States Enacted 419 Election Bills in 2026, Outpacing Recent Midterm Years

Democratic trifectas enacted 38% of new election laws, up from 19% at this point last year; Republican trifectas enacted 53%, down from 70%

Middleton, Wisconsin--(Newsfile Corp. - September 3, 2026) - State legislatures have enacted 419 election-related bills across 44 states so far in 2026, according to Ballotpedia's State of Election Policy Legislation 2026 Mid-Year Report. That is 48% more than the 284 enacted at this point in 2024 and roughly double the 210 enacted by this point in 2022, the two most recent comparable even-numbered years.

Enacted bills are down 11.4% from the 473 recorded at this point in the 2025 session, when more legislatures were in regular session. Four states (Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas) do not meet in even-numbered years.

Why it matters

Elections in the United States are administered by states and thousands of local jurisdictions, within a framework of federal law. The rules governing how Americans register, vote, and have their ballots counted differ from state to state and change with every legislative session.

The partisan picture shifted

Democratic trifecta states accounted for 37.7% of bills enacted in 2026, up from 18.6% at the same point in 2025. Republican trifectas accounted for 53.2%, down from 70.2%. States with divided governments enacted 9.1%.

On introductions of election-related bills, the pattern reverses: 42.9% of bills were introduced in Democratic trifecta states, 35.6% in Republican trifecta states, and 21.5% in states with divided government.

Key highlights

• Three states enacted new state-level voting rights acts. Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey each passed state laws that mirror or expand on provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. It is the first year since Ballotpedia started tracking in which multiple states enacted new state-level voting rights acts. Virginia and Washington expanded existing laws. Twelve states now have them.
• Most-ever proof-of-citizenship enactments in a single year. Florida, Mississippi, South Dakota, and Utah enacted new documentary proof-of-citizenship requirements or expanded existing ones. Twelve states now require proof of citizenship to register in at least some cases.
• Mid-decade congressional redistricting continued. Louisiana and Tennessee enacted new maps following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Louisiana v. Callais, and Florida passed new maps after an April special session. Before 2025, only two states had redistricted mid-decade voluntarily since 1970.
• Ranked-choice voting moved in both directions. Indiana and Ohio enacted prohibitions, bringing the number of states that prohibit or restrict RCV to 19. Virginia became the first state since 2023 to expand its authorization.
• Connecticut became the 29th no-excuse absentee/mail-in voting state (meaning any eligible voter can request an absentee/mail-in ballot without giving a reason). The new law also created a cure process, allowing voters to fix problems with a returned ballot so it can still be counted. Thirteen states require an excuse, such as illness, disability, or being away from home, and eight states have all-mail voting.
• Law enforcement at polling places emerged as a legislative category. Seven states enacted 12 bills or resolutions governing the presence of law enforcement, National Guard members, or immigration authorities at or near election sites.
• Voter ID requirements held steady in legislatures the action moved to ballots. None of the 14 states without voter ID requirements advanced bills to create them, and no non-photo-ID state enacted a photo requirement. Meanwhile, six voter ID measures reached state ballots this year, the most in any single year. All six would establish or expand identification requirements in state constitutions; none would reduce them. Legislatures referred four, and two are citizen initiatives. From 2004 through 2025, voters approved 10 of the 13 voter ID measures they decided.
• States expanded the data used to check voter rolls. Six states enacted laws authorizing or requiring officials to use federal datasets, including the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program, to check the citizenship status of registered voters. Virginia enacted legislation to rejoin the Electronic Registration Information Center.

By the numbers

Ballotpedia tracked 4,632 election-related bills and resolutions as of Aug. 14, nearly as many as were introduced in all of 2025, and up from 3,635 at this point in 2024 and 2,417 in 2022. Where lawmakers focused:

• 627 voter registration bills across 44 states, which accounts for 13% of all election bills introduced.
• 320 absentee and mail-in voting bills across 40 states.
• 204 voter ID bills.
• 193 bills related to primary elections.
• 187 redistricting bills 83 in Republican trifecta states, 67 in Democratic trifecta states, and 37 in divided-government states.
• 78 ranked-choice voting bills including 47 that would authorize or require it, and 20 that would prohibit or repeal it.

Go deeper
Read the full State of Election Policy Legislation 2026 Mid-Year Report, including summaries from the 23 legislatures that adjourned since our 2026 Spring Report. The underlying data is available through Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which follows election bills across all 50 states. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are as of Aug. 14, 2026.

Elsewhere on Ballotpedia
Oklahoma voters approved State Question 846 on Aug. 25, adding a constitutional mandate that voters show proof of identity for any method of voting, while leaving the legislature's existing statutory definition of what counts as proof of identity in place. It was the first of six voter ID measures on state ballots in 2026, the most in any single year. Five remain, and voters in Arizona, California, Nevada, North Carolina, and Ohio decide them on Nov. 3. Find ballot measure summaries, endorsements, campaign finance, and polling on Ballotpedia.

About Ballotpedia Legislation Trackers
Ballotpedia's legislation trackers provide a free, centralized hub (no login or sign-up required) that makes it easy to stay on top of legislation and legislative reforms across all 50 states. Founded on Ballotpedia's hallmark principle of being neutral on the issues, but passionate about the facts, our legislation trackers are updated in real time and designed to be easily searchable. Used as a go-to resource by voters, reporters, researchers, academics, and activists, they capture any bill introduced on the given topic across all 50 state legislatures and track bill movement every step of the way.

About Ballotpedia
Ballotpedia, the encyclopedia of American politics, is the nation's most trusted source of unbiased information on politics, elections, and policy. And as voters increasingly turn to search engines and AI to learn who and what is on their ballot, those tools cite it most. Founded in 2007, Ballotpedia has grown from a small group of volunteers into an essential resource for voters, media, and researchers. A nonprofit dedicated to an educated, engaged electorate and a strong, healthy democracy, Ballotpedia's content is researched, written, and verified by professional editorial staff, and now offers free access to 710,000+ articles at Ballotpedia.org.

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