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Partisan elections
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Partisan elections are elections for which the ballot contains labels showing any political parties with which candidates are affiliated or which candidates are nominated. Depending on the state and local election rules governing each office and governing political parties, party labels can appear on the ballot for candidates nominated by a specific party through a party primary, caucus, or convention or they can appear on the ballot as a political party designation selected by a candidate without being officially nominated by a political party.
Nonpartisan elections are elections in which all of the candidates for an office are listed on the ballot without party labels identifying any political parties with which the candidates are affiliated or by which the candidates are nominated.
Most elected federal and state offices are elected in partisan elections, which means party labels for candidates affiliated with a political party are displayed on the ballot. There are municipal, county, and district offices elected through partisan elections as well.
Nonpartisan elections without party labels are common among municipal and county offices. In addition, over 90% of school boards are elected without any party labels on the ballot describing the candidates. Nonpartisan elections for judges are also common.[1][2]
Partisan and nonpartisan elections in the U.S.
Federal and state elections
Most elected federal and state offices are elected in partisan elections, which means party labels for candidates affiliated with a political party are displayed on the ballot.
The state of Nebraska is the only state to elect its state legislators through nonpartisan elections. The Nebraska State Senate is unicameral. To learn more about partisan affiliation in the Nebraska State Senate, see this article.[3]
School board elections
Across the country, there are 13,187 public school districts governed by a total of 83,183 school board members. They are elected directly by voters except for a small handful of exceptions who are appointed.
As of July 2025, over 85% of school boards are elected without any party labels on the ballot identifying the candidates' affiliation with a political party. State laws in five states containing 1,169 school districts (9%) provide for party labels on the ballot for school board elections. In five states containing 554 districts (4%), state laws effectively provide for both the option of including or not including party labels on the ballot for school board elections. In the remaining states with elected local school board members, state law provides for school board elections without the inclusion of party labels on the ballot.
Elections in which party labels are included on the ballot are referred to as partisan elections. Elections in which party labels are not included on the ballot are referred to as nonpartisan elections.
The state laws of 40 states containing 11,472 school districts provide for school board elections without party labels identifying the affiliation of candidates listed on the ballot (nonpartisan elections).
State laws of five states provide for school board elections with party labels identifying the affiliation of candidates listed on the ballot (partisan elections):
State laws of five states containing 554 school districts effectively provide both options depending on the district. The details and the number of districts that fall in each category vary among the states. Those five states are:
Judicial elections
- See also: Nonpartisan election of judges
As of April 2025, 13 states used nonpartisan elections at the state supreme court level, and 19 states used this selection method for at least one type of court below the supreme court level.
See also
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School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
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Footnotes
