appellate court considers private-party lawsuits
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard arguments on Jan. 11 in a lawsuit concerning the ability of private parties to sue under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voting practices or procedures that discriminate on the basis of race. In February 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Lee Rudofsky, an appointee of former President Donald Trump (R), ruled that private parties cannot sue under Section 2 after the Arkansas chapter of the NAACP challenged the state’s House map. Rudofsky ruled that only the U.S. attorney general can bring a Section 2 lawsuit. CNN’s Tierney Sneed said, “A decision from the 8th Circuit is unlikely to come for at least several weeks.”
Alaska Lieutenant Governor approves initiative to end ranked-choice voting
On Jan. 22, Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) approved a ballot initiative for circulation that would eliminate open top-four primaries and ranked-choice voting in general elections and establish a party primary system. Alaskans for Honest Elections, an organization opposed to ranked-choice voting, submitted the proposal. Dahlstrom’s action allows supporters to begin gathering the 30,000 signatures required for the measure to appear on the 2024 ballot. Alaska established open top-four primaries and ranked-choice voting when voters approved Ballot Measure 2 in 2020. Alaska and Maine are the only states that have implemented ranked-choice voting for federal and state elections. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) has expressed her support for the new measure.
On Jan. 24, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Nia Trammell heard arguments over whether absentee ballots without parts of a witness’s address should be counted. The League of Women Voters of Wisconsin filed the lawsuit against the Wisconsin Elections Commission on Sept. 30, 2022. Wisconsin law says absentee ballots without a witness’ address cannot be counted. The lawsuit asks the court to rule on conflicting interpretations of what constitutes a missing address. According to Wisconsin Elections Commission guidelines, an address must contain a street number, street name, and municipality. The League’s attorneys say an absentee ballot is not missing an address if any one of those three components is present.
Here is our weekly round-up on election-related legislation. In it, you’ll find the following information:
Recent activity: Here, we report on the number of bills acted on within the past week.
The big picture: Here, we look at the bills in the aggregate.
Legislative status: How many bills have been introduced, voted upon, or enacted into law?
Concentration of activity: What states have seen the highest concentration of legislative activity?
Partisan affiliation of sponsorship: How many bills have been sponsored by Democrats vs. Republicans?
Recent activity
Since January 20, 275 bills have been acted on in some way (representing a 16.9 percent increase as compared to last week’s total of 236 bills). These 275 bills represent 27.2 percent of the 1,013 bills we are currently tracking in 2023. Seventy of these bills are from states with Democratic trifectas, 135 are from states with Republican trifectas, and 70 are from states with a divided government.
The bar chart below compares recent activity on a week-to-week basis over the last eight weeks.
Two-hundred and fifty-seven bills were introduced (or saw pre-committee action).
Democratic trifectas: 68
Republican trifectas: 123
Divided governments: 66
Six bills advanced from committee.
Democratic trifectas:1
WA SB5082: Encouraging electoral participation and making ballots more meaningful by abolishing advisory votes.
Republican trifectas: 3
UT SB0063: Election Candidate Replacement Amendments
VA SB1150: 2011 district descriptions; legal boundaries.
VA SB1151: Local government; standardization of public notice requirements for certain intended actions.
The map below visualizes the concentration of this recent activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been acted upon in the last week. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of bills that have been acted upon in the last week.
The big picture
To date, we have tracked 1,013 election-related bills in 2023. These bills were either introduced this year or crossed over from last year’s legislative sessions.
Legislative status
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of the bills we are tracking. The following status indicators are used:
Introduced: The bill has been pre-filed, introduced, or referred to committee but has not otherwise been acted upon.
Advanced from committee: The bill has received a favorable vote in committee. It has either advanced to another committee or to the floor for a vote.
Passed one chamber: The bill has been approved by one legislative chamber.
Conference committee: Differing versions of the bill have been approved by their respective chambers and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences.
Passed both chambers: The bill has cleared both chambers of the legislature.
Enacted: The bill has been enacted into law, by gubernatorial action or inaction or veto override.
Vetoed: The bill has been vetoed.
Dead: The bill has been defeated in committee or by floor vote.
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of bills in Democratic and Republican trifectas, respectively.
Concentration of activity
The map below visualizes the concentration of legislative activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of relevant bills.
Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)
The pie chart below visualizes the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors.
The bar chart below visualizes the correlation between the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors and trifecta status (e.g., how many Democratic-sponsored bills were introduced in Democratic trifectas vs. Republican trifectas).
Welcome to The Ballot Bulletin, where we track developments in election policy at the federal, state, and local levels.
This is the final monthly edition of The Ballot Bulletin. Starting February 3, this newsletter will be sent weekly on Fridays, featuring several new charts and visuals of the latest bills and legislative activity from Ballotpedia’s Election Administration Legislation Tracker. Each week, we’ll give you the latest on noteworthy election-related bills in state legislatures, recent bill activity, and a look at the big picture—how many bills have been signed into law? By members of which political party? And more.
But, in today’s issue:
Ohio governor signs bill amending election laws
Thirteen election bills advance in state legislatures
Legislation update: Activity in January 2023
Have a question/feedback/or just want to say hello? Respond to this email!
Ohio governor signs bill amending election laws
On Jan. 6, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine (R) signed HB458, a bill requiring voters to show an unexpired photo ID in order to cast a ballot. The bill also eliminates August special elections, prohibits curbside voting, and limits ballot drop boxes to one per county.
Ohio State Rep. Thomas Hall (R) introduced HB458 on Oct. 19, 2021. The House passed the bill 67-22 on Dec. 9. In the Senate, the bill was referred to the Local Government and Elections Committee, where State Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R) proposed an amendment adding voter identification requirements to the bill. The committee reported the bill favorably on Dec. 13, 2022, and the full Senate passed the amended bill 24-7 on the same day.
“Elections integrity is a significant concern to Americans on both sides of the aisle across the country, DeWine said. “At the same time, I have long believed that Ohio does a good job of administering elections, as we have provided ample opportunities to cast votes while avoiding the problems we have seen in recent federal elections in other states,” DeWine said. Gavarone, who proposed the voter identification amendment, said, “You need a photo ID to do an awful lot of different things: to get a job, to rent an apartment. We want to encourage people to vote, but on top of that, we want to give people that extra layer of confidence that we’re doing things right here in Ohio.”
Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters said, “Ohio Republicans know that their out-of-touch agenda and anti-worker policies are betraying Ohio voters, and they don’t want to be held accountable. So they’re further rigging the rules in their favor and pushing one of the worst anti-voter bills in the entire country all so that they can keep lining the pockets of their corporate donors and leave working families in Ohio out to dry.” All Voting is Local Ohio State Director Kayla Griffin said, “We will witness – and many of us will experience – extreme barriers to the ballot and disenfranchisement. It is going to take an all hands on deck approach to help voters understand what is happening.” The organization, which says it “exists to expose and dismantle threats to voter freedom,” said the bill was “undemocratic and erects extreme barriers to the ballot.”
Ohio law previously permitted non-photo identification as proof of identity when voting. Non-photo IDs including utility bills, bank statements, or government checks were allowed, but voters must now present an Ohio driver’s license, state identification card, passport, military ID, or state-issued interim identification form.
Ohio has had a Republican trifecta since 2011, meaning the Republican Party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the Legislature. After the 2022 election, Republicans have a 26-7 majority in the Ohio Senate and a 67-32 majority in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Thirteen election bills advance in state legislatures
Of the election-related bills active in 2023, 13 bills in eight states have passed one chamber of their respective state legislatures.
Three bill are in states with Democratic trifectas:
NJ S856: Allows county boards of elections to begin canvassing early votes cast during the early voting period.
NJ A3915: Requires the state to pay for a new election if the state made errors during the initial election.
NJ S1436: Prohibits electioneering from taking place within 25 feet of anyone waiting in line either at a polling location or ballot drop box.
Seven bills are in states with Republican trifectas:
AR HB1105: Allows use of funds appropriated for election expenses to cover the expenses of the State Board of Election Commissioners and any county board of election commissioners to conduct certain elections.
MT SB10: Provides that school district trustees must submit finance propositions to voters.
ND HB1038: Requires voter approval for increases in city mill levies.
ND SB2050: Allows political subdivisions to establish a library without an election.
WY HB0047: Requires a vendor to apply with the secretary of state for certification of an electronic voting system.
WY SF0086: Would make a valid concealed firearm permit an acceptable form of voting identification.
UT SB0043: Modifies public notice requirements for elections and election-related events.
Three bills are in states with divided governments:
PA SB1: Modifies voter identification requirements.
VA SB391: Allows local governments to petition the circuit court for a referendum on the question of whether marijuana establishments should be prohibited.
VA SB495: Allows recall referendums to be used to remove certain elected and appointed officials.
Legislation update: Legislation activity in January 2023
During January 2023, legislatures in 38 states took action on 696 election bills.
Democrats sponsored 277 of the 696 bills addressed in January (39.8%). Republicans sponsored 318 (45.7%). Bipartisan groups sponsored 31 (4.5%). Partisan sponsorship information was unavailable for the remainder of the bills.
This information comes from Ballotpedia’s Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which went live on June 29. This free and accessible online resource allows you to find easy-to-digest bill tags and summaries—written and curated by our election administration experts! We update our database and bill-tracking daily. Using our powerful interactive search function, you can zero in on more than 2,500 bills (and counting) covering these topics:
Absentee/mail-in voting and early voting policies
Ballot access requirements for candidates, parties, and ballot initiatives
Election dates and deadlines
Election oversight protocols
In-person voting procedures
Post-election procedures (including counting, canvassing, and auditing policies)
Voter ID
Voter registration and eligibility
To make your search results more precise, we first place bills into one of 22 parent categories. We then apply to each bill one or more of the 90 tags we’ve developed.
If you don’t want to immerse yourself in the world of election legislation quite that often, we have a free, weekly digest that goes straight to your inbox and keeps you caught up on the week’s developments.
Here is our weekly round-up on election-related legislation. In it, you’ll find the following information:
Recent activity: Here, we report on the number of bills acted on within the past week.
The big picture: Here, we look at the bills in the aggregate.
Legislative status: How many bills have been introduced, voted upon, or enacted into law?
Concentration of activity: What states have seen the highest concentration of legislative activity?
Partisan affiliation of sponsorship: How many bills have been sponsored by Democrats vs. Republicans?
Recent activity
Since January 13, 236 bills have been acted on in some way (representing a 7.4 percent decrease as compared to last week’s total of 256 bills). These 236 bills represent 29 percent of the 808 bills we are currently tracking in 2023. Seventy-three of these bills are from states with Democratic trifectas, 123 are from states with Republican trifectas, and 40 are from states with a divided government.
The bar chart below compares recent activity on a week-to-week basis over the last eight weeks.
Two-hundred and thirty-three bills were introduced (or saw pre-committee action).
Democratic trifectas: 73
Republican trifectas: 120
Divided governments: 40
Three bills passed one chamber.
Republican trifectas: 3
The map below visualizes the concentration of this recent activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been acted upon in the last week. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of bills that have been acted upon in the last week.
The big picture
To date, we have tracked 808 election-related bills in 2023. These bills were either introduced this year or crossed over from last year’s legislative sessions.
Legislative status
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of the bills we are tracking. The following status indicators are used:
Introduced: The bill has been pre-filed, introduced, or referred to committee but has not otherwise been acted upon.
Advanced from committee: The bill has received a favorable vote in committee. It has either advanced to another committee or to the floor for a vote.
Passed one chamber: The bill has been approved by one legislative chamber.
Conference committee: Differing versions of the bill have been approved by their respective chambers and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences.
Passed both chambers: The bill has cleared both chambers of the legislature.
Enacted: The bill has been enacted into law, by gubernatorial action or inaction or veto override.
Vetoed: The bill has been vetoed.
Dead: The bill has been defeated in committee or by floor vote.
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of bills in Democratic and Republican trifectas, respectively.
Concentration of activity
The map below visualizes the concentration of legislative activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of relevant bills.
Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)
The pie chart below visualizes the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors.
The bar chart below visualizes the correlation between the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors and trifecta status (e.g., how many Democratic-sponsored bills were introduced in Democratic trifectas vs. Republican trifectas).
Here is our weekly round-up on election-related legislation. In it, you’ll find the following information:
Recent activity: Here, we report on the number of bills acted on within the past week.
The big picture: Here, we look at the bills in the aggregate.
Legislative status: How many bills have been introduced, voted upon, or enacted into law?
Concentration of activity: What states have seen the highest concentration of legislative activity?
Partisan affiliation of sponsorship: How many bills have been sponsored by Democrats vs. Republicans?
Recent activity
Since January 6, 256 bills have been acted on in some way (representing a 365 percent increase as compared to last week’s total of 55 bills). These 256 bills represent 41 percent of the 632 bills we are tracking in 2023. One-hundred and forty of these bills are from states with Democratic trifectas, 83 are from states with Republican trifectas, and 33 are from states with a divided government.
The bar chart below compares recent activity on a week-to-week basis over the last eight weeks.
Two-hundred and fifty-three bills were introduced (or saw pre-committee action).
Democratic trifectas: 138
Republican trifectas: 83
Divided governments: 5
Three bills passed one chamber.
Democratic trifectas: 2
Divided governments: 1
The map below visualizes the concentration of this recent activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been acted upon in the last week. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of bills that have been acted upon in the last week.
The big picture
To date, we have tracked 632 election-related bills in 2023. These bills were either introduced this year or crossed over from last year’s legislative sessions.
Legislative status
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of the bills we are tracking. The following status indicators are used:
Introduced: The bill has been pre-filed, introduced, or referred to committee but has not otherwise been acted upon.
Advanced from committee: The bill has received a favorable vote in committee. It has either advanced to another committee or to the floor for a vote.
Passed one chamber: The bill has been approved by one legislative chamber.
Conference committee: Differing versions of the bill have been approved by their respective chambers and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences.
Passed both chambers: The bill has cleared both chambers of the legislature.
Enacted: The bill has been enacted into law, by gubernatorial action or inaction or veto override.
Vetoed: The bill has been vetoed.
Dead: The bill has been defeated in committee or by floor vote.
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of bills in Democratic and Republican trifectas, respectively.
Concentration of activity
The map below visualizes the concentration of legislative activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of relevant bills.
Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)
The pie chart below visualizes the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors.
The bar chart below visualizes the correlation between the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors and trifecta status (e.g., how many Democratic-sponsored bills were introduced in Democratic trifectas vs. Republican trifectas).
Here is our weekly round-up on election-related legislation. In it, you’ll find the following information:
Recent activity: Here, we report on the number of bills acted on within the past week.
The big picture: Here, we look at the bills in the aggregate.
Legislative status: How many bills have been introduced, voted upon, or enacted into law?
Concentration of activity: What states have seen the highest concentration of legislative activity?
Partisan affiliation of sponsorship: How many bills have been sponsored by Democrats vs. Republicans?
Recent activity
Since December 30, 55 bills have been acted on in some way (representing a 817 percent increase as compared to last week’s total of six bills). These 55 bills represent 17.1 percent of the 321 bills we are tracking in 2023. Twenty-four of these bills are from states with Democratic trifectas, 25 are from states with Republican trifectas, and six are from states with a divided government.
The bar chart below compares recent activity on a week-to-week basis over the last eight weeks.
Fifty-five bills were introduced (or saw pre-committee action).
Democratic trifectas: 24
Republican trifectas: 25
Divided governments: 6
The map below visualizes the concentration of this recent activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been acted upon in the last week. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of bills that have been acted upon in the last week.
The big picture
To date, we have tracked 321 election-related bills in 2023. These bills were either introduced this year or crossed over from last year’s legislative sessions.
Legislative status
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of the bills we are tracking. The following status indicators are used:
Introduced: The bill has been pre-filed, introduced, or referred to committee but has not otherwise been acted upon.
Advanced from committee: The bill has received a favorable vote in committee. It has either advanced to another committee or to the floor for a vote.
Passed one chamber: The bill has been approved by one legislative chamber.
Conference committee: Differing versions of the bill have been approved by their respective chambers and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences.
Passed both chambers: The bill has cleared both chambers of the legislature.
Enacted: The bill has been enacted into law, by gubernatorial action or inaction or veto override.
Vetoed: The bill has been vetoed.
Dead: The bill has been defeated in committee or by floor vote.
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of bills in Democratic and Republican trifectas, respectively.
Concentration of activity
The map below visualizes the concentration of legislative activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of relevant bills.
Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)
The pie chart below visualizes the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors.
The bar chart below visualizes the correlation between the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors and trifecta status (e.g., how many Democratic-sponsored bills were introduced in Democratic trifectas vs. Republican trifectas).
Note: This digest will be taking a break next week for the holidays. We’ll be back in your inbox on January 6, 2023.
Here is our weekly round-up on election-related legislation. In it, you’ll find the following information:
Noteworthy bills: Here, we identify and report on the contents and legislative status of noteworthy bills.
Recent activity: Here, we report on the number of bills acted on within the past week.
The big picture: Here, we look at the bills in the aggregate.
Legislative status: How many bills have been introduced, voted upon, or enacted into law?
Concentration of activity: What states have seen the highest concentration of legislative activity?
Partisan affiliation of sponsorship: How many bills have been sponsored by Democrats vs. Republicans?
Subject: What subjects are most commonly addressed in the bills?
Pre-filed bills for 2023: Here, we look at bills pre-filed for 2023 legislative sessions.
Noteworthy bills
This part of our report highlights recent activity on specific noteworthy bills. A bill is noteworthy if it meets one or more of the following criteria:
It has been enacted into law.
It is poised to be enacted into law.
It is the subject of significant debate in the legislature.
It is the subject of significant commentary by activists, journalists, etc.
Changes the types of identification (ID) that are acceptable for voter registration and voting and requires an elector to have photo ID to vote in person.
Requires an Ohio driver’s license or ID number or the last four digits of the person’s Social Security number (SSN) for voter registration.
Shortens the deadline to apply to cast absent voter’s ballots by mail from noon on the third day before Election Day to the close of business on the seventh day before Election Day.
Requires the boards of elections to process absent voter’s ballots before the close of the polls on Election Day.
Eliminates local special elections held in August.
Legislative history: Ohio Rep. Thomas Hall (R) introduced the bill on Oct. 19, 2021. The Ohio House passed the bill on Dec. 9, and the Ohio Senate passed the bill on Dec. 13, 2022.
Political context: Ohio has a Republican trifecta, meaning the Republican Party controls both the governorship and both chambers of the state legislature.
Recent activity
Since December 16, no bills have been acted on (representing a decrease as compared to last week’s total of five bills).
The bar chart below compares recent activity on a week-to-week basis over the last eight weeks.
The big picture
To date, we have tracked 2,534 election-related bills. These bills were either introduced this year or crossed over from last year’s legislative sessions.
Legislative status
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of the bills we are tracking. The following status indicators are used:
Introduced: The bill has been pre-filed, introduced, or referred to committee but has not otherwise been acted upon.
Advanced from committee: The bill has received a favorable vote in committee. It has either advanced to another committee or to the floor for a vote.
Passed one chamber: The bill has been approved by one legislative chamber.
Conference committee: Differing versions of the bill have been approved by their respective chambers and a conference committee has been appointed to reconcile the differences.
Passed both chambers: The bill has cleared both chambers of the legislature.
Enacted: The bill has been enacted into law, by gubernatorial action or inaction or veto override.
Vetoed: The bill has been vetoed.
Dead: The bill has been defeated in committee or by floor vote.
The pie charts below visualize the legislative status of bills in Democratic and Republican trifectas, respectively.
Concentration of activity
The map below visualizes the concentration of legislative activity across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of relevant bills.
Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)
The pie chart below visualizes the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors.
The bar chart below visualizes the correlation between the partisan affiliation of bill sponsors and trifecta status (e.g., how many Democratic-sponsored bills were introduced in Democratic trifectas vs. Republican trifectas).
Bills by topic
The chart below presents information on the total number of bills dealing with particular topics. The number listed on the blue portion of each bar indicates the number of Democratic-sponsored bills dealing with the subject in question. The number listed on the red portion of the bar indicates the number of Republican-sponsored bills. The purple and gray portions of the bar indicate the number of bipartisan-sponsored bills and bills with unspecified sponsorship, respectively. Note that the numbers listed here will not, when summed, equal the total number of bills because some bills deal with multiple topics.
Bills pre-filed for 2023 legislative sessions
To date, Ballotpedia has identified 198 pre-filed bills for 2023 legislative sessions in 11 states. The charts and map below show the number of pre-filed bills by state, partisan sponsorship, and state trifecta status.
Concentration of activity
The map below visualizes the concentration of pre-filed legislation across the nation. A darker shade of yellow indicates a higher number of relevant bills that have been introduced. A lighter shade of yellow indicates a lower number of relevant bills.
Partisan affiliation of sponsor(s)
The pie chart below visualizes the partisan affiliation of pre-filed bill sponsors.
State trifecta status
The pie chart below visualizes the state trifecta status of pre-filed bills.
