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State of Election Administration Legislation 2024 Year-End Report: State highlights
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Absentee/mail-in voting • Early voting • Electoral systems • Voting rights for convicted felons • Private funding • Primary systems • Redistricting • Voter identification |
December 12, 2024
By Ballotpedia staff
State highlights
Below are some highlights from the most active state of each trifecta status by the number of election-related bills enacted:
Tennessee (Republican trifecta)
In Tennessee, lawmakers adopted 36 bills, including changes to state voter roll maintenance laws, absentee/mail-in ballot deadlines, and new rules for voter registration drives.
- HB 835 / SB 137 requires election officials to compare the statewide voter registration database with the Department of Safety database to ensure noncitizens are not registered to vote. Officials were previously allowed, but not required, to compare the databases.
- HB 2294 / SB 1967 changes the deadline to request an absentee/mail-in ballot from seven to 10 days before an election. Tennessee requires an excuse to request an absentee ballot.
- HB 1955 / SB 2586 prohibits the pre-filling of information on a voter registration application and makes it a crime for anyone convicted of a felony to handle another voter’s application.
Tennessee legislators also adopted the Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act which requires presidential electors and alternates to vote for their party’s candidate, or otherwise be replaced as electors. Eleven other states have adopted similar laws since 2011.
Louisiana (Republican trifecta)
As a result of 2023 elections, Republicans gained trifecta control of state government in Louisiana for the first time since 2015. The new trifecta adopted 36 bills changing election laws, the second most of any state this year. Among the new laws were an overhaul to Louisiana’s majority-vote system, a ban on ranked-choice voting (RCV), a new requirement for applicants to provide proof of citizenship at the time of voter registration, and changes to the state’s voter list maintenance procedures.
- HB 17 makes changes to the unique primary system and creates closed primaries for elections for Congress and several state offices, including state supreme court, beginning in 2026.
- SB 101 bans the use of RCV and instant runoff voting in any local, state, or federal election, except for absentee voters who are overseas or in the military.
- SB 436 requires voter registration applicants to provide proof of citizenship at the time of registration.
- Two bills, HB 114 and HB 677, make changes to Louisiana’s voter list maintenance policies. HB 114 requires the Department of State to develop an address confirmation notice that includes prepaid postage, a pre-addressed return envelope, and information about the voter's rights. It also creates an annual sweep for inactive voters and describes these voters as those who have failed to engage in a voting activity for ten years, including voting, requesting an absentee ballot, updating registration, and signing a petition. HB 677 eliminates a requirement that election registrars must confirm a voter’s death with the Office of Vital Records in order to cancel their voter registration file.
- HB 506 requires organizations conducting a voter registration drive to register with the secretary of state, either directly or through a parish registrar, unless they are using a state-provided form and not collecting applicant’s personal information. It also prohibits the pre-filling of personal details on a registration application.
Georgia (Republican trifecta)
Included among Georgia’s 33 new election laws are changes to voter registration challenges, a new deadline for counting absentee/mail-in ballots, new requirements for poll workers, rules for poll observers, and a new system for posting images of voted ballots.
- SB 189 is an omnibus elections bill that removes the secretary of state from the state election board, allows election officials to remove a voter from registration rolls up to 45 days before an election, requires all absentee ballots to be counted by one hour after polls close on Election Day, and changes a definition of probable cause for a voter registration challenge. It also includes a provision allowing a political party that has obtained presidential elector ballot access in at least 20 states or territories to qualify for the general election ballot in Georgia.
- HB 1207 requires all election officials and poll workers to be U.S. citizens, grants poll watchers access to polling places, advance voting locations, tabulation centers, and absentee ballot processing locations, and stipulates that they are entitled to observe any activity conducted at these locations.
- HB 974 requires watermarks on absentee ballots, establishes a pilot program to scan and publicly post images of all voted ballots on the secretary of state’s website and expands post-election risk-limiting audit requirements.
The majority of the remaining new laws only impact election procedures in specific jurisdictions within the state, such as new election procedures for council members in a city, or changes to a county board of elections.
Virginia (Divided government)
In Virginia, lawmakers adopted 25 new laws related to voting while incarcerated, increasing protections for election officials and workers, faithful presidential electors, and new requirements for the state’s elections website.
- HB 1330 stipulates that a registered voter incarcerated for a misdemeanor, or awaiting trial related to a misdemeanor conviction, has the right to vote an absentee/mail-in ballot, and if they are incarcerated after the deadline to request a ballot, then the institution or facility in which an individual is confined must provide transportation to the appropriate polling location.
- HB 943 / SB 364 adds current and former election workers, officials, and presidential electors to the list of protected voters who may choose to provide a P.O. box in lieu of a personal address for voter registration. The bill also increases penalties for threats and intimidation made against these individuals.
- HB 111, a version of the Uniform Faithful Presidential Electors Act, requires all nominated presidential electors to be U.S. citizens, state residents and to take an oath that they will vote for their party’s candidate for U.S. President and Vice President. It also provides for a new method for replacing withdrawn or otherwise vacant presidential elector positions.
- HB 989 establishes new requirements for the state’s Department of Elections’ website, including that the website be translated into a number of languages set by standards elsewhere in state law and that the website provide a list of candidates, constitutional amendments, and statewide referenda for all elections in the state.
Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed 13 election-related bills passed by the Democratic-controlled legislature, more than any other governor this year. See here for more about some of those vetoes.
Arizona (Divided government)
In Arizona, 10 new laws change the deadlines for certifying elections, modify rules for hand-counted post-election audits, and add new notification requirements if a voter’s registration is changed.
- HB 2785 moved up the statewide primary date by one week in response to changing federal deadlines and institutes a new schedule for canvassing boards to meet and certify election results depending on the type and level of the election. It also requires canvassing boards to meet no later than the third Thursday after a general election and no later than the second Monday after a primary election. Previously, canvassing boards were required to canvass and certify election results 6-20 days after an election. The bill also shortens the amount of time an election official has to verify a provisional ballot to five days (instead of 10) after a federal-level election and three days (instead of five) for other elections.
- SB 1342 creates new rules for hand counts required by the state’s post-election audit law. The new rules provide that political party designees will be compensated to perform a hand count under the supervision of the county election officer and prohibit 75% of those conducting the hand count from being members of the same political party.
- HB 2484 requires county election officials to notify a voter of any change to his or her registration record within 24 hours, including by text or email if possible. The notice must include instructions on how a voter can update their registration or contact the county official if the voter did not request or authorize any change.
Governor Katie Hobbs (D) also vetoed seven bills passed by the Republican controlled legislature. One of those bills would have made school board elections partisan, and another would have banned election officials from sending voter registration cards to anyone whose mailing address is not in the state. As of December 2024, school board elections were always partisan in four states, five states allowed school districts to choose whether their elections were partisan, and the remaining states never had partisan school board elections.
Arizona voters also rejected two conflicting election policy ballot measures at the November general election, one that would have required partisan primaries, and another that would have eliminated them and established ranked-choice voting for general elections. Read more about those measures here.
Rhode Island (Democratic trifecta)
Rhode Island adopted 20 new election laws, including changes to unaffiliated voting in partisan primaries, a tweak to expand post-election audits, and requirements for the use of plain language in ballot questions. Lawmakers also passed laws establishing new ways to verify and challenge candidate nominating signatures and changing requirements related to drop boxes.
- H 7662 allows unaffiliated voters to vote in a partisan primary without affiliating with that party. Affiliated voters still need to change their party before the voter registration deadline to vote in a different party’s primary.
- H 7849 moves the date on which election officials establish ballot drop boxes from 20 days before an election to 35 days and requires officials to lock drop boxes at the close of polls on Election Day.
- H 7476 establishes that ballot questions must be phrased at an eighth-grade reading level.
- H 7328 expands the state’s risk-limiting post-election audit to include “state” instead of “statewide” elections, thereby expanding their use to general assembly elections.
- H 7664 makes several changes to the nomination process for candidates, including requiring an affidavit for signature gatherers, allowing any representative of a campaign to challenge nomination signatures, and establishing a new process for reporting and investigating fraud in nomination papers for federal, local, and state offices.
Maryland (Democratic trifecta)
In Maryland, lawmakers passed 10 bills that expanded protections for election officials and created a portal intended to address election misinformation. They also adopted a new law modifying post-election canvassing procedures, including a process to investigate election errors and new rules to handle dissent among boards of canvassers.
- HB 585 / SB 480, the Protecting Election Officials Act, makes threatening an election official or their immediate family a crime punishable by up to three years in prison. The act also expands these and existing protections to the counsel to the state board of elections, counsel to local boards of election, and their families.
- HB 333 defines election disinformation as “knowingly and deliberately disseminated” and misinformation as “incorrect or misleading information regarding the time, place, or manner of an election, election results, or voting rights in the state.” It requires the state board of elections to maintain a portal for the public to submit instances of election dis- and misinformation and requires the board to review submissions and issue corrective information as necessary or refer cases to the state prosecutor.
- HB 471 requires the board of state canvassers to convene within 30 days (instead of 35) of an election. It also requires the state administrator of elections to investigate an error in election documents or records produced during an election and adds a provision that directs a dissenting member of a canvassing board to prepare and file a written statement with the local election board explaining their dissent.
Colorado (Democratic trifecta)
In Colorado, legislators adopted an omnibus bill that changes a number of areas of election law and lays out new requirements related to the adoption of ranked-choice voting (RCV). The state also passed 5 other bills into law related to voting in detention centers, presidential electors, and firearms near polling locations and election centers.
- SB 210 lowered the age for voter preregistration from 16 to 15 years old and eliminated the ability for 17 year olds to vote in primary elections if they will be 18 at the time of the general election. It also requires drop boxes on college campuses with at least 1,000 students (instead of 2,000), and made various other technical changes that supporters of the bill described as a clean up of state election laws. The bill also requires that 12 counties of varying sizes and demographic profiles adopt and use RCV before it can be used for statewide elections. In some instances, the bill requires jurisdictions with a certain number of voters “who speak English less than very well” to adopt RCV before it may be adopted elsewhere. For more on the RCV portion of the bill, see here.
- SB 72 provides access to in-person early voting for eligible voters in county jails for at least six hours on one business day 4-15 days before Election Day. The new law also requires sheriffs to designate at least one person to facilitate voting at each county jail or detention center and provides for training and technical assistance for this designee.
- HB 1150 addresses several aspects of the presidential elector process and adds criminal penalties for falsely submitting a list of presidential electors, knowingly voting as a false presidential elector, and knowingly voting as a presidential elector for candidates who did not receive the highest number of votes.
- SB 131 modifies rules for firearms in and near polling and tabulation locations. The new law prohibits the possession of a firearm within 100 feet of a voting, ballot counting, or ballot drop off location, instead of only prohibiting openly carried firearms at these locations. The legislation made an exception for property owners whose property is within 100 feet of these locations.
At the November general election, Colorado voters rejected Proposition 131, which would have established top-four primary elections and RCV for the offices of U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, Colorado University Board of Regents, state board of education, and state legislature.
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About the authors
Joe Greaney is a staff writer on Ballotpedia's Marquee Team.
Ballotpedia Editor in Chief Geoff Pallay reviewed the report and provided feedback, as did Managing Editor Cory Eucalitto and Marquee Team Lead Janie Valentine.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- About Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- Voting laws in the United States
- Election Policy
