Tag: State Legislature
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Administrative state 2024 legislation: 30 states passed 88 bills decreasing agency power
State lawmakers in 44 states considered 583 bills and resolutions in 2024 designed to decrease or increase agency authority and influence or otherwise affect the administrative state. 30 states passed 88 bills and resolutions that decreased agency power. As of August 16, most state legislative sessions have adjourned, and all but eleven of the significant…
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Open state legislative seats reach second-lowest point in eight election cycles
This year there are 953 open state legislative seats, guaranteeing at least 16% of all seats will be won by newcomers. This is the second-smallest number and percentage of open seats since Ballotpedia began gathering data in 2010. Ballotpedia uses the number and percentage of open seats to help determine the overall competitiveness of an…
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Michigan Supreme Court rules that the legislature cannot adopt and then amend indirect citizen-initiated measures during the same session
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the state legislature cannot adopt-and-amend indirect initiated state statutes, and that such actions in 2018 violated the Michigan Constitution. An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of…
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54.98% of state legislators are Republican, 44.38% Democratic
At the end of May 2024, 54.98% of all state legislators in the United States are Republican while 44.38% are Democratic. There are 7,386 state legislative seats in the country. Republicans control 56 chambers, while Democrats hold 41. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. Democrats hold 847 state…
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Decade-high number of Tennessee state legislative candidates
Tennessee has 240 major party candidates running for state legislative office, the most of any election cycle since 2014. Of the 240 total candidates, 106 are Democrats, a decade-high and up 34% from 2022. There are 134 Republican candidates, one candidate fewer than in 2022. Tennessee has 41 contested state legislative primaries this year, a…
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RCV bans and repeals advancing at higher rate than new authorizations
More ranked-choice voting (RCV) bans and repeals are advancing in comparison with new authorizations during 2024 state legislative sessions. Forty bills this year would ban or repeal uses of RCV, while 69 would establish a new use of RCV. Prospective bans make up a greater share of bills that have passed at least one chamber…
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Decade-high number of incumbents in contested state legislative primaries in Ohio
Twenty-five Ohio state legislative incumbents face primary challenges, representing 29% of all incumbents running for re-election. This is the highest number and percentage of contested incumbents since at least 2014. Of the 25 incumbents in contested primaries, four are Democrats and 21 are Republicans. Ohio has 51 contested state legislative primaries this year, a 9%…
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Decade-low number of open seats in Illinois’ state legislative primaries
Six seats in the Illinois state legislature are open, meaning no incumbents filed. This guarantees that at least 4% of the seats up for election will be represented by newcomers next year, a decade low. Twenty incumbents face primary challenges, representing 15% of all incumbents running for re-election. Of the 20 incumbents in contested primaries,…
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New Mexico State Legislature sends two more constitutional amendments to the November ballot
The New Mexico State Legislature voted to send two constitutional amendments to voters in November on Feb. 14. These two constitutional amendments join two others that were certified for the ballot during last year’s legislative session. The new constitutional amendments are Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1) and Senate Joint Resolution 16 (SJR 16). SJR…
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New York outpacing all states in advancing election legislation as 2024 sessions get underway
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,…