![The percentage of open seats on the ballot that went uncontested (only one candidate) during the 2024 election cycle. [OC] is](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/44w62gfav0qf1-1024x768.jpeg "The percentage of open seats on the ballot that went uncontested (only one candidate) during the 2024 election cycle. [OC] is")
According to a new report from BallotReady, over 70% of open seats on the ballot had only one or no candidate running. That means across tens of thousands of elected positions (state legislature, city council, school board, elected judges) voters essentially had no choice. See the report: https://organizations.ballotready.org/research/2024-uncontested-races
Posted by BallotReady
17 Comments
Hope yall are ready for a reckoning
I strongly encourage everyone to vote in every primary that is offered. While it is not better than the gerrymandering problem that this map demonstrates, it is an important tool making our representatives actually represent their constituents.
An interesting comparison graph or chart would be how many races had candidates from only one party.
Those darn coastal elites and their contested elections…
Someone should do a viz on the amount of posts on this sub about US politics
I can’t afford to run for office. I’m a federal employee and I work three part time jobs and coach youth hockey. Running for state legislator would cut my salary to $70k. Hell even running for Congress would be a pay cut after 21 years as a fed attorney. State government is even worse. If we want the best government we have to pay the people that make it work.
This is definitely a symptom of the disease that plagues our country. When the opposition doesn’t even bother running a candidate, then fix is in. Another thing I see locally for low level offices is that candidates will be unopposed but will have both parties listed as endorsing them, which is weird.
I feel like this should remove judges from the list since not every state elects judges. In Texas at least, the vast majority of the uncontested seats are judges.
There’s nothing beautiful about this data
This is a reminder that Alaska has a top 4 primary and ranked choice voting for all state and national elections. https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_interest/election_law/american-democracy/our-work/what-we-know-about-ranked-choice-voting-2025/
Vermont GOP just nominated this guy to run for half the races
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Brooke_Paige](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._Brooke_Paige)
I’m surprised these percentages are not higher – because I can’t possibly imagine who wants to go to Washington and be a politician these days. I can’t think of a more toxic work environment.
I wonder what the voter distribution would be in those districts that only had 1 candidate. I could see it being the case that some of these were uncontestable and not worth the effort of anyone to try to turn an already biased distribution of voters.
Would you run as a democrat in a region with 80% republican voters. Or focus your efforts on something else.
That being said, for smaller races, party affiliation starts to matter a lot less.
Texan; can confirm. There are an infuriating number of unopposed candidates on every ballot.
What do the colors mean? Why only three numbers for all of New England? Delaware?
Is it beautiful when they didn’t even try to apply values to the small Mid-Atlantic and New England states?
Literally sharing New Hampshire and Vermont when they’re different colors.
I signed up in my state to fill a ballot slot. Let’s see if the party gets back to me.