State lawmakers introduced unprecedented numbers of election bills in the last several years. In 2024, that pace has slowed—but only by a bit. As of Thursday last week, NCSL is tracking 2,017 bills introduced this year related to election administration, with 218 enactments so far. There were 2,917 bills introduced and 327 enacted in 2023.
New (or surging) this year: AI, ranked choice voting (mainly prohibiting it), presidential electors and how to keep voter lists clean—particularly to ensure the removal of noncitizens who may inadvertently get on voter rolls. Continuing trends: absentee and mail voting; candidates and party-related issues; primaries and election security (including for people, physical spaces, equipment and in the cybersphere). Read on for more on these topics or go to NCSL’s 2024 Election Enactments webpage.
Absentee/Mail Voting
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic turned so much topsy-turvy, many states changed rules regarding absentee and mail voting. These often-temporary tweaks addressed things such as deadlines, dates when ballot processing can begin and allowing voters to fix, or “cure,” a returned ballot that was submitted with a missing or mismatched signature. From 2021 to 2023, there was a rash of legislation on the same topics, some making 2020’s tweaks permanent and others fine-tuning the many decision points related to absentee/mail voting, such as who can return a ballot besides the voter. In 2024, absentee/mail voting continues to be of legislative interest, although less than in the previous three years: This year, 17 states amended absentee/mail voting processes, half the number of enactments on this topic in 2021. Arizona completely revised its absentee voting procedures. Other highlights: Oklahoma added the U.S. Space Force to the state’s Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act; Tennessee changed the date when an application to vote absentee is due to 10 days before the election from seven days; and Georgia now requires absentee ballots to be tabulated and results reported no later than 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Artificial Intelligence
Legislative interest in the use of artificial intelligence in political campaigns has risen dramatically in the last two years. AI enactments typically require political advertisements to include disclaimers stating that the ad was created using AI or that it has been digitally altered, although a handful of states have prohibited AI’s use in campaigns in the run-up to an election. California and Texas were the first states to enact legislation, doing so in 2019. California took the disclosure route and Texas chose a time-based prohibition. In 2023, three states enacted legislation on AI in campaigns, and 12 more have done so in 2024, bringing the total number of states with laws on AI in elections to 17.
Candidates and Political Parties
Any election year, but particularly a presidential election year, brings legislative attention to how candidates get on the ballot. With 5,793 of the nation’s 7,386 legislators up for election this year, the process of securing a political party’s nomination and getting on the ballot is a top priority. Arizona passed a bill requiring the secretary of state to provide a system for eligible voters to sign candidate nomination petitions online; West Virginia prohibited candidates who fail to get one party’s nomination from running for the same office under another party’s banner; and Tennessee required that candidates for county clerk must have lived in the county for at least a year. To see the other two dozen enactments on candidates and parties, visit the 2024 Election Enactments webpage.
Elections Security and Voting Technology
Security for elections, including physical security for polling locations and voting equipment, cybersecurity and security for election workers, continues to be a key topic in legislatures. Georgia prohibited the use of QR codes for tabulating ballots and required the use of watermarks on ballots. New Mexico joined 13 other states in prohibiting the possession of firearms at polling places, and Washington required county election officials to install full-time cybersecurity software and notify the secretary of state of any breaches or intrusions. Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., passed bills on protecting election officials and poll workers, making 18 states that have enacted similar laws since 2020.
Electoral College
The federal Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act became law in late 2022, clarifying language in the original Electoral Count Act of 1887 on matters including the role of the vice president and how slates of electors are to be transmitted from states to Congress. In response, legislators in many states used recent legislative sessions to ensure their state’s laws are aligned with the new federal law. These include specifying the timing for presidential electors to assemble; who is the person designated to issue a certificate of ascertainment for the presidential electors and how the certificate is transmitted; and what happens if presidential electors do not cast their ballots for their pledged candidate. Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii and Oregon refined the time and/or location for the meeting of presidential electors, and Colorado, Tennessee and Virginia amended laws that bind presidential electors’ votes to their pledged candidates. These laws are known as faithless elector laws.
Primaries
Parties in all 50 states use primary elections to select some or all of their nominees for state offices. While parties are private entities, state legislatures set policy on who may participate in their primaries, on a scale from “closed” to “open.” Closed primary states require voters to register as members of a party to vote in that party’s primary, while open primary states lack partisan voter registration and permit any voter to choose any party ballot they wish. Most states fall in between these poles, including partially closed (letting parties choose whether to allow unaffiliated voters to participate in a primary); open to unaffiliated voters (mandating that parties allow unaffiliated voters to participate in a party primary); and partially open (allowing people to choose any party’s primary ballot but clarifying that pulling said ballot registers the person as a member of that party). While there was evidence that several “open” states were considering closing their primaries this year, only Louisiana, which has traditionally used a multiparty primary (where candidates of all parties ran on one ballot), did so. The new party primaries will be used to select party nominees for some offices, including congressional seats and the state Supreme Court.
Ranked Choice Voting
Ranked choice voting, or RCV, allows voters to “rank” candidates in order of preference rather than just choose their favorite. If no candidate receives 50% of the first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the second choice on those ballots is counted. Several dozen municipalities use RCV to elect local candidates, but Alaska and Maine are the only states that use RCV statewide. This year, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma prohibited the use of RCV for any election. Voters in four states will determine the use of RCV for future elections in November—Alaska to return to its previous system of winner-take-all elections, and Nevada, Oregon and South Dakota will all vote on adopting some version of RCV. For more on these measures, visit NCSL’s Statewide Ballot Measures Database.
Voter Registration and List Maintenance
A core aspect of election administration is ensuring that voter lists are accurate and up to date, so it’s no surprise that legislatures focused on list maintenance again this year. Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee added procedures for identifying potential noncitizens on their voter rolls. Indiana now requires election officials to compare information in the statewide voter registration database with the bureau of motor vehicles list of temporary credentials issued to those who are not U.S. citizens. Officials then send a notice to the voter requesting proof of citizenship; if it is not provided, the registration is cancelled. Kentucky required the removal of the name of any person who has been excused from jury duty for not being a U.S. citizen. The same law also requires state election officials to present an activity report to the Legislative Research Commission on voter registration cleanup activities, including any reported anomalies. Tennessee now requires the coordinator of elections to compare the statewide voter registration database with other data sources to ensure noncitizens are not on the rolls.
Staying with the clean voter rolls theme, Puerto Rico required registration boards to send monthly reports of all updates to voter records. Arizona required county election officials to notify voters of changes made to their voter registration records within 24 hours of the change. Tennessee required third-party voter registration organizations to register with the state and set standards for their activities. And South Dakota allowed the secretary of state to share information from the statewide voter registration file with any other state to identify duplicate registrations—while setting privacy standards.
And More
Legislatures also enacted bills on voter ID, in-person voting and polling places, election costs and funding, crimes and law enforcement, post-election processes, voter assistance and more. Learn more about this year’s election enactments.
Katy Owens Hubler is a project manager in NCSL’s Elections and Redistricting Program.