School board election data analysis, 2023

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2023 school board
election data analysis
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Elections by state

Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 192 school districts in 29 states in 2023. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 5,362,958 students. This report dives into the 514 seats that were up for election in those districts, and the 986 candidates who ran to fill those seats.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Of the 986 school board candidates who ran for election in 2023, 318 were incumbents and 668 were non-incumbents.
  • The average number of candidates who ran per seat was 1.92, and 28.99% of seats were unopposed.
  • Of the incumbents who ran for re-election, 82.39% won new terms.
  • 2023 saw a lower average number of candidates per seat compared to 2022, 2021, and 2020.

    • In this report you will find:

    Comparison by year

    School board elections in 2023 saw the lowest average number of candidates run per seat out of four election cycles. An average of 1.92 candidates ran per seat in 2023 compared to 2.17 in 2022, 2.09 in 2021, and 1.96 in 2020. When looking at unopposed seats, 2023 came in with the higher percentage, 28.99%, of school seats unopposed compared to 24.81% in 2022, and 23.84% in 2021, but lower than the 35.51% in 2020.

    Elections in 2023 saw the lowest percentage of incumbents run for re-election compared to 2022, 2021, and 2020. A total of 61.87% of incumbents whose terms were up for election ran for new terms in 2023, while 68.18% ran in 2022, 64.92% ran in 2021, and 73.66% ran in 2020. This meant that elections in 2023 also had a higher percentage of open seats (38.13%) compared to 2022 (31.82%), 2021 (35.08%), and 2020 (26.34%).

    Out of the four years, 2023 had the highest incumbent win rate, 82.39% compared to 78.29% in 2022, 78.51% in 2021, and 81.72% in 2020. The table below details school board election data for 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

    School board election data, 2020-2023
    Year States School districts Seats up for election Candidates Candidates per seat Incumbents running for re-election Open seats Incumbent win rate Unopposed seats Student enrollment
    2020 28 358 1,025 2,007 1.96 73.66% 26.34% 81.72% 35.51% 11,995,632
    2021 24 180 515 1,077 2.09 64.92% 35.08% 78.51% 23.84% 4,552,272
    2022 28 372 1,169 2,535 2.17 68.18% 31.82% 78.29% 24.81% 12,278,825
    2023 29 192 514 986 1.92 61.87% 38.13% 82.39% 28.99% 5,362,958

    School board elections in 2023 saw a lower percentage of seats go to incumbents compared to 2022 and 2020, but the same percentage as 2021. In both 2023 and 2021, incumbents won 50.97% of seats up for election, while non-incumbents won 48.25% in 2023 and 49.03% in 2021. In 2022, incumbents won 53.38% of seats up for election, and non-incumbents won 46.11%. In 2020, incumbents won 60.20% of seats up for election, and non-incumbents won 38.93%. 2020, 2022, and 2023 saw some seats go to write-in candidates or stay unfilled after the election. Elections in 2021 saw all seats won by either incumbents or non-incumbents.

    The table below details the who won school board seats up for election in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.

    School board winners, 2020-2023
    Year Seats won by incumbents Seats won by non-incumbents Seats won by write-ins or that were not filled in election
    2020 60.20% 38.93% 0.88%
    2021 50.97% 49.03% 0%
    2022 53.38% 46.11% 0.51%
    2023 50.97% 48.25% 0.78%

    Overview

    Of the 29 states with school board elections covered by Ballotpedia in 2023, Texas had the most seats up for election with 173. Colorado had the second-most with 47 seats up for election. Four states—Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina—tied for the fewest seats up for election with one each, and Alaska, Arkansas, and New York had the second-fewest with two each.

    The map below shows how many seats were up for election in school districts covered by Ballotpedia in each state in 2023. Ballotpedia did not cover school board elections in the states shown in gray.

    The first table below details the total number of school board seats that were up for election in 2023 as well as how many candidates filed to run, the average number of candidates per seat, the number of incumbents who ran for re-election, how many open seats there were, and the total student enrollment in the districts that held elections. The second table details the same information by state. Click [Show] to the right to see the full list.

    2023 school board election numbers
    State School districts Seats up for election Candidates Candidates per seat Incumbents Open seats Unopposed seats Student enrollment
    Total 192 514 986 1.92 318 196 149 5,362,958


    The first table below provides details about the winners of the 2023 school board elections, including the percent of seats won by incumbents, won by non-incumbents, and won by write-ins or filled by means other than elections. The second table details the same information by state. Click [Show] to the right to see the full list.

    Winners of the 2023 school board elections
    State Seats won by incumbents Seats won by non-incumbents Seats won by write-ins or that were not filled in election
    Total 50.97% 48.25% 0.78%


    The school districts covered by Ballotpedia in 2023 had a range of student enrollments. The largest enrollments included the Houston Independent School District in Texas with 194,607 students and Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia with 178,479 students. The smallest enrollments included the Banner School District in Oklahoma with 305 students and the Crutcho Public Schools in Oklahoma with 383 students. The chart below shows the distribution of school districts by student enrollment size.

    Method of elections

    Partisan method of election

    Ballotpedia covered 192 school districts that held school board elections in 2023. The chart to the left shows how many school districts used nonpartisan elections, where no party affiliation was listed next to candidate names on the ballot, versus partisan elections, where party affiliations of the candidates—such as Democratic or Republican—were included on election ballots.

    A total of 190 school districts (98.96%) used nonpartisan elections, while 2 school districts (1.04%) used partisan elections.

    The school districts that used partisan elections were located in Louisiana and Pennsylvania with 2023 student enrollments of 1,830 and 20,105 students, respectively.

    Race stage method of election

    School districts holding elections in 2023 used up to three different race stages: primary, general, and general runoff. The chart to the left shows how many districts used the different stage types. All possible stages were included in the chart, though some of them may have been canceled due to lack of opposition.

    A majority of districts, 142 or 73.96%, used only general stages in the 2023 elections. Forty-seven (24.48%) used both primary and general stages. Three (1.56%) used general and general runoff stages.

    General runoff stages were used in school districts in Arkansas, Georgia, and Texas.

    Table of election methods by school district

    The table below shows all of the 192 school districts that held elections in 2023. It includes information on the partisan method of election and race stage method of election for each district. Click [Show] to the right to see the full list.

    Opposition

    By state

    North Carolina had the highest average number of candidates run per school board seat in 2023. The state saw 14 candidates run for three seats for an average of 4.67 candidates per seat. Louisiana saw the lowest average number of candidates run per seat. One candidate ran for one seat in that state for an average of one candidate per seat.

    When looking at unopposed seats, Louisiana took the lead with 100% of school board seats seeing only one candidate run. Fourteen states—Alaska, California, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina—had no unopposed seats in 2023.

    The map and table below detail the candidates per seat and percent of unopposed seats in each state in 2023. Ballotpedia did not cover school board elections in the states shown in gray.

    Opposition in the 2023 school board elections
    State School districts holding elections Seats up for election Candidates who ran for election Candidates per seat Percent of seats that were unopposed
    Alaska 1 2 4 2.00 0.00%
    Arkansas 1 2 3 1.50 50.00%
    California 3 3 10 3.33 0.00%
    Colorado 16 47 87 1.85 17.02%
    Georgia 2 6 12 2.00 16.67%
    Idaho 1 3 8 2.67 0.00%
    Illinois 1 4 6 1.50 0.00%
    Iowa 1 3 5 1.67 33.33%
    Kansas 5 19 36 1.89 36.84%
    Kentucky 1 1 2 2.00 0.00%
    Louisiana 1 1 1 1.00 100.00%
    Minnesota 2 7 14 2.00 0.00%
    Mississippi 1 1 2 2.00 0.00%
    Missouri 11 31 54 1.74 25.81%
    Nebraska 1 3 6 2.00 0.00%
    New Hampshire 1 14 25 1.79 21.43%
    New Jersey 2 6 17 2.83 0.00%
    New Mexico 1 3 8 2.67 0.00%
    New York 1 2 6 3.00 0.00%
    North Carolina 1 3 14 4.67 0.00%
    Ohio 20 46 83 1.80 6.52%
    Oklahoma 26 28 44 1.57 57.14%
    Oregon 8 29 41 1.41 62.07%
    Pennsylvania 1 4 5 1.25 75.00%
    South Carolina 1 1 2 2.00 00.00%
    Texas 66 173 348 2.01 34.10%
    Virginia 5 39 88 2.26 10.26%
    Washington 4 12 29 2.42 16.67%
    Wisconsin 7 21 26 1.24 66.67%

    By enrollment

    When looking at school districts by enrollment, larger districts saw a higher average number of candidates per seat compared to smaller districts. In school districts with a student enrollment of 100,001 and over, the average number of candidates per seat was 2.67, which was the highest out of 13 enrollment sizes. All districts with enrollments above 40,001 students saw an average of more than two candidates per seat, while school districts with enrollments below 40,001 all had fewer than two candidates per seat. The smallest average was 1.48 candidates per seat in school districts with enrollments between 1,001 and 5,000. The chart below details the candidates per seat in the 2023 school board elections by enrollment size.

    Incumbents

    A total of 318 school board incumbents ran for re-election in 2023, and 262 were elected to new terms, a win rate of 82.39%. Thirteen states—Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington—saw all school board incumbents who ran for re-election win, while Georgia and New York saw half of the incumbents who ran lose their re-election bids. The state of California and South Carolina had no incumbents run for re-election.

    The map below shows the incumbent win rates by state for the 2023 school board elections. Ballotpedia did not cover school board elections in the states shown in gray.

    Overall, 61.87% of incumbents whose terms were up for re-election in 2023 ran for new terms. Incumbents won 50.97% of the school board seats up for election. The table below lists incumbent details for each state that held school board elections in 2023.

    Incumbents in the 2023 school board elections
    State School districts holding elections Seats up for election Incumbents who ran for re-election Percent of incumbents who ran for re-election Seats won by incumbents Incumbent win rate Percent of seats won by incumbents
    Alaska 1 2 2 100.00% 2 100.00% 100.00%
    Arkansas 1 2 1 50.00% 1 100.00% 50.00%
    California 3 3 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0.00%
    Colorado 16 47 18 38.30% 11 61.11% 23.40%
    Georgia 2 6 5 83.33% 3 60.00% 50.00%
    Idaho 1 3 3 100.00% 3 100.00% 100.00%
    Illinois 1 4 2 50.00% 2 100.00% 50.00%
    Iowa 1 3 1 33.33% 1 100.00% 33.33%
    Kansas 5 19 10 52.63% 9 90.00% 47.37%
    Kentucky 1 1 1 100.00% 1 100.00% 100.00%
    Louisiana 1 1 1 100.00% 1 100.00% 100.00%
    Minnesota 2 7 3 42.86% 1 33.33% 14.29%
    Mississippi 1 1 1 100.00% 1 100.00% 100.00%
    Missouri 11 31 14 45.16% 13 92.86% 41.94%
    Nebraska 1 3 2 66.67% 2 100.00% 66.67%
    New Hampshire 1 14 11 78.57% 9 81.82% 64.29%
    New Jersey 2 6 4 66.67% 2 50.00% 33.33%
    New Mexico 1 3 1 33.33% 0 0.00% 0.00%
    New York 1 2 2 100.00% 1 50.00% 50.00%
    North Carolina 1 3 1 33.33% 1 100.00% 33.33%
    Ohio 20 46 30 65.22% 23 76.67% 50.00%
    Oklahoma 26 28 24 85.71% 23 95.83% 82.14%
    Oregon 8 29 16 55.17% 16 100.00% 55.17%
    Pennsylvania 1 4 1 25.00% 1 100.00% 25.00%
    South Carolina 1 1 0 0.00% 0 0.00% 0.00%
    Texas 66 173 125 72.25% 101 80.80% 58.38%
    Virginia 5 39 17 43.59% 14 82.35% 35.90%
    Washington 4 12 7 58.33% 7 100.00% 58.33%
    Wisconsin 7 21 15 71.43% 13 86.67% 61.90%

    Non-incumbents

    A total of 668 of the 986 candidates who ran in the 2023 school board elections were non-incumbents. They won 248 school board seats, 48.25% of the seats up for election. Three states—California, New Mexico, and South Carolina—saw all seats up for election go to non-incumbents, while Alaska, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi saw no non-incumbents win election.

    The map below details the percent of seats won by non-incumbents by state in the 2023 school board elections. Ballotpedia did not cover school board elections in the states shown in gray.

    Non-incumbents in 2023 were guaranteed to win 196 open seats, 38.13% of all seats up for election, as no incumbents filed to run for re-election for those seats. California and South Carolina were the only state to have all open school board seats in 2023. Six states—Alaska, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and New York—had no open seats. The table below details the number and percent of open seats in each state in 2023 as well as the non-incumbent win rates.

    Non-incumbents in the 2023 school board elections
    State School districts holding elections Seats up for election Open seats Percent of seats that were open Non-incumbents running for election Seats won by non-incumbents Non-incumbent win rate Percent of seats won by non-incumbents
    Alaska 1 2 0 0.00% 2 0 0.00% 0.00%
    Arkansas 1 2 1 50.00% 2 1 50.00% 50.00%
    California 3 3 3 100.00% 10 3 30.00% 100.00%
    Colorado 16 47 29 61.70% 69 36 52.17% 76.60%
    Georgia 2 6 1 16.67% 7 3 42.86% 50.00%
    Idaho 1 3 0 0.00% 5 0 0.00% 0.00%
    Illinois 1 4 2 50.00% 4 2 50.00% 50.00%
    Iowa 1 3 2 66.67% 4 2 50.00% 66.67%
    Kansas 5 19 9 47.37% 26 10 38.46% 52.63%
    Kentucky 1 1 0 0.00% 1 0 0.00% 0.00%
    Louisiana 1 1 0 0.00% 0 0 0.00% 0.00%
    Minnesota 2 7 4 57.14% 11 6 54.55% 85.71%
    Mississippi 1 1 0 0.00% 1 0 0.00% 0.00%
    Missouri 11 31 17 54.84% 40 16 40.00% 51.61%
    Nebraska 1 3 1 33.33% 4 1 25.00% 33.33%
    New Hampshire 1 14 3 21.43% 14 5 35.71% 35.71%
    New Jersey 2 6 2 33.33% 13 4 30.77% 66.67%
    New Mexico 1 3 2 66.67% 7 3 42.86% 100.00%
    New York 1 2 0 0.00% 4 1 25.00% 50.00%
    North Carolina 1 3 2 66.67% 13 2 15.38% 66.67%
    Ohio 20 46 16 34.78% 53 22 41.51% 47.83%
    Oklahoma 26 28 4 14.29% 20 5 25.00% 17.86%
    Oregon 8 29 13 44.83% 25 13 52.00% 44.83%
    Pennsylvania 1 4 3 75.00% 4 3 75.00% 75.00%
    South Carolina 1 1 1 100.00% 2 1 50.00% 100.00%
    Texas 66 173 48 27.75% 223 72 32.29% 41.62%
    Virginia 5 39 22 56.41% 71 25 35.21% 64.10%
    Washington 4 12 5 41.67% 22 5 22.73% 41.67%
    Wisconsin 7 21 6 28.57% 11 7 63.64% 33.33%

    Methodology

    This report includes school board elections covered by Ballotpedia in 2023. A total of 476 school districts were in Ballotpedia's coverage scope in 2023. This includes all school districts in the 100 largest cities by population and the 200 largest school districts by student enrollment. Although Ballotpedia covers all school board recalls in the United States, recall elections are not included in this report. In 2023, Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 29 states. Ballotpedia did not cover school board elections in the following 21 states:

    • Alabama
    • Arizona
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Florida
    • Hawaii
    • Indiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Montana
    • Nevada
    • North Dakota
    • Rhode Island
    • South Dakota
    • Tennessee
    • Utah
    • Vermont
    • West Virginia
    • Wyoming

    This report looks at overall numbers from the 2023 school board elections related to method of elections, opposition, incumbents, and non-incumbents. Below is a list of definitions of terms used in this report:

    • District/School district: School districts within Ballotpedia's coverage scope that held elections in 2023.
    • Seats: The seats that were up for election in the school districts within Ballotpedia's coverage scope in 2023. If an election was canceled, the seats were still counted.
    • Candidates: Individuals who completed the regular filing process required for school board elections in their state and did not withdraw or get disqualified before the election was held. Individuals were counted as candidates if they ran for part of a race, such as a primary, before withdrawing in a later stage, such as a general election. Write-in candidates who were not incumbents were not counted as candidates due to the extreme variation in election filing laws across states.
    • Incumbents: School board members who ran for re-election to a seat within the same board. Ballotpedia counts incumbents by chamber, so if a school board member ran for a different seat on the board than the one they held as of the election date, they were still counted as an incumbent. If an incumbent ran as a write-in candidate, they were counted toward the candidate total and the incumbent total. Three incumbent write-in candidates were counted in this report. Two lost their bids for re-election, and one won another term.
    • Non-incumbents: Candidates who were not members of the school board they were running to represent at the time of the election.
    • Open seats: Seats in which an incumbent did not run for re-election, which guaranteed the seat would be won by a non-incumbent.
    • Unopposed seats: Seats that had only one candidate in all stages of an election. If a candidate faced opposition in a primary and went on to a general election where they did not face opposition, the seat was not counted as unopposed. If a candidate faced opposition only from non-incumbent write-in candidates, the seat was counted as unopposed.
    • Election/Race stages: Stages required to complete an election, including: primary, primary runoff, general, and general runoff.

    See also

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