Category: State
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Only nine state supreme court justices have lost retention elections since 1990
In 38 states, a state supreme court justice has to run for re-election to their seat. Of those states, 20 use retention elections, where voters vote for or against a specific justice, as opposed to voting for multiple candidates. Ballotpedia has analyzed the results of retention elections going back to 1990. Historically, justices have won…
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State legislative session updates (next year's schedule)
As of Nov. 17, 38 state legislatures are scheduled to begin their 2026 legislative sessions in January, five are scheduled for February, one for March, and two are scheduled for April, according to the latest data from the 2026 MultiState Insider Resource. State governments across the country hold legislative sessions where elected representatives meet to…
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A look at how provisional voting works in each state
In most states, voters who arrive at a polling place without their required identification or who aren't listed in the pollbook still have the option to cast a ballot. That’s because of a system called provisional voting. A provisional ballot is a type of ballot that is not immediately counted. Election officials instead set these…
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Shasta County voters to decide on charter amendment requiring voter ID and hand-counting ballots, and appeals court invalidates Huntington Beach voter ID measure
In California, two recent actions have involved local ballot measures proposing voter ID requirements. In Shasta County, a citizen-initiated charter amendment addressing voter ID and other election administration policies qualified for the June 2, 2026, ballot. In Huntington Beach, a state Court of Appeal ruled that a voter-approved charter amendment requiring voter ID violated state…
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Seven seats have changed partisan control in state legislative special elections this year
Three Nov. 4 special state legislative elections in Mississippi resulted in changes in partisan control from Republican to Democrat, one in the House and two in the Senate. Now seven special legislative elections in 2025 have resulted in changes in partisan control this year. The other four seats that changed party control this year were:…
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Signatures submitted for ballot initiative to repeal Alaska’s top-four ranked-choice voting system; would be the state's third ballot measure on RCV
In Alaska, Repeal Now, an organization supporting an effort to repeal the state's ranked-choice voting system, submitted 48,000 signatures to the Division of Elections on Nov. 6, 2025. At least 34,098 signatures must be found valid to appear on the ballot. The initiative would eliminate the state's top-four ranked-choice voting (RCV) system, which combines top-four…
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A look at voting under the age of 18 in the U.S.
On Sept. 30, 2025, the College Park City Council in Maryland voted to lower the minimum voting age in city elections to 16 years old. The change puts them among a small group of jurisdictions that allow 16-year-olds to participate in local elections. So what does youth voting look like nationwide? In 27 states and…
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Twenty-three states have amended their absentee/mail-in voting laws so far this year
On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Maine voters defeated Question 1, which would have changed the state's absentee voting laws, limited ballot drop boxes, and required voter ID for individuals voting both in person and by absentee ballot. As of 12 p.m. EST on Nov. 5, the vote was 63.5%-36.5%, with 89% of votes in. While Mainers…
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Maine rejects Question 1 by the widest margin for a voter ID proposal since at least 2004
Voters rejected Maine Question 1 on Nov. 4. As of Nov. 7, 2025, the vote margins were 35.9% 'Yes' to 64.1% 'No.' Question 1 would have made several changes, including requiring photo identification for in-person and absentee voting; requiring voters to complete an identification envelope for absentee voting; allowing a person’s absentee ballot to be…
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Exxon sues California over new climate disclosure laws
The European Parliament voted on Oct. 22, 2025, to reject a proposal that would have simplified the European Union’s (EU) sustainability reporting and due diligence rules. The bill sought to narrow company-size thresholds and reduce specific disclosure requirements under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Opponents of the…