Map Shows States That Could Change Voting Rules After November

Voters in 15 states will decide on ballot measures that could change the rules for voting in future elections.
In addition to the hotly contested presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, voters will be facing a wide array of ballot measures next month. They will vote to shape public policy on topics including abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, crime and how elections are run in their states.
There will be two types of initiatives on voters’ ballots this year regarding elections. Several states will consider moving to a ranked-choice system, while others are considering cracking down on municipalities permitting noncitizens to vote in local elections.
This map shows which states are considering changes to their voting rules.
The following states will be voting on ballot measures that would establish ranked-choice voting: Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and South Dakota.
Ranked-choice voting allows voters to “rank” candidates based on their preferred order. After all votes are counted, if no candidate reaches 50 percent, the candidate who received the lowest number of votes is eliminated. Then, votes are re-tabulated, with the votes of anyone who ranked that candidate first going to their second choice. That continues until a candidate reaches 50 percent.
Most of these states are also considering a shift to a nonpartisan primary system for state and federal races, which would have one primary for all candidates, with the top candidates, the exact number of which depending on the state, advancing to the general election.
California and Washington use nonpartisan primaries, also known as “jungle primaries.”
Maine also uses ranked-choice voting, though it employs a more traditional partisan primary system. Dozens of municipalities across the country also use ranked-choice voting in local elections.
Alaska voters will vote on an initiative that would repeal the state’s ranked-choice system. Voters in Missouri will also consider a measure that would bar the use of ranked-choice voting in the state.
Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin are voting on ballot measures that would prohibit local governments from allowing noncitizens to vote in elections.
It is illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections, but a handful of municipalities allow them to vote in local elections. Those areas include a handful of towns and cities in Maryland and Vermont, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.
Notably, they can only vote in local—not state or federal—elections. This means they will not be able to cast a ballot in the presidential race.
None of those states are considering ballot measures that would bar municipalities from letting noncitizens vote in their elections.
While noncitizens do illegally register to vote from time to time, there is no evidence of this being a widespread issue that has led to any substantial changes in electoral outcomes. States frequently remove noncitizens from their voter rolls.