Your quick guide to getting ready to vote
Current news to help you understand for what’s at stake in your next election
Election Day: March 5th - A giant field of candidates are all competing for the senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein (D) for over 30 years.
Election Day: November 5th - The No Excuse Absentee Voting Amendment proposes moving Connecticut from requiring an excuse to vote with an absentee ballot to not requiring an excuse.
Election Day: November 5th - The Partisan School Board Elections Amendment proposes changes to how school board elections operate in Florida.
Election Day: November 5th - The Right to Reproductive Freedom Act ensures that Maryland voters will be asked to weigh in on the topic of abortion this November.
Election Day: November 5th - The Top-Five Ranked Choice Voting Initiative proposes making ranked choice voting the norm for all Nevada elections going forward.
Election Day: November 5th - The Equal Protection of Law Amendment proposes changed language of who is granted equal rights as stated in the New York Bill of Rights.
Election Day: November 5th - The Ranked-Choice Voting for Federal and State Elections proposes making ranked choice voting the norm for all Oregon elections beginning in 2028.
Election Day: March 5th - This election, both the March primary and the November general, may be one of the most closely contested senate elections of 2024.
Reference to understand elections, democracy and why your vote matters
In many states, you do not have to wait until you turn 18 in order to participate in politics! Pre-registration is one of the ways in which 16 and 17 year olds can get ready to vote. Read more to learn how pre-registration works in your state!
Democracy relies on the premise of one person, one vote - that is until people's votes don't all hold the same weight. Read more to learn about how gerrymandering is a complex tool used by politicians to keep power and weaken democracy!
Every few years redistricting impacts where and how our communities vote... Read more to learn about the in's and out's of this critical aspect of democracy.
Ballot measures are one of the most impactful ways that voters can impact their community from the ballot box - read on to learn the in's and out's of how they work!
From the president to our city councilmembers and everything in between, our vote is a critical way to use our voice to impact our communities. We dive into the nuances of why it's important to use your voice at the ballot box!
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) passed away after representing California as the state’s senior senator for over 30 years. A record amount of spending has been poured into this election’s March 5th primary, which has over 2 dozen candidates from all over the political spectrum on the ballot.
California holds a “top-two” primary election, which means that the two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of party, will move on to the November general election. To learn more about the candidates who are running for the seat, visit our friends at Ballotpedia.
This amendment would make it so that in all future elections, anyone interested in receiving an absentee ballot may request one, regardless of what their reason for voting absentee is. Currently, Connecticut voters must have a valid excuse in order to receive an absentee ballot.
To learn more about this initiative and what will be on Connecticut’s ballot, visit Ballotpedia or contact the Connecticut Secretary of State’s office.
Amendment 1, Partisan School Board Elections Amendment, would change school board elections in the state of Florida from nonpartisan elections (which they currently are) to partisan elections beginning in 2026. This change would mean that candidates for school board positions would run and identify with a specific political party, such as democrat or republican.
According to Florida law, in order for this initiative to pass, it will need to receive a 60% vote from Florida voters.
To learn more about this initiative and what will be on Florida’s ballot, visit Ballotpedia or contact your county’s supervisor of elections.
The Right to Reproductive Freedom Act is a ballot measure that will be on Maryland’s ballots on November 5th. If passed by a majority of voters (50%+1), the measure would amend the Maryland Constitution to enshrine a right to access abortion and – which would include the language of protecting “decisions to prevent, continue, or end one’s own pregnancy.” If this measure does not pass, the state’s legislative body could pass laws that impact what access to abortion looks like in the state. Currently, abortion is legal until viability in Maryland.
To learn more about this initiative and what will be on Maryland’s ballot, visit Ballotpedia or contact your county’s board of elections.
The Top-Five Ranked Choice Voting Initiative would establish Ranked-Choice Voting in the state of Nevada. Additionally, this initiative would make it so that the top 5 vote-getting candidates, regardless of their political party, would move from the primary to the general election. Voters would then use Ranked-Choice Voting in the general election, ranking each candidate from 1-5. This initiative originally passed in 2022, but Nevada requires any constitutional amendment to be approved by voters for 2 elections in a row.
To learn more about this initiative and what will be on Nevada’s ballot, visit Ballotpedia or contact the Nevada Secretary of State’s office, and to learn more about Ranked-Choice Voting, visit our friends at FairVote.
The Equal Protection of Law Amendment is a ballot measure that will be on New York’s ballots on November 5th. If passed by a majority of voters (50%+1), the following language would be added to the New York Bill of Rights to ensure that people cannot be denied their rights due to their “ethnicity, national origin, age, and disability” or “sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” If this measure is not passed, the New York Bill of Rights would not add this langauge but would continue to have the language that rights cannot be denied due to “race, color, creed or religion.”
To learn more about this initiative and what will be on New York’s ballot, visit Ballotpedia or contact your county’s board of elections.
This amendment would establish Ranked-Choice Voting in Oregon for all state and federal elections beginning in 2028. This would include elections for candidates for president, senate, governor, and countless other positions. Ranked-Choice Voting allows voters to participate in democracy in a different way than voting for one candidate, rather they rank the candidates in order of preference.
To learn more about this initiative and what else will be on Oregon’s ballot, visit Ballotpedia or contact the Oregon Secretary of State’s office, and to learn more about Ranked-Choice Voting, visit our friends at FairVote.
The Democratic primary for the Texas senate election, taking place on March 5th, is a large field of 9 candidates all fighting for the chance to take on incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz (R) in November. Both party’s candidates will have to plan to address Texas’ position at the center of the conversation around key political issues such as immigration, abortion and climate change.
Control of the U.S. Senate will come down to a handful of close elections this November, and this race will have a massive impact on which political party holds power in 1/2 of the U.S. Congress. In recent years, Texas’ shifting voter demographics have led to some close senate races – the last time that Ted Cruz ran for re-election in 2018, the race was decided by 2.5% – the 2024 election should be no different, and every vote will count!