Tag: State Legislature
-
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…
-
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…
-
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%…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
More legislative changes to the ballot measure process and direct democracy in 2023 than previous five years
Legislatures enacted more pieces of legislation related to direct democracy—ballot initiatives, referendums, and recall petitions—in 2023 than the previous five years. In 2023, 45 bills and resolutions were enacted, which exceeds the annual average of 32 for this period. The previous largest number of bills enacted was 44 in 2019. While there was an increase…
-
Five states have enacted education savings account programs this year, most since 2021
Five states have created new education savings account (ESA) programs in 2023—the most in a single year since Arizona enacted the country’s first in 2011. In the last four years, the pace of states enacting new programs has increased—two states enacted programs in 2019, while four did so in 2021. ESAs allow families to receive…
-
54.86% of state legislatures are Republican, 44.29% Democratic
At the end of August 2023, 54.86% of all state legislatures in the United States are Republican while 44.29% are Democratic. There are 7,386 state legislative seats in the country. Republicans control 57 chambers, while Democrats hold 40. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions. Democrats hold 851 state…
-
State lawmaker political party switch snapshot
One hundred seventy-three (173) state legislators have switched political parties since 1994, according to analysis by Ballotpedia. Forty-seven (47) state senators and 126 state representatives have switched parties. State lawmakers who switched from Democrat to Republican: 83 State senators: 24 State representatives: 59 State lawmakers who switched from Republican to Democrat: 23 State senators: 8…