Tag: uncontested elections

  • 71% of April’s elections were uncontested

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    Throughout April, Ballotpedia covered 4,596 elections in 21 states, 71% of which were uncontested. That’s down from March, when 77% of the 6,995 covered were uncontested. Ballotpedia defines an uncontested election as one where the number of candidates running is less than or equal to the number of seats up for election. This analysis does…

  • 77% of last March’s elections were uncontested

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    Throughout March, Ballotpedia covered 6,984 elections in 26 states, 77% of which were uncontested. That’s up from February when 46% of the 318 covered were uncontested. Ballotpedia defines an uncontested election as one where the number of candidates running is less than or equal to the number of seats up for election. This analysis does…

  • Largest number of open state legislative district elections since 2011

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    There are 138 open state legislative seats in 2023, meaning newcomers will win at least 24% of all seats. This is the most since Ballotpedia began gathering data in 2011. A seat can become open if an incumbent leaves office or runs for re-election in a different district than the one they currently represent. Louisiana,…

  • More than half of state legislative district elections lack major party competition

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    There are 336 (58%) state legislative seats — out of 578 up for election — that are uncontested and have no major party competition in 2023. This is the largest number of seats with no major party competition in an odd year since Ballotpedia began gathering data in 2011. Percentage wise, this is the second-largest…

  • More U.S. House races now featuring major-party competition

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    Over the past decade, the percentage of U.S. House of Representatives elections with only a Democrat or a Republican on the ballot has dropped in a majority of the election cycles and below the past century’s average. Here is the recent breakdown:  2014: 17.5% (36 races without a Democratic candidate and 40 without a Republican)…