Resource Election Administration Legislative Action Bulletin

July 1, 2025, Legislative Action Bulletin

By the Numbers

• In session: 12 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Introduced 2025 election-related legislation (as of June 19): 3,146
• Enacted 2025 election-related legislation (as of June 19): 292

Legislative trends

Election date consolidation

Twenty-nine states have introduced legislation this year that would consolidate local or other special election dates, either with the state's general election or a limited set of dates. The following 11 states have enacted legislation on the topic:

• Arkansas HB 1724 modifies and standardizes the dates on which school district elections in the state can be held.
• Indiana HB 1633 requires the secretary of state to analyze potential cost savings of moving municipal elections to even years.
• Kansas HB 2022 requires special elections to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March or on the same day as a general or primary election.
• Louisiana SR 154 creates a taskforce to study mechanisms to promote voter participation in the state, including recommendations for consolidation or streamlining of elections in the state.
• North Carolina HB 17 moves elections in the towns of China Grove and Faith to even-numbered years.
• Oklahoma SB 652 modifies and limits permissible dates for holding any regular or special election in the state.
• South Dakota HB 1093 specifies a set of permissible dates for a school district bond election held in the state.
• South Dakota HB 1130 requires municipal elections to be held each year on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in June or the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
• Tennessee HB 1383 provides that a local legislative body for a county with a charter form of government may require elections for the county board of education to be held at the same time and on the same election cycle as elections for members of the local legislative body for the county.
• Texas SB 914 authorizes certain cities to change the date on which they hold their general election for officers to the November uniform election date.
• Virginia SJR 253 establishes a joint subcommittee to study the consolidation and scheduling of general elections in the state.
• West Virginia SB 50 requires municipal elections to be held on the same day as statewide elections.

An overview of all 2025 election enactments

For an overview of all enacted election-related legislation so far this year, check out NCSL's new 2025 Election Enactments webpage. The page provides brief descriptions for each bill enacted so far this year and will be updated throughout the year as more bills are enacted. Major trends in enacted legislation so far this year include voter registration and list maintenance, citizenship, voter ID and bills governing candidate and political party activities.

June 1, 2025, Legislative Action Bulletin 

By the Numbers

• In session: 21 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Introduced 2025 election-related legislation: 3,124
• Enacted 2025 legislation: 242

Legislative Trends

Voter ID Updates

At least six states have enacted legislation so far this year related to voter ID requirements:

• Georgia HB 296 requires driver's licenses presented for voting to be in a physical format.
• Indiana SB 10 removes student IDs as a viable option for voting.
• Montana SB 276 implements stricter voter ID requirements for verifying provisional ballots. In Montana, if a voter does not present a valid photo ID at a polling place when voting, they will instead fill out a provisional ballot. That person then has until 5 p.m. on the day after the election to provide identification to verify their ballot. Previously, if the voter cast a provisional ballot but could not provide the voter ID or information to verify their identity, they could sign a "declaration of reasonable impediment" that they could not meet the ID requirements, and their provisional ballot would be counted upon signing that declaration. The bill removes the declaration of reasonable impediment to verify a voter's provisional ballot; they must provide a photo ID for their provisional ballot to be counted.
• Tennessee HB 1316 prohibits digital IDs from being used to vote.
• West Virginia HB 3016 requires photo ID to vote. The state previously required non-photo ID.
• Wisconsin SJR 2 does not modify voter ID requirements in the state; it instead adds the existing requirement for photo ID to vote to the state's constitution. The measure was approved by voters in April.

Additionally, at least four states have passed legislation this year requiring identification cards for citizens or non-citizens to include distinct visual markers: Montana (SB 91), South Dakota (SB 75), Tennessee (SB 6002a) and Wyoming (SB 33). On a similar note, Alabama SB 158 clarifies that driver's licenses issued to foreign nationals are not valid for voting.

A New Approach to Legislative Vacancies in Colorado

In May, Colorado enacted a bill that modifies procedures for filling legislative vacancies. Currently, legislative vacancies in the state are filled by appointment until the next general election, when the remainder of the term—if any—is filled by election. Under the new legislation, if the vacancy occurs during an odd-year, the office will be up for election in that odd-year election. The odd-year election will be open only to members of the political party of the previous legislator who vacated the seat, while even-year vacancy elections will remain open to all voters of the district.

Other Vacancy-Related Changes

Kansas SB 105 requires temporary appointees to fill U.S. Senate vacancies to be of the same political party as the vacating incumbent. West Virginia SB 586 requires appointees to fill vacancies in various offices in the state to be members of the same political party as the previous incumbent for at least one year prior to the vacancy. Previously, the appointee had to be of the same party as the vacating officeholder without a requirement of being a member for a certain period.

May 1, 2025, Legislative Action Bulletin 

By the Numbers 

• In session: 34 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 
• Introduced 2025 election-related legislation: 3,071 
• Enacted 2025 legislation: 143

Legislative Trends 

Utah moves away from all-mail voting: Utah is one of eight states that has mostly-mail voting. Beginning in 2029, that will change. Last month, Utah’s governor signed HB 300, which eliminates statewide mail voting in its current form and replaces it with a requirement for voters to opt in to receiving mail ballots starting in January 2029. Voters will be able to request to receive mail ballots on voter registration forms beginning in November 2025 and a request will remain valid for eight years. The legislation additionally requires the lieutenant governor, who is the state’s chief election official, to remove noncitizens from voter rolls using jury lists and the Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program and changes from an Election Day postmark requirement to a mail ballot receipt deadline on Election Day at 8 p.m. 

Opening primaries to unaffiliated voters: In April, New Mexico’s governor signed a bill allowing unaffiliated voters to participate in primary elections by requesting a primary ballot of a major political party. With this legislation, New Mexico joins seven other states whose primaries are open to unaffiliated voters. 

Ballot receipt deadlines: North Dakota became the third state this year to modify absentee ballot return deadlines with the enactment of HB 1165. The new North Dakota law requires the return of mail/absentee ballots in the state by the close of polls on Election Day. Previously, these ballots could be received after the election as long as they were postmarked by Election Day. 

Ranked choice voting: At the beginning of 2025, ranked choice voting was explicitly permitted in nine states and prohibited 11 states. Action on this alternate voting method has taken place mainly in the past few years, including in 2024 when voters in eight states and Washington D.C. had measures related to ranked choice voting on their ballots. In 2024 seven states passed ballot measures banning or restricting ranked choice voting or rejected measures adopting, while Washington, D.C. passed a measure enabling it. States have continued to address ranked choice voting in their 2025 legislative sessions.  

• Five states have enacted bans on ranked choice voting so far this year: Arkansas (HB 1706), Kansas (SB 6), North Dakota (HB 1297), West Virginia (SB 490) and Wyoming (HB 165). 
  
  • North Dakota’s legislation also prohibits approval voting in the state. Currently, Fargo, N.D., is one of two jurisdictions in the U.S. to conduct approval voting (the other is St. Louis, Mo.). 
• In Virginia, where ranked choice voting is permitted for elections for county board supervisors and city councils, both legislative chambers passed SB 1009, which would have clarified rules related to ranked choice voting. The governor vetoed the legislation.
• Iowa HB 954 would prohibit elections in the state from being conducted using ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting. The bill passed both chambers and was sent to the governor on April 7. 

For full details, please see NCSL election resources or the NCSL elections legislation database. 

April 1, 2025, Legislative Action Bulletin 

By the Numbers

• In session: 43 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands 
  • Louisiana begins session April 14 
  • 5 states’ sessions ended in March, and 10 more states conclude in April 
  • Continually updated session information can be found on NCSL’s 2025 Legislative Session Calendar page. 
• Introduced 2025 election-related legislation: 2,812 
• Enacted 2025 legislation: 80 

Legislative Trends 

Citizenship for voting: Verification of citizenship to vote has been one of the most prominent trends in introduced bills in 2025. Some of these bills are now making their way past the finish line. The following legislation on the topic has been enacted so far this year: 

• Florida SB 2-C (special session) makes it a third-degree felony for a person who is not a U.S. citizen to willfully vote in any election.
• Kansas HCR 5004 proposes a state constitutional amendment to clarify that only U.S. citizens are eligible to vote in the state. The measure will go to voters in November 2026. 
• South Dakota SJR 503 proposes a state constitutional amendment clarifying that a person who is not a U.S. citizen is disqualified from voting in any election in the state. The measure will go to voters in November 2026. 
• South Dakota SB 68 clarifies that an individual must be a U.S. citizen before being eligible to vote and increases penalties related to voting in an election as an unqualified voter. 
• Tennessee SB 6002 provides that IDs issued to lawful permanent residents are not valid for the purpose of voting and requires that temporary driver’s licenses or photo IDs issued to lawful permanent residents include a visually distinctive marker.
• Utah SB 300 requires the lieutenant governor to register with the Department of Homeland Security’s Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program for list maintenance purposes. Additionally, the new law requires the state to enter into an agreement with the federal courts to receive notification about people who are disqualified from jury service due to non-citizen status, again for voter list maintenance. 
• Wyoming SB 33 requires that driver’s licenses and ID cards issued to non-U.S. citizens with lawful status must state “Not U.S. citizen.” One of the purposes of the legislation is to ensure that noncitizens are not allowed to vote and that IDs used for voting are clearly designated as such, according to testimony from the Wyoming secretary of state. 
• Wyoming HB 156 requires proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and provides what constitutes valid proof of citizenship for this purpose. 
• Wyoming HB 318 relates to voter list maintenance procedures for verifying citizenship, including requiring the department of transportation to submit a monthly list of all people who have indicated a noncitizen status when obtaining or renewing any document through the department. Additionally, the bill authorizes the secretary of state to use the systemic alien verification for entitlements program, from the federal Department of Homeland Security, to verify the citizenship status of persons in the state voter registration system.

Absentee/Mail Ballot Return Deadlines: Several bills this year have provisions related to mail/absentee ballot receipt deadlines, with most of them seeking to move the deadline up, often requiring the ballots to be received by Election Day or removing provisions that permit counting ballots so long as their return envelopes are postmarked by Election Day. At least 16 states have introduced legislation that move up ballot receipt or return deadlines. 

Three bills that address ballot return deadlines have been enacted or have seen gubernatorial action:  

• Kansas SB 4 (enacted) changes the receipt deadline for absentee ballots to 7 p.m. on Election Day, instead of the existing requirement for receipt by the third day after Election Day with a postmark. 
  • The bill was initially vetoed by Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on March 24, but the legislature overrode the veto on March 25 to enact the bill.   
• Among many other things, Utah HB 300 (enacted) requires ballots to be received by the election officer by 8 p.m. on Election Day, compared to the current requirement that the ballot be postmarked before Election Day and received by noon on the day of the official canvass for the election. 
• Bucking the trend, Virginia SB 760 was passed by both chambers and then vetoed. It would have required ballots to be returned to the registrar before 5 p.m. on the third day after the election (currently the deadline is noon on the third day). The bill does not modify the ballot postmark deadline. 
  • The bill was vetoed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin March 25, but the Virginia legislature returns for a veto session on April 2, at which point they could override the veto and enact the bill. 

March 1, 2025, Legislative Action Bulletin 

• In session: 47 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 
  • Florida starts March 4 and Louisiana begins April 14. 
  • Virginia’s regular session ended Feb. 22.  
  • Five states’ legislative sessions end in March. 
• Introduced 2025 legislation: 2,282  
• Total enacted 2025 legislation: 9 

Last month’s bulletin highlighted three trending topics: absentee ballot return and processing, voter ID, and citizenship verification. These topics continued to be of interest throughout February. As of Feb. 28, 38 states have introduced bills related to absentee ballot return and processing, 35 have introduced bills related to citizenship verification in elections, and 33 states have introduced bills related to voter ID requirements.  

Other notable trends to keep an eye on:

• Election date consolidation: 22 states have introduced bills that deal with local election dates, usually moving them to coincide with general statewide elections or establishing/modifying permissible dates on which any election in the state may be held. 
• Special elections and vacancies: Maryland’s legislature this session has targeted procedures for filling legislative vacancies. Currently, legislative vacancies are filled by appointment, as is the case in 25 total states, but some legislators are looking to move to special elections to fill vacancies instead (SB 2/HB 174). At least 19 states have introduced legislation related to vacancies and/or special election procedures in state or federal offices, but most seek to modify procedures or timelines rather than change the method by which vacancies are filled. 
  
  • See NCSL’s Filling Legislative Vacancies for more background. 
• Early in-person voting: The Mississippi senate has sent a bill to the house to adopt early in-person voting in the state. Mississippi is one of three states that doesn’t offer early in-person voting (Alabama and New Hampshire are the other two). The bill (SB 2654) would allow early voting 15 days before election day. 
  • This issue was considered in the 2024 session, but it ultimately died in the House after passing the Senate. It remains to be seen whether this year’s iteration will make it past the finish line. 
• Speed of election results: The Arizona legislature passed a bill in in February (HB 2703) that would change a variety of election procedures with an eye toward speeding up election results, including no longer allowing voters to drop off their absentee ballots at polling places on Election Day. Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, vetoed the legislation passed by the Republican legislature. In response to   the veto, legislators are working on advancing a proposal with many of the same provisions from HB 2703 and would go to voters as a ballot measure in 2026.  
  • The bill and the legislative referral that may follow are indicative of a trend across many states to make adjustments that speed up the release of election results. Between ballot processing timelines, absentee ballot return deadlines and absentee ballot tallying rules, dozens of states are looking at how to ensure absentee ballots are processed and tallied both accurately and quickly. 

Feb. 1, 2025, Legislative Action Bulletin

• In session (as of Feb. 1): 45 states, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
  • Alabama starts session on Feb. 4, Florida on March 4, Louisiana on April 14, Nevada on Feb. 2 and Oklahoma on Feb. 3.
• Introduced election-related bills (as of Feb. 1): 1,366

While it remains early in states' 2025 legislative sessions, some trends are beginning to emerge.

• At least 26 states have introduced legislation related to absentee/mail ballot return or processing, including ballot receipt deadlines, who may return a ballot, when absentee ballot processing or counting may begin, and signature curing processes.
• At least 30 states have introduced bills related to citizenship verification. These include requiring documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote, clarifying list maintenance procedures related to removing noncitizens from voter rolls and proposing constitutional language to clarify that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections.
• At least 25 states have introduced bills related to voter ID, including adding a requirement to present a photo ID when voting, requiring indications of citizenship on state-issued identification cards, or which types of identification are acceptable for the purpose of voting.
  • Wisconsin's legislature passed a bill that will put a ballot measure to voters in 2026 seeking to add a constitutional provision requiring photo ID to vote. Photo ID is already required to vote in Wisconsin through statute.

NCSL's elections team compiles election-related enactments at the end of every year. There were 274 enacted bills in 2024 related to election administration. Major trends in 2024's enacted legislation included:

• Voter registration and list maintenance: 45 bills.
• Absentee and mail voting, including processing absentee ballots and applications and deadlines for return: 39 bills.
• Use of AI in elections and campaigns: 19 bills.

For more legislative action and election administration research, reach out to NCSL's elections team using the contact form on this page.