Author: Joseph Greaney

  • Utah State Senate rejects effort to repeal use of ranked-choice voting

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    The Utah State Senate rejected a bill to repeal the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in local Utah elections on Thursday, Feb. 29th. HB290 would have eliminated the Municipal Alternate Voting Methods Pilot Project, which allows municipalities to adopt instant-runoff voting, a form of RCV, for odd year elections. Currently, 23 localities in the state…

  • State lawmakers pursue opposing RCV strategies

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    Image of the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, Georgia.

    There are more than 100 ranked-choice voting (RCV) bills in 2024 state legislative sessions, with nearly a third of the bills seeking to ban or repeal its use. Democratic lawmakers have been more active, introducing 57.3% of RCV bills, while 53.4% of all RCV legislation has been introduced in states with Democratic trifectas.  Legislators introduced…

  • Voter registration bills make up more than 10% of all election-related legislation in 2024 state legislative sessions

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    There are 370 active bills in the legislature of 37 states that deal with voter registration, making up more than 10% of all election-related legislation tracked by Ballotpedia this year, as of Feb. 22. Of these bills, legislators introduced 213 since the beginning of the year, while the remainder were carried over from last year’s sessions. …

  • Virginia and New York outpace others with four states advancing at least 10 election bills so far this year

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    Legislators in Virginia have advanced 24 election-related bills out of at least one chamber of the legislature so far in 2024, including 15 bills that have crossed over since the beginning of February. As of Feb. 9, Virginia trails only New York (29 bills) in terms of advancing election-related legislation. Two other states, Georgia and…

  • Governors in states with divided government vetoed the most election legislation in 2023

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    Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) vetoed more election-related bills than any other governor in 2023 in terms of total bills and the percentage of election-related bills introduced in her state. Hobbs vetoed 21 bills, or 29% of all election-related bills introduced in the Arizona legislature last year. Arizona has a divided government, with Republicans controlling…

  • New RCV bans on the table, but bills supporting ranked-choice outnumber opposition legislation in 2024 sessions

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    Republican legislators have introduced new ranked-choice voting (RCV) prohibitions in five states so far this year. These efforts come after three states approved Republican-sponsored bans last year. The number of active bills supporting RCV continues to outnumber those banning or repealing its use.  Of the 75 RCV bills currently active in state legislatures:  Twenty-three of…

  • New York outpacing all states in advancing election legislation as 2024 sessions get underway

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    As of Jan. 19, 2024, legislators in New York have passed 24 election-related bills out of at least one chamber of the legislature, more than all other state legislatures combined. The legislation in New York covers a range of election-related topics including absentee ballot drop-boxes, maintenance of voter rolls, and oversight of election officials, workers,…

  • Minnesota Supreme Court to hear challenge of new felon voting law

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    The Minnesota Supreme Court will hear a challenge to a new law that automatically restores voting rights to people convicted of a felony who are still on parole, probation, or supervised release in the state. On March 3, 2023, Governor Tim Walz (D) signed House File 28 into law. Previously in Minnesota, the state restored voting rights to people convicted of…

  • Texas voter turnout reaches 14% in 2023 - a two-decade high for odd year

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    Welcome to the Thursday, January 4th, Brew.  By: Joe Greaney Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day: Texas voter turnout reaches 14% in 2023 - a two-decade high for odd year elections in the state  Turnout at Texas’ Nov. 7 general election was the highest for an odd-year election in almost…

  • The Ballot Bulletin: Ballotpedia’s Weekly Digest on Election Administration, December 15, 2023

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    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 nationwide trends, legislative activity, and updates on notable lawsuits and policy changes.  This is a special edition of The Ballot Bulletin, detailing our newly-released end-of-the year State of Election Administration…