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Daily Brew: August 8, 2025
Welcome to the Friday, Aug. 8, Brew.
By: Briana Ryan
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Twenty-six states have some sort of state law governing school library curation policies
- A question for our readers: What book has electrified you?, by Leslie Graves, Ballotpedia Founder and CEO
- No new 2025 or 2026 ballot measure certifications in July or first week of August
Twenty-six states have some sort of state law governing school library curation policies
As students and parents across the country prepare for school to be back in session, we're looking at how state laws setting library book policies affect school board authority.
State statutes or regulations generally give school boards oversight over instructional material, including how and why books are added to school libraries. Board members often delegate those decisions to principals, libraries, or committees of librarians, teachers, and others.
In recent years, lawmakers have limited school boards' authority over library books.
States that require school boards to meet specific requirements regarding selecting and removing school library books typically fall into one of the following frameworks. Some states have adopted multiple types of these policies:
- Twenty-four states do not require local boards to develop specific school library book selection policies.
- Ten states require school boards to develop a policy for removing books, including creating a way for the public to challenge school library books.
- Eight states prohibit school boards from removing books because they represent specific ideologies or perspectives.
- Six states prohibit books if they contain specific material, including sexual content or anything deemed harmful to minors.
- Five states require school boards to establish local boards to review challenges to library books.
- Two states require school boards to allow parents to view a catalogue of books.
Here are some examples:
- Iowa requires that schools provide parents with a list of materials available to students. Each school district must also create and publish a policy for handling requests to remove materials from school libraries and keep the identities of parents who request materials be removed confidential.
- Texas authorizes school boards to establish a school library book advisory council to advise the board on acquiring, removing, or restricting school library materials. State law also prohibits books containing sexually explicit, indecent, harmful, or profane material in school libraries.
- Oregon prohibits removing library materials because they include a perspective, study, or story of any individual or group against whom discrimination is prohibited under state law.
- Nebraska requires school districts to establish a process for notifying parents about books students check out from the school library.
A version of this story appeared in our Hall Pass newsletter on Aug. 6. Hall Pass covers the conversations driving school board politics and education policy. Click here to subscribe.
Click here for more on our school board authority research, including information specific to your state.
A question for our readers: What book has electrified you?
In this column, I want to pick up the thread of a conversation that began on a recent episode of our podcast, On the Ballot, and talk about something that goes hand-in-hand with summertime: reading books.
For many people, summertime reading means diving into a book purely for entertainment, be it a mystery, romance, or comedy.
The sorts of books I want to talk about are those that have truly captured our attention, inspired us to think, ask questions, and perhaps even reshaped how we perceive and act in the world.
(Think about that for a second. I’ll come back and ask you what book affected you this way.)
Because books have such power, we have a question on our Candidate Connection Survey asking people running for office the name of their favorite book.
Their answers often reveal what their underlying political philosophy might be and how a book has influenced their thinking.
And I want to know that for our readers, too.
Part of the reason is that what and how you read in your daily life shapes how and what you read on Ballotpedia.
My hunch is that a fair share of Ballotpedia readers enjoy long-form books — books that make engaging arguments over hundreds of pages. These readers probably relish the opportunity to explore our candidates' pages, web portals, and legislation trackers in depth.
At the same time, there are likely a number of Ballotpedia readers who prefer short-form content that delivers the most important facts in a timely, concise way. These readers probably subscribe to the Daily Brew and one or more of our other newsletters.
And of course, there are probably plenty of readers who want both types of content. These readers will read in-depth books on current events or policy and appreciate the immediacy and utility of short-form writing like that found in newsletters on social media.
How long a work is, and how it’s delivered, are just part of the broader question of why people choose to read about political content in the first place — and why so many of those readers come to Ballotpedia daily.
One possible answer is that they just find politics and policy so interesting.
Political readers may find that the deeper they go into a topic — be it in their state’s political history or how elections are run across the nation — the more interesting it becomes.
Another possibility is that people read about politics and elections because they feel it's their civic duty to be an informed citizen who can responsibly participate in the democratic process.
Regardless of the sort of reader you are, we appreciate you sharing part of your day with us.
Knowing that there is a growing audience for our fact-based, unbiased political and policy coverage is genuinely inspiring.
Now back to that question I mentioned above …
What’s the first book that electrified you — that really made you think? It doesn’t have to be a deep or serious book of political analysis, philosophy, or science — just the first book you remember that really grabbed your attention.
You can reply to this email to share the book that electrified you. With your permission, we will share your responses with the wider Ballotpedia community in a future episode of our On the Ballot podcast.
No new 2025 or 2026 ballot measure certifications in July or first week of August
The 29 statewide ballot measures certified for the ballot this year equals the average for this point in the odd-year election cycles from 2011 to 2023. Fifty-five measures have been certified for 2026, 10 more than the average for even-year election cycles.
2025 ballot measures
By late May 2025, the number of certified measures was more than twice the average since 2011. That number has since dropped back in line with the historical average.
One reason for that is the timing of legislatively referred measures. This year, state legislatures placed more measures on the ballot during the spring, when most were in session.
Texas, in particular, drove that above-average number. During its 140-day regular session, the Texas Legislature referred 17 constitutional amendments to the Nov. 4 ballot—the most for a single election date in the state since 2003.
Another factor is the low number of citizen initiatives, which are usually certified during the summer months. Colorado, Maine, Ohio, and Washington are the only states that allow initiatives at odd-year elections without calling a special election.
While 101 initiatives were filed this year, two qualified for the ballot, both in Maine. Since 2011, an average of 175 initiatives were filed for odd-year ballots, with an average of five qualifying.
No initiatives are pending for the November 2025 election. While some state legislatures are still in session, none have currently proposed legislative referrals that have passed at least one chamber.
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he may call a special election in November for voters to address a proposed congressional redistricting amendment.
2026 ballot measures
For 2026, 55 measures have been certified for the ballot in 28 states. Since 2010, an average of 45 measures have been certified at this point in even-year election cycles.
No measures were certified for 2026 ballots in July or during the past two weeks.
Signature deadlines for 2025 and 2026
The final signature deadline for 2025 initiatives was Aug. 4 in Colorado, but none were submitted.
For 2026, the next signature deadline is in Mississippi, 90 days before the start of the legislative session, which falls around Oct. 4. However, Mississippi’s initiative process is currently inactive due to a court ruling regarding constitutional language.
The next active deadline for 2026 is in Massachusetts on Nov. 19.
Click here for a deep dive into the measures certified for the 2026 ballot. You can also check out certifications for the 2025 ballot here.
