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State of Election Administration Legislation 2025 Spring Report: Introduction
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Absentee/mail-in voting • Early voting • Electoral systems • Voting rights for convicted felons • Private funding • Primary systems • Redistricting • Voter identification |
March 20, 2025
By Ballotpedia staff
Introduction
What's in the report
This report contains early analysis and takeaways from the thousands of election-related bills in 2025 legislative sessions. It takes a look at five topics of note and provides context about policy and updates on active legislation for each topic. We selected these topics based on the attention lawmakers have given these issues in recent legislation sessions, the range of policy proposals associated with a topic, and relevant new laws or legislative updates.
The report also includes highlights from a group of states where there has been notable activity, including states where legislatures have already adjourned for the year, where election-related bills await action by a governor, and others with new election laws or legislative developments.
Finally, this report previews an analysis framework for election-related legislation that groups legislation by its effect on a particular aspect of election administration.
Where we are in legislative sessions
All 50 states will hold regular legislative sessions in 2025. As of the publication of this report, 46 state legislatures were convened in a legislative session. Two state legislatures — in Utah and Wyoming — have adjourned for the year, while the general assembly in Virginia was in recess, and just one legislature, in Louisiana, had yet to convene.
The number of new election laws so far in 2025 is slightly ahead of 2023, the last odd-year when all states held legislative sessions. Republican trifectas adopted the most bills during this period in each year from 2023-2025.
Ballotpedia has tracked 3,505 election-related bills in 2025 legislative sessions, nearing the number of bills in all of 2024 (3,971) and 2023 (3,734). Of these, Republican-sponsored legislation makes up just over half, while Democratic-sponsored bills are 37.5% and bipartisan bills are 7%. Republicans hold 55.7% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats hold 43.7%.
Areas of frequent attention include the absentee/mail-in voting process, rules related to ballot access for candidates and initiatives, and changes to voter registration and voter list maintenance procedures. Democratic and Republican lawmakers frequently pursue competing proposals related to these issues, but there are also ample examples of bipartisan agreement and cooperation. See below to learn more about developments related to these, and other topics in 2025.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:
- Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments.
- We translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language.
- And because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
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.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- About Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
- Voting laws in the United States
- Election Policy
