1. Statewide ballot measures written at first-year graduate school reading level
2. Candidate Connection spotlight
3. Explore New Jersey elections
4. Explore Oklahoma elections

Statewide ballot measures written at first-year graduate school reading level

The average statewide ballot measure in 2020 is written at a reading grade level of 17, similar to the reading level in first-year graduate school. This year’s reading level is down from between 19 and 20 in 2018, according to Ballotpedia's annual analysis of ballot language readability for the 128 statewide measures across 34 states in 2020. 

Ballotpedia uses two formulas, the Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), to calculate scores for the titles and summaries of ballot measures. The FRE formula produces a score between a negative number and 100, with the highest score (100) representing a 5th-grade equivalent reading level and scores at or below zero representing college graduate-equivalent reading level. The FKGL formula produces a score equivalent to the estimated number of years of U.S. education required to understand a text. Click here to learn more.

Below are some of the highlights of the report.

• The average FKGL for the ballot titles (ballot questions) of all 128 statewide 2020 ballot measures was about 17.
• The average ballot title grade for all measures in a single state averaged together ranged from 10 in Rhode Island, Washington, and Wyoming to 32 in Virginia.
• In 2018, the average FKGL for ballot titles was between 19 and 20, and average state scores ranged from eight to 42.
• Ballotpedia identified 67 measures with a ballot summary that was set to appear alongside the ballot question on the ballot. The average FKGL for the ballot summaries was about 14.
• The average ballot summary grade for all measures in a single state averaged together ranged from 10 in Louisiana and Maryland to 20 in Arkansas.

Learn more

       

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Candidate Connection spotlight

Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey asks people who are running for office questions about what they stand for, what’s important to them, and what they want to do if elected. We designed it to help voters gain insights about their candidates as people and learn how each feels about various topics.

We invite all candidates with a profile on Ballotpedia to complete our survey. On Fridays, we’ve been including selected responses we’ve received this cycle to certain questions.

Here’s a look at the last three survey questions we've highlighted:

• What is something that has been a struggle in your life? 
• What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?
• Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

This week’s question is: What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder? We received 2,081 responses so far, and here are some selected ones:

I am an excellent listener and I do a lot of research. I believe knowledge is critical to making the most informed decisions and continually checking assumptions is important. I work hard to surround myself with voices that reflect a broad range of diversity- from different genders, races, religious backgrounds, sexual orientations, professional and educational experiences, socioeconomic, and national origins.

-David Wilson Brown, Democratic candidate for North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District

I have thirty years of experience in small business growing existing companies and creating new ones. This has given me the experience necessary for creating jobs and putting people back to work. As we recover from the pandemic this experience will be very much needed as our cities and towns look for ways continue investing in our schools, our roads, and our public safety officials.

-Leonard Mirra, Republican candidate for the Massachusetts House of Representatives

I believe I possess the quality of being skeptical of everything the government does and being hyper-vigilant regarding the government's abuse of power and exponential growth. I believe in limiting the current scope of government, expanding citizen's freedoms, and holding leaders accountable.

-Chris Duncan, Libertarian candidate for Texas’ 8th Congressional District

Explore New Jersey elections

Continuing in our 50 States in 25 Days series, today we’ll look at New Jersey and Oklahoma. In case you want to check out the states we’ve covered so far, here are the links:

Week One: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Texas, North Carolina, Mississippi, Illinois, Ohio, Nebraska, and Oregon

Week Two: Montana, New Mexico, Iowa, South Dakota, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, and South Carolina

Week Three: North Dakota and West Virginia, Georgia and New York, Kentucky and Virginia, Colorado and Utah

On the ballot in New Jersey

At the federal level, New Jersey voters will elect 14 presidential electors, one U.S. Senator, and 12 U.S. Representatives. At the state level, two state legislative special elections—one for the state Senate and one for the state House—are being held. Voters will also decide on three statewide ballot measures. Ballotpedia is tracking local elections taking place in Essex County, Hudson County, Jersey City, and Jersey City Public Schools.

Partisan data

• In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) defeated Donald Trump (R) 56% to 41% in New Jersey. George H.W. Bush was the last Republican to win New York in 1988.
• Two of New Jersey’s 21 counties—Gloucester and Salem Counties—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and Donald Trump (R) in 2016.
• Both of New Jersey’s U.S. Senators—Bob Menendez and Cory Booker—are Democrats.
• Democrats represent 10 of New Jersey’s U.S. House districts and Republicans represent two.
• New Jersey’s governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all Democrats, meaning it is one of 17 states with a Democratic triplex. It has held this status since 2018, when Gov. Phil Murphy (D) assumed office.
• Democrats have a 25-15 majority in the state Senate and a 52-28 majority in the state Assembly. Because the governor is a Democrat, New Jersey is one of 15 states with a Democratic trifecta. Democrats gained a trifecta in 2018 when Gov. Phil Murphy (D) assumed office.

Battleground races

Here are three battleground races in New Jersey this year:

• New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R) and Amy Kennedy (D) are running in the general election. Van Drew was first elected in 2018 as a Democrat, defeating Seth Grossman (R) 53% to 45%. In 2019, Van Drew switched his party affiliation to Republican.
• New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Andy Kim (D), David Richter (R), Martin Weber (For the People Party), and Robert Shapiro (Independent Constitution Party) are running in the general election. Kim was first elected in 2018, defeating Rep. Tom MacArthur (R) 50% to 49%. Kim's victory was the second time since 2010 the 3rd District had changed partisan control.
• New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District: Incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski (D) and Thomas Kean Jr. (R) are running in the general election. Malinowski was first elected in 2018, defeating Republican incumbent Leonard Lance 52% to 47%. Before 2018, a Republican had represented the district since 1981.

Ballot measures

• New Jersey voters will decide three statewide measures on Nov. 3.
• The Legislature referred Public Question 1, a marijuana legalization measure, to the ballot. This is the first time a state legislature has referred a legalization measure to voters. In Illinois and Vermont, the state legislatures passed bills to legalize marijuana. The other nine states (and D.C.) that have legalized marijuana did so through the ballot initiative process, in which campaigns collected signatures to place their issues before voters.
• Public Question 2 would make peacetime veterans eligible for a $250 property tax deduction.
• Public Question 3 would delay the state’s legislative redistricting process. 

Voting

• New Jersey changed its rules in 2020 to conduct its election predominantly by mail, automatically sending mail-in ballots to all active voters.
• Witnesses or notaries are not required to sign mail-in ballot return documents.
• Mail-in ballots can be returned in person or by mail. If returned in person, ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Nov. 3. If returned by mail, ballots must be postmarked on or before Nov. 3 and received by Nov. 10. Click here to check the status of your mail-in ballot.
• In the 2018 general election ballot, absentee/mail-in ballots represented 12.1% of all votes cast in New Jersey.
• In New Jersey, officials can begin counting mail-in ballots on Oct. 24
• New Jersey does not require all voters to present ID at the polls.
• In New Jersey, polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. New Jersey is in the Eastern time zone.

Explore Oklahoma elections

On the ballot in Oklahoma

At the federal level, Oklahoma voters will elect seven presidential electors, one U.S. Senator, and five U.S. Representatives. At the state level, voters will elect one corporation commissioner, 25 state Senators (24 in regular elections and one in a special election), 101 state Representatives, five state supreme court justices, and three intermediate appellate court judges. Voters will also decide on two statewide ballot measures. Ballotpedia is tracking local elections taking place in Canadian County, Cleveland County, Oklahoma County, Osage County, Tulsa County, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa.

Partisan data

• In 2016, Donald Trump (R) defeated Hillary Clinton (D) 65% to 29% in Oklahoma. Lyndon Johnson (D) was the last Democrat to win the state in a presidential election in 1964.
• Oklahoma is one of 16 states without a Pivot County. Pivot Counties voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and Donald Trump (R) in 2016.
• Both of Oklahoma’s U.S. Senators—Jim Inhofe and James Lankford—are Republicans.
• Republicans represent four of the state's U.S. House districts and Democrats represent one.
• Oklahoma’s governor, attorney general, and secretary of state are all Republicans, meaning it is one of 19 states with a Republican triplex. It has held this status since the 2010 elections.
• Republicans have a 38-9 majority in the state Senate and a 77-23 majority in the state House. Because the governor is also a Republican, Oklahoma is one of 21 states with a Republican trifecta. Republicans gained a trifecta when they won the governorship in 2010.

Battleground races

Here’s one battleground race in Oklahoma this year:

• 5th Congressional District: Incumbent Kendra Horn (D) and Stephanie Bice (R) are running for Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District. Horn was first elected to the seat in 2018, defeating Steve Russell 50/7% to 49.3%. Horn was the first Democratic to win a previously GOP district since 2000. The district is one of five nationwide represented by a Democrat that Donald Trump carried in 2016, defeating Hillary Clinton 53% to 40%.

Ballot measures

• Voters in Oklahoma will decide two statewide measures on Nov. 3.
• State Question 805 is a citizen initiative that would prohibit a convicted criminal’s record of any previous non-violent felonies from being used to enhance penalties and provide for sentence modifications for eligible persons.
• The legislature put State Question 814 on the ballot. It would decrease payments made to the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Fund from 75% to 25% of tobacco settlement revenue and redirect that money to secure federal matching funds for the state's Medicaid program. Oklahoma voters approved a Medicaid expansion initiative on June 30.

Voting

• Oklahoma changed its rules in 2020 to allow absentee/mail-in voters to submit copies of their identification in place of fulfilling the statutory notarization requirement. 
• Absentee/mail-in ballots can be returned in person or by mail. If returned in person, ballots must be received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 2. If returned by mail, ballots must be received by Nov. 3. Click here to check the status of your absentee/mail-in ballot.
• In the 2018 general election, absentee/mail-in ballots represented 5.5% of all votes cast in Oklahoma.
• Oklahoma law does not specify when officials can begin processing and counting absentee/mail-in ballots, although officials may begin processing and counting ballots "prior to Election Day with approval by the secretary of the state election board." 
• Oklahoma requires all voters to present non-photo identification at the polls. For more information about Oklahoma's voter ID requirements, click here. 
• Early voting in Oklahoma opens on Oct. 29 and closes on Oct. 31.
• In Oklahoma, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Oklahoma is in the Central time zone.

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