On the Ballot

On this episode: Democratic Governor Tony Evers recently proposed adding a citizen initiative process to the state’s constitution. It’s been more than thirty years since the last state adopted the citizen initiative process in the 90s, so it’s unlikely that Wisconsin or any other state will do so this year. But Evers bringing it up is noteworthy on its own, considering how rare it is — and we thou...

On this episode of our ‘Explained’ series: Interstate compacts are little-known yet powerful agreements that allow states to work together on critical issues like healthcare, occupational licensing, and transportation. These agreements help states streamline policies, reduce bureaucratic barriers, and even improve access to essential services. But how do they work, and why are they becoming more p...

On this episode: With Incumbent Justice Ann Walsh Bradley retiring, the stakes in Wisconsin's April 1st election  to select her successor couldn’t be higher — determining whether the court maintains its current liberal majority or shifts to a conservative 4-3 split.  The candidates, former Republican Attorney General and current circuit court judge Brad Schimel, and Dane County circuit court j...

On this episode: Did you know elections can sometimes get a "do-over"? From voter mistakes and administrative errors to natural disasters and electoral fraud, redo elections can happen for all kinds of reasons and work differently around the country. Ballotpedia’s Doug Kronaizl walks us through recent examples in Georgia, Indiana, and California, breaking down the legal and logistical ch...

On this episode: In some analyses, 2024 was called the year of the challenger, with a variety of global elections seeing prominent leaders, incumbents, or establishment figures lose. Here at  Ballotpedia, we talk often about state legislative elections, which shape governance at the most fundamental level. And in 2024, state legislative elections saw much of what we have seen over the past few dec...

On this episode: There are only two gubernatorial offices on the ballot in 2025, in New Jersey and Virginia.  The incumbents in both races—Phil Murphy (D) in New Jersey and Glenn Youngkin (R) in Virginia—are term-limited, meaning that both states will have new Governors at the end of the year.  We’re still a long way out from those elections, but since they’re the only two on the calendar for 2025...

On this episode: Not every law or amendment makes it to the ballot overnight. In Virginia, proposed constitutional amendments must pass through two legislative sessions—with an election in-between—before voters have their say. This year, lawmakers are considering measures on abortion rights, same-sex marriage, and restoring voting rights for individuals with felony convictions, but their fate migh...

On this episode: Dr. Elaine Kamarck helped lead the National Performance Review in the 90s as part of the Clinton administration. It was nicknamed REGO for “reinventing government,” and focused on cutting wasteful spending and inefficiencies in federal programs, workforce reductions, and decentralizing authority…sound familiar?  The National Performance Review represents one of the most recent ven...

On this episode: The budget reconciliation process occurs if Congress passes a budget resolution for the fiscal year that gives reconciliation instructions. It’s used to override the filibuster and expedite the approval of a package of legislation in Congress that changes spending, revenues, or the debt limit — making it an ideal tool for the Trump administration to advance their agenda. These bil...

On this episode: Every year, state lawmakers consider thousands of bills that would change how Americans vote and how officials administer elections. Most states — 44  — have already started their legislatives sessions and are hard at work crafting legislation. Over the past 3 years, 35% of ALL election administration bills were introduced by mid-February. We thought it’d be a great time to previe...

On this episode: When the Congressional Review Act was signed into law in 1996 by Bill Clinton, it gave Congress a way to hit pause on federal agency rules they believe have gone too far or otherwise aren’t achieving the desired effect. Here’s how it works: Congress gets a window of time to review any new rule, where both chambers have a chance to pass what’s called a ‘joint resolution of disappro...

On this episode: Donald Trump returns to the White House next week hoping to hit the ground running, eager to enact his agenda as quickly as possible. A primary tool in his arsenal are executive orders , which enable him to change course on policy simply with  a stroke of his pen. Estimates of the volume of executive action we can expect from Trump have been all over the place, with some claiming...

On this episode: This number might be a little hard to believe, but did you know that there are more than 500,000 elected officials in the United States? Less than 1% of them are at the federal level…which means that there are a TON of local officials being elected every year, and 2025 will be no different. Learn more about our local election work as we expand our coverage to 26 states  Learn more...

On this episode: If you live in one of the 26 states where citizens can put laws directly on the ballot, you’ve probably seen ballot measures pop up during elections—deciding everything from property taxes and abortion rights to marijuana legalization and ranked-choice voting. But have you ever wondered where this process came from? Or how it became such a powerful — and sometimes controversial —...

On this episode: It might come as a bit of a surprise that between 2018 and 2023, over half of the elections that took place were uncontested, meaning that there was one, or even zero, candidates vying for seats in those races. That figure this year was closer to 70% – the highest we’ve seen since we began collecting data on local elections in 2018. Winning an election is obviously a whole lot eas...

On this episode: As incoming president Donald Trump looks to staff his incoming administration, several of his top appointments are leaving behind active roles as elected representatives – like Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, and Elise Stefanik, a member of the House from New York.  Here’s what happens to those seats, and how procedures differ among different lev...

On this episode: Split-ticket voting, also known as ticket splitting, occurs when voters choose candidates from different parties in a single election — voting Republican Donald Trump for president and Democratic congressional candidates, for example. In today’s partisan political landscape, many outlets and pundits did not expect there to be significant levels of split ticket voting this cycle. T...

On this episode: Political recounts typically occur in the event of a close margin of victory, following accusations of election fraud, or due to the possibility of administrative errors. They can either occur automatically and be requested by a candidate or voters at every level of government, from local offices up to presidential elections. And, when they happen, recalls can cause a whole lot of...

On this episode: As a result of the 2024 elections, two Democratic trifectas were lost. Republicans gained a majority in the Michigan House and at least a tie in the Minnesota House, breaking the Democratic trifectas in those states. Republicans neither gained nor lost trifectas. As a result, there were 23 Republican trifectas, 15 Democratic trifectas, and 12 divided governments after the 2024 ele...

On this episode: California voters recalled both Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price on Nov. 5. The recalls are first-of-their-kind, with Thao being the first Oakland mayor and Price the first Alameda County district attorney to be recalled. Joshua Spivak — author of the Recall Elections Blog and Senior research fellow at Berkeley Law's California Constitutio...

On this episode: Major networks and outlets began calling the House of Representatives for Republicans throughout the day on Wednesday, and AP officially did late in the evening. By retaining control of the lower chamber of congress, Republicans now are poised to enter the new year with a federal trifecta.  Erin Covey — who leads The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter’s coverage of the House — ...

On this episode: Veteran pollster and political analyst Scott Rasmussen was one of the first experts to call a victory for president elect Donald Trump on the night of November 5th. Hear his thoughts on the accuracy of polling this cycle; the difference between polling and surveys (and why that matters); why Trump’s sweep of the swing states doesn’t equate to a landslide; the role A.I. might play...

On this episode: Pivot Counties are the 206 counties nationwide we identified as having voted for Barack Obama (D) in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Media and political observers sometimes refer to these counties as swing counties. Ballotpedia defined Pivot Counties Trump won in 2020 as Retained Pivot Counties and those Joe Biden (D) won as Boomerang Pivot C...

On this episode: Voters in 41 states decided on 146 statewide ballot measures on November 5th, and as of the 7th at 12:00 PM ET, 87 (59.6%) statewide ballot measures were approved, 46 (31.5%) were defeated, and 13 (8.9%) remained uncalled. Ryan Byrne — the head of our ballot measures team — joins the show to share what we know so far, how the major trends played out, and what it might all mean for...

On this episode: Former president Donald Trump has won the race for the White House with Vice President Kamala Harris conceding earlier this afternoon. Republicans have won control of the Senate, while it still may be some time until we know the outcome of the House. With results rolling in, we take a closer look at what we know about state-level elections thus far, including state legislative cha...