School boards in session: methods of election in 2016
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School board elections, 2016 |
A variety of election methods were used in the 2016 school board elections. Some states mandated that all school board elections be nonpartisan; others allowed candidates to run with a political party designation. Elections could also be held at large or by district.
In 2016, 93.98 percent of the largest 1,000 largest school districts with board seats up for election held nonpartisan elections, while 6.02 percent held partisan elections. The by-district election method was used more often than the at-large election method. A total of 61.51 percent of seats held by-district elections, while 38.49 percent of seats held at-large elections.
The following sections analyze the election methods used in the 2016 school board elections. The at-large and by-district election methods are compared, and the nonpartisan and partisan election methods are compared.
Methodology
In 2016, Ballotpedia covered school board elections in the top 1,000 school districts in the United States by enrollment. Of those districts, 648 held school board elections. These elections took place in 38 states. The 12 states where the largest districts by enrollment did not hold elections in 2016 were Colorado, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington. These states are not included in this report.
For more information on Ballotpedia's methodology for this report, check out the methodology in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board election analysis.
At-large vs. by-district elections
More districts used the by-district election method than the at-large election method in 2016. A total of 397 school districts held by-district elections for 1,205 seats, while 294 school districts held at-large elections for 754 seats. A total of 43 districts used both by-district and at-large elections.
A higher percentage of incumbents ran for re-election in by-district elections (72.37 percent) than at-large elections (69.63 percent). This left a smaller percentage of open seats in by-district elections (27.63 percent) compared to at-large elections (30.37 percent).
At-large elections had a higher average number of candidates running per seat and a smaller percentage of unopposed seats compared to by-district elections. With an average of 2.01 candidates running per seat, 16.45 percent of seats were unopposed in at-large elections. By-district elections attracted an average of 1.84 candidates running per seat, and a total of 45.06 percent of seats in by-district elections were unopposed.
Details on school board election statistics by election method can be found in the table below. For more information on incumbents, check out our report on incumbency success rates by election method.
Nonpartisan vs. partisan elections
School districts held more nonpartisan elections in 2016 than partisan elections. A total of 609 school districts held nonpartisan elections for 1,835 school board seats, while 39 districts held partisan elections for 124 seats. Despite the difference in the number of seats up for election, nonpartisan and partisan elections attracted nearly the same average number of candidates per seat. Nonpartisan elections had an average of 1.90 candidates run per seat, and partisan elections had an average of 1.91 candidates run per seat.
A higher percentage of incumbents ran for re-election in partisan elections compared to nonpartisan elections. A total of 79.03 percent of incumbents ran for re-election in partisan elections, which left 20.97 percent of seats open for newcomers. A total of 70.79 percent of incumbents ran for re-election in nonpartisan elections, which left 29.21 percent of seats open for newcomers.
Details on school board election statistics by the partisan nature of elections can be found in the table below. For more information on incumbents, check out our report on incumbency success rates by the partisan nature of elections.
See also
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