State of Election Administration Legislation 2024 Mid-Year Report: Topics of note

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State of Election Administration Legislation
2024 Mid-Year Report
Executive summary • Methodology • By the numbers • State highlights • Omnibus bills and other notable state activity • Vetoes and veto overrides • Topics of note • What's left?
More on 2024 election administration legislation
Enacted bills
Absentee/mail-in voting • Early voting • Electoral systems • Voting rights for convicted felons • Private funding • Primary systems • Redistricting • Voter identification
Select a state from the menu below to learn more about election policy in that state.

July 1, 2024
By Ballotpedia staff

Topics of note

The landscape of election policy is vast. With 50 systems for administering elections in 50 states, legislation in each state necessarily responds to the unique needs of election administrators and the election systems in each locality. Nonetheless, the challenges, and vision for the future development of election administration are often shared across states or among groups of states.

Whether considering a change to electoral systems, such as opening or closing primaries, or preempting one, like banning RCV, Ballotpedia has tracked a number of policy subsets that drew attention from lawmakers around the country:

Ranked-choice voting (RCV)

Five states–Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Oklahoma–passed laws banning the use of RCV, more than in any other year.

No state had a law prohibiting the use of RCV before 2022 when Florida and Tennessee became the first states to adopt bans. Idaho, Montana, and South Dakota joined them in 2023. Republicans controlled the legislature in all ten states to have passed an RCV ban.

A sixth state, Missouri, passed a legislatively referred constitutional amendment creating a ballot measure at November’s election that will ask voters to decide whether to ban RCV. In addition to Missouri, voters in at least three other states will decide on ballot measures related to RCV this November. In Alaska, voters will consider repealing the use of RCV for statewide and legislative elections, while in Nevada and Oregon voters will decide whether to adopt RCV for certain elections.

Only one state enacted a law authorizing a new use of RCV this year. Maine adopted LD 1578 which makes Maine a member of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact and requires the use of RCV for presidential elections if the compact ever takes effect.

In Colorado, Governor Jared Polis (D) signed SB 210, an omnibus elections bill that makes changes to several areas of election law, including adding provisions to state law that would make it more difficult to adopt RCV in statewide elections. The section of the bill related to RCV was added to the bill near the end of the state’s legislative session, and Polis said he did not approve of those portions but would sign the bill because it contained provisions to strengthen trust and security in elections.

Colorado may vote on a constitutional amendment to adopt RCV for some statewide elections in November. SB 210 would likely delay implementation of the electoral system if that ballot measure were to pass. In that case, Polis said he would “map out a process for implementing this initiative as soon as practicable with my commitment to full implementation by the 2028 election cycle.” Read more about SB 210 and the Colorado ballot measure here.

In total, 45 bills introduced in 20 states this year would ban or repeal RCV, nearly double the number from 2023 and 2022 combined. In all three years, bans and repeals were adopted at a higher rate than new authorizations. In other words, there have been more RCV bans adopted in the last three years than new authorizations, despite half as many introduced bills.

Voter list maintenance

Thirteen states adopted new laws related to maintaining accurate voter registration rolls, also known as voter list maintenance. Ten of these bills came from states with Republican trifectas, two from states with divided governments, and one from a state with a Democratic trifecta.

New laws in five states establish new data sharing procedures, or new requirements for reviewing available data from various state agencies or third-party sources to identify ineligible voters and remove them from registration lists.

  • In Indiana, HB 1265 requires a state to review registration records at least once per year and identify those that do not contain a birth date, or contain a birth date making the voter 115 years old or older, and to send those identified names to the local officials for review. Indiana also enacted HB 1264, discussed above, which permits election officials to obtain commercially available data from a credit agency for voter address verification purposes and establishes a new verification procedure for voters identified as noncitizens by election officials.
  • In Kentucky, HB 580 authorizes the State Board of Elections to enter into agreements with other governmental agencies for voter list maintenance purposes. HB 44 requires the secretary of state to deliver, and publish publicly, an annual report on voter registration cleanup activity to the legislature.
  • As part of Minnesota’s Voting Rights Act, HF 4772 creates a new requirement for the secretary of state to identify deceased voters using the Social Security Death Index.
  • In South Dakota, SB 18 allows the secretary of state to share information from the statewide voter registration file with any other state, territory, or locality to identify duplicate registrations. Any agreement must provide that personally identifiable information cannot be shared or sold to any person who is not an election official in the jurisdiction.
  • West Virginia’s SB 624 directs county clerks to cancel the voter registration records of voters who are no longer West Virginia citizens and who, according to the DMV, have obtained a driver’s license in another state.

Louisiana adopted two bills that change address verification laws. HB 114 requires the Department of State to develop an address confirmation notice that includes prepaid postage, a pre-addressed return envelope, and information about the voter’s rights. It also creates an annual sweep for inactive voters and describes these voters as those who have failed to engage in a voting activity for ten years, including voting, requesting an absentee ballot, updating registration, and signing a petition. HB 677 eliminates a requirement that election registrars must confirm a voter’s death with the office of vital records in order to cancel their voter registration file.

Elsewhere, bills in three states with Democratic trifectas that would require application to the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) have advanced, but not been adopted. In Hawaii, SB 2240 has passed both chambers of the legislature but awaits action by Gov. Josh Green (D). The bill that requires the state’s Office of Elections to submit an application to join the ERIC by June 30, 2025. Similar bills have passed one chamber in California and New York.

As of June 2024, 24 states were members in ERIC, including 14 Democratic trifectas, seven states with divided governments, and three states with Republican trifectas. Eight states have resigned from ERIC since 2021, including nine states with Republican trifectas and one state with a divided government.

One bill that would have required application to ERIC was vetoed this year, Virginia’s HB 1177 / SB 606. Virginia was a founding member of ERIC in 2012 but resigned in 2023. In his veto message, Gov. Youngkin said, “Since leaving ERIC, Virginia established data-sharing agreements with numerous states incurring no additional costs.”

Noncitizen voting

As of June 11, eight states, including six with Republican trifectas, have enacted legislation related to the eligibility of noncitizens to vote.

In Louisiana, SB 436 requires proof of citizenship for voter registration applications. In 2022, Louisiana voters approved a ballot measure amending the state constitution to prohibit noncitizens from voting or registering to vote.

Four states referred constitutional amendments to voters to decide whether to add a prohibition on noncitizens voting to their state constitutions.

Separately, the Oklahoma House of Representatives adopted a resolution supporting “amending the Oklahoma Constitution to require proof of citizenship as a prerequisite for voter registration.”

At least two states–Indiana and Tennessee–have adopted new laws to check for, and remove noncitizens while conducting voter list maintenance activities.

The only new law related to noncitizen voting from a state with a Democratic trifecta comes from Minnesota. The state’s new Voting Rights Act, HF 4772, requires that a voter be a U.S. citizen to vote an absentee ballot.

As of June 2024, seven states explicitly prohibited noncitizen voting in state and local elections while no state constitutions explicitly allowed noncitizens to vote in state or local elections. Since 2018, voters in six states have approved ballot measures related to adding language about citizenship requirements for voting.

Under federal law, it is illegal for noncitizens to vote in any federal election, including elections for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections.

Protections for election workers & officials

In addition to bills in Virginia, Georgia, and Maryland mentioned above, two states with Republican trifectas adopted laws expanding protections for election officials and workers.

  • Alabama’s HB 100 increased penalties for crimes committed against an election official, and added such a crime to the list of offenses for which a convicted individual never regains the right to vote.
  • Indiana’s SB 170 makes knowingly or intentionally interfering with or obstructing an election worker or a voter in the act of voting on Election Day or a day on which voting is permitted a Level 6 felony.

Primary elections

Lawmakers in 18 states introduced 40 bills that would have changed who may vote in at least some statewide primaries or caucuses. Only one of these bills, Louisiana’s HB 17, was adopted. That bill makes changes to Louisiana’s unique primary system and creates closed primaries for elections for Congress and several state offices, including state supreme court, beginning in 2026.

While Louisiana moves away from a general primary, two states introduced bills that would move them towards Louisiana’s current system, Georgia’s HB 595 and Rhode Island’s S 2670. Neither bill has advanced.

Bills in two states–Maryland and New Jersey–would allow voters to change their affiliation on the day of the primary, effectively creating open primaries. Neither bill has advanced.

Legislation introduced in at least six other states would create more open primaries for at least some offices, including:

Elsewhere, bills in at least five states would have created more closed primaries:

  • Alaska considered three bills that would have repealed the state’s open, top-four primary system, including HB 1. Alaska voters will consider repealing the system in a statewide ballot measure at the November general election.
  • Three bills in Iowa would have required voters to affiliate with a party at different points before an election or caucus to participate. Under current law, voters may change their affiliation at the polls on primary election day. None of these bills passed.
  • Missouri’s HB 1410 / SB 1140 would have created closed primaries in the state. The bill would require voters to change their affiliation by the 23rd Tuesday before the election to vote in a party’s primary. An unaffiliated voter would need to register and affiliate with a party by the fourth Wednesday before a primary to vote in that election.
  • South Carolina’s H 3685 would have required a voter to be registered as a member of a political party to vote in that party’s primary, unless the party decided otherwise. South Carolina has open primaries.
  • Tennessee’s HB 1616 would have stipulated that a voter may only vote in a primary election when the voter is affiliated with the party according to their voter registration. Currently, Tennessee has open primaries.

Bills in two states, Kansas and Virginia, would have permitted political parties to decide if unaffiliated voters can participate in their primary each year. Virginia has open primaries, while in Kansas, unaffiliated voters can declare an affiliation with a political party on the day of the election and vote in that party’s primary, and previously affiliated voters cannot change their affiliation on the day of the election.

Finally, legislation in two states, South Dakota and Tennessee, would have required certain types of offices be nominated in primary elections.

Voter registration

Tennessee joined a group of six other states with Republican trifectas that have adopted laws related to voter registration drives or third-party assistance for voter registration applications since 2020.

Gov. Bill Lee (R) signed HB 1955 / SB 2586 on May 1, prohibiting the pre-filling of information on a voter registration application and making it a crime for anyone convicted of a felony to handle another voter’s application. The bill also provides that the date an applicant signs a voter registration application will be assumed to be the date that a person or organization returning a voter registration application received the application. State law requires any person or organization collecting a voter registration form to deliver or mail the form to the county election commission within 15 days.

Other new laws related to voter registration include:

  • Arizona’s HB 2482 requires the county recorder to notify a voter of any change to his or her registration record within 24 hours and requires the notice to include instructions on how the voter may make revisions to their registration.
  • Florida’s H 135 directs the state’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to ensure that a person’s party affiliation is not modified in their voter registration without signature and written consent and requires the department to provide a voter with a printed receipt after verifying his or her updated registration information and providing an electronic signature.
  • New Jersey A 3690 allows pre-registered voters who are 17 year-olds to vote in a primary election if they will be 18 years old before the next general election.

Hand counting and voting equipment

Several states considered legislation related to voting equipment, including bills in 10 states that would permit or require the elimination of tabulating equipment and adopt the hand-counting of ballots.

In total, 14 bills would permit or require hand-counting, none of which have advanced. Two states with divided governments–Arizona and Kentucky–adopted laws requiring some form of hand-to- eye post-election audits. In South Dakota this year, three counties rejected local ballot measures that would have required the hand counting of ballots.

Other notable new laws related to voting equipment not mentioned elsewhere in the report includes Idaho’s S 1394 which requires new testing for voting machines and prohibits any part of the vote tally system–defined as the total combination of equipment used to define or read ballots and verify accuracy; mark, scan, and count ballots; report or produce election results; and maintain and produce any audit trail information–from being connected to the internet or receiving or transmitting data through wireless communications.

In New Hampshire, HB 154 authorizes city or town officials to use electronic ballot counting devices so long as they are approved by the state’s Ballot Law Commission. The legislation also created a requirement that electronic ballot counting devices be stored and sealed in a location specified by the secretary of state. Finally, in Louisiana, HB 962 prohibits filming or otherwise recording the preparation, inspection, testing, sealing, and locking of early voting machines or the canvass of absentee/mail-in ballots.

Absentee/mail-in ballot administration

Three states with Republican trifectas added new definitions of who may return another voter’s ballot.

  • Idaho adopted H 599 which stipulates that only election officials, postal workers, common carrier employees, a person paid by the voter, a relative of the voter or member of their household, or a caregiver may collect or deliver another voter’s voted or unvoted ballot. It also provides that collecting and delivering more than 10 absentee/mail-in ballots is a felony.
  • Mississippi’s SB 2425 adds definitions of “caregiver,” “family member,” and “household member.” These are the only individuals permitted by state law, other than election officials or postal carriers, to return another voter’s absentee ballot. Mississippi also prohibited the use of ballot drop boxes, changed where absentee/mail-in ballots are counted from the office of the circuit clerk to the county registrar’s office, and authorized anyone required to be on-call on Election Day to vote absentee through HB 1406.
  • In Louisiana, HB 476 prohibits anyone from submitting more than one marked ballot per election, with an exception for an immediate family member of a voter. Louisiana also adopted SB 155, which provides that only immediate family members or election employees may assist with more than one voter certificate required to be submitted with an absentee/ mail-in ballot. It also requires that a witness for such a certificate must be at least 18 years- old, and must provide a mailing address along with their signature.

Elsewhere in Republican trifecta activity, Alabama adopted SB 1 which bans anyone from distributing a prefilled absentee/mail-in application to another voter and prohibits a third-party from knowingly receiving a payment or gift for distributing, ordering, requesting, collecting, completing, prefilling, obtaining, or delivering a voter’s application. And, Tennessee changed the deadline to request an absentee ballot from seven to 10 days before an election through HB 2294 / SB 1967.

Out of states with Democratic trifectas, only Connecticut has adopted a significant change to absentee/mail-in ballot laws. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed HB 5498 on June 6, requiring video recording of ballot drop boxes beginning in 2025, adding a requirement that election clerks record the method by which all absentee/mail-in ballots are received and submit this information to the secretary of state, and prohibiting the distribution of more than five absentee/mail-in ballot applications to any individual more than 90 days before the start of an election.

Connecticut also adopted HB 5308 which allows voters confined in a nursing home to designate someone to deliver them an absentee/mail-in ballot. Both bills had bipartisan support. Connecticut voters will decide whether to adopt no-excuse absentee voting through a ballot measure this November.

Restoration of voting rights

Two states with Republican trifectas passed laws that more quickly return voting rights to certain individuals convicted of a felony.

In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) signed HB 1629 on May 13, restoring voting rights to people convicted of a felony after receiving a pardon or commutation of their sentence. Oklahoma already restored voting rights to people convicted of a felony after completion of their sentence, including prison time, parole and probation, but individuals who received a pardon or commutation of their sentence were still ineligible to register or vote until the completion of time prescribed for incarceration, parole, and probation under their original conviction.

Under the new law, individuals convicted of a felony regain the right to vote immediately upon receiving a pardon or a commutation reducing their sentence, including parole or probation, regardless of the sentence length or terms of their original conviction. The law also accounts for sentences stemming from a crime that has been reclassified from a felony to a misdemeanor, and allows individuals convicted of these crimes to immediately regain the right to vote when they are no longer in prison, on parole, or on probation for such an offense.

In Nebraska, LB 20 became law without the signature of Gov. Jim Pillen (R), the first bill to become law in Nebraska without a governor’s signature since 2001.

The bill changed the timeline for restoring voting rights to people convicted of a felony by removing a two-year waiting period after the completion of a sentence before rights are restored. Under the new law, voting rights are restored to an individual convicted of a felony immediately upon the completion of their sentence, including prison time, parole, and probation. The new law will take effect before the November general election.

Two other states–Minnesota and New Mexico–have adopted similar laws since 2022.

Elsewhere, Colorado, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Virginia made changes to voting rules for incarcerated eligible voters. See above for mention of new laws in Colorado and Virginia. Kentucky and Mississippi adopted laws that allow eligible voters that are incarcerated to request an absentee/ mail in ballot.

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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.

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