Tag: weekly brew

New Mexico enacts law prohibiting the deployment of troops to polling places On March 9, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) signed legislation prohibiting a person from bringing or ordering military troops or armed federal agents to a polling place or ballot drop box location. Federal law prohibits the deployment of troops or United…

Both gubernatorial and U.S. Senate elections are happening in 26 states in 2026 Twenty-six states are holding elections for both governor and the U.S. Senate on Nov. 3.  The gubernatorial elections in 16 states are open either due to term limits or because the incumbent is retiring. The U.S. Senate elections in eight states are…

Indiana becomes the 19th state to ban ranked-choice voting On Feb. 24, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) signed legislation prohibiting the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the state, making it the 19th state to do so. Indiana’s law states that an election “may not be determined by ranked choice voting” and a “candidate may…

Texas voters to decide on a combined 23 non-binding advisory questions in the March 3 primaries On March 3, Texas voters will decide on a series of non-binding advisory questions that the state's Democratic and Republican parties put on their respective primary ballots. Democratic ballots will have 13 questions. Republican ballots will have 10 questions.…

Introducing a new Ballotpedia project for America’s 250th anniversary: “The Blueprints of Democracy” Ballotpedia is marking America's 250th anniversary with a new initiative we've been building for months — and today marks our open house. We're calling it "The Blueprints of Democracy," and throughout 2026, we'll survey the structures, processes, rules, and human stories that…

Fewer than 3% of Oklahoma school districts held primaries on Feb. 10 Oklahoma school districts hold school board primaries each February. But due to the state’s election rules and the number of candidates running, most voters didn't see school board candidates on their ballots this month. In Oklahoma, districts hold primaries if more than two…

Mandatory Medicaid work requirements are coming, what do they look like now? The 2025 budget reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), established mandatory work requirements for certain able-bodied Medicaid recipients beginning in 2027. As a result, states are now required to design and implement systems to comply with the new requirements, or…

Judge orders New York's redistricting commission to redraw the state's congressional map by Feb. 6 On Jan. 21, New York state judge Jeffrey Pearlman ruled that New York's 11th Congressional District unconstitutionally diluted Black and Latino voting power. Pearlman ordered the New York State Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the congressional map by Feb. 6.…

U.S. Supreme Court rules candidates may challenge election laws before Election Day On Jan. 14, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that candidates have standing to sue over election laws they believe to be unconstitutional before voting takes place.  Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections allows U.S. Rep. Michael Bost (R-Ill.) and two 2024…

How states oversee federal grants Federal grants to states totaled about $1.12 trillion in 2023, accounting for 36.7% of all state revenue. Federal funds as a portion of total revenue differ widely by state. Louisiana had the highest share of its state budget come from federal sources at 51.6%, while Hawaii had the lowest at…