State of Election Administration Legislation 2024 Mid-Year Report: By the numbers
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Absentee/mail-in voting • Early voting • Electoral systems • Voting rights for convicted felons • Private funding • Primary systems • Redistricting • Voter identification |
July 1, 2024
By Ballotpedia staff
By the numbers
Ballotpedia has tracked 3,735 election-related bills in 2024, more than in all of 2023. For the third year in a row, states with Democratic trifectas considered more changes to election laws than states with Republican trifectas or divided governments.
States adopted 305 new election laws, less than in the same period last year but more than in 2022.
For the third year in a row, states with Republican trifectas enacted election legislation at a higher rate (14.5%, 196 bills) than Democratic trifecta states (3.3%, 50). States with divided governments have adopted 8.4% of election bills (52) this year. That is despite three states with Republican trifectas–Texas, Montana, and North Dakota–not holding a session this year. One other state– Nevada, which has a divided government–also does not convene during even years.
The most common topics of introduced bills and year-on-year changes in these categories were:
- Municipal election procedures - 378 bills tracked in 2024, +12.2% compared to 2023
- Voter registration - 362, +1.7%
- Ballot access for candidates - 278, -16.8%
- In-person voting and polling places - 238, -2.1%
- Ballot measures and initiatives - 237, +7.8%
- Vacancy procedures - 221, +24.2%
- Absentee/mail-in ballot administration - 215, -17.3%
- Administrative deadlines - 204, +13.3%
- Offices up for election - 193, +370.7%
- Counting and canvassing procedures - 169, -30.2%
- Voter list maintenance - 169, -12%
- Oversight & accountability - 167, +60.5%
- Elections in specific jurisdictions - 164, +74.5%
- Enforcement against non-officials - 162, +21%
Note: Our list of bill categories has evolved since we launched the legislation tracker in 2022. Generally, we have not applied tags retroactively to bills in previous sessions. To learn more about Ballotpedia’s election-related legislation topic categories, see here.
New laws
Tennessee was the most active state, adopting 36 new laws, followed by Georgia with 33. Both states have Republican trifectas. The most active state with a Democratic trifecta was Maryland, with 10 new laws. Virginia adopted the most bills, 25, out of any state with a divided government.
The most common topics of enacted bills and year-on-year changes for the same period in these categories were:
- Municipal election procedures - 64 enacted bills, +25.5% compared to last year
- Elections in specific jurisdictions - 54, +25.6%
- Vacancy procedures - 43, +13.2%
- Offices up for election - 38, +245.5%
- Ballot access for candidates - 34, -15%
- Administrative deadlines - 24, -20%
- Election dates - 23, -60.3%
- Election officials - 22, +46.7%
- Presidential elections - 20, +66.7%
- Enforcement against non-officials - 19, -29.6%
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:
- Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments.
- We translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language.
- And because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
About the authors
Joe Greaney is a staff writer on Ballotpedia's Marquee Team.
Ballotpedia Editor in Chief Geoff Pallay reviewed the report and provided feedback, as did Managing Editor Cory Eucalitto and Marquee Team Lead Janie Valentine.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- About Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- Voting laws in the United States
- Election Policy
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