Election Policy

The term electoral system can refer to the method by which elections are conducted (e.g., whether officials are elected in single-winner versus multi-winner systems) or the method by which votes are tallied to determine the outcome of an election (e.g., plurality systems, majority systems, ranked-choice voting systems, etc.). In the United States, most federal and state-level officials are elected via plurality vote in single-winner elections, although some jurisdictions (e.g., cities, school boards, etc.) employ alternative electoral systems. To learn more about electoral systems in the United States, see this article.

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Learn about the Public Policy Project on Ballotpedia.

Welcome to the Election Policy Project, where you will find information about electoral policy in the 50 states. Our coverage includes ballot access laws, state voting procedures, redistricting and more. We endeavor to highlight the various trade-offs that governments and officials must consider when establishing election policy.

For a list of all electoral policy articles on Ballotpedia see here.

Laws governing hot-button electoral issues, including early voting, absentee voting and voter identification requirements, are set by the states. Consequently, voting regulations differ significantly from state to state. To learn more about the voting laws in your state, click here

Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. All United States representatives and state legislators are elected from political divisions called districts. Redistricting is a closely contested issue, primarily due to gerrymandering, the practice of drawing district lines to favor one political party, individual, or constituency over another. To learn more about redistricting, click here.