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Ballotpedia

Lifestyle

Briana Ryan

180 incumbents are term-limited this year—the fewest since 2010 for an even-numbered year

Idaho House of Representatives Louisiana Michigan House of Representatives North Dakota

Welcome to the Monday, April 1, Brew.

By: Briana Ryan

Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:

The effect of term limits on state legislative elections in 2024
Idaho decides on voters to decide on amendment prohibiting noncitizen voting
Candidate filing deadlines scheduled for the next two weeks

Impact of term limits on state legislative elections in 2024

Term limits in 12 states will affect legislative elections for districts in 12 senate and 10 house chambers. Every year since 2010, Ballotpedia has published a report looking at the state of term-limited incumbents. In 2024, 180 seats are open because incumbents are term-limited—the fewest since 2010 for an even-numbered year.

Let’s take a closer look at how term limits will affect legislative elections in 2024 and how this compares to previous years.

Term-limited legislators by state

All 16 states that use term limits for state legislators have elections this year except Louisiana, which holds state legislative elections every four years in odd-numbered years.

Nebraska’s Senate has the highest percentage of term-limited state senators this year. Of the 25 seats up for election, 13 are open due to term limits. That’s 52% of the chamber.
Montana’s House of Representatives has the highest percentage of term-limited state representatives this year. Of the 100 seats up for election, 17 are open due to term limits. That’s 17% of the chamber.
Arkansas’ Senate has the lowest percentage of term-limited state senators this year. None of the 18 senate seats up for election are open due to term limits.
Arkansas’ House of Representatives, California’s Assembly, and Michigan’s House of Representatives are tied with the lowest percentage of term-limited state representatives this year. None of the states have seats that are open due to term limits.

Democratic and Republican term-limited incumbents

Of the 180 seats term-limited incumbents hold, Democrats hold 66, Republicans hold 101, and independents hold 13.

There are 79 state senators—27 Democrats, 39 Republicans, and 13 nonpartisan—term-limited this year. Going into the November elections, Democrats have majorities in four of the 14 term-limited state senates. Republicans have majorities in nine of the 14 state senates. Nebraska’s state Senate is term-limited and officially nonpartisan.
There are 101 state representatives—39 Democrats and 62 Republicans—term-limited this year. Going into the November elections, Democrats have majorities in four of the 13 term-limited state houses. Republicans have majorities in 10 of the 13 state houses.
In even-numbered election years between 2010 and 2022, Democrats averaged 99 term-limited legislators, while Republicans averaged 148 term-limited legislators.
This year, fewer Democrats and Republicans are term-limited than in any even-numbered year since 2010. More nonpartisan incumbents are term-limited this year than in any even-numbered year since 2010 besides 2014 when 17 incumbents were term-limited.

State senators

Term limits apply to the members of 13 of the 42 state senates with elections this year. Louisiana and Michigan are the only states that limit senator’s terms and will not have a general election this year. The Arkansas Senate is up for election in 2024, and members are term-limited, but term limits do not affect any state senators this year.

State representatives

Term limits apply to the members of 13 of the 43 state houses with elections this year. Louisiana will not hold state house elections this year, and Nebraska does not have a state house. The Arkansas House of Representatives, Michigan House of Representatives, and Nevada Assembly are up for election in 2024, and members are term-limited, but term limits do not affect any state representatives this year.

History of term limits

California, Colorado, and Oklahoma were the first states to enact term limits for state legislators in 1990. North Dakota is the most recent state to limit state legislators’ terms. North Dakota voters approved term limits in 2022, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2023. This only applies to incumbents after the effective date. Of the total 7,386 legislative seats in the U.S., 2,071 (28.0%) come with a term limit. Of the 1,973 state senate seats 609, (30.9%) are limited. Of the 5,413 state house seats, 1,462 (27.0%) are limited.

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Idaho voters to decide on amendment prohibiting noncitizen voting

The Idaho Legislature certified a ballot measure for the Nov. 5 election that would add a constitutional amendment prohibiting noncitizen voting in elections.

The proposed amendment to the Idaho Constitution says, “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be a qualified elector in any election held within the state of Idaho.”

Noncitizens cannot vote or register to vote in Idaho for any state or local elections. Idaho law currently defines a qualified elector as a person who is at least 18 years old, a U.S. citizen, a resident of the state and county for at least 30 days before the next preceding election, and registered to vote.

In 1996, the U.S. Congress passed a law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections, including elections for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and presidential elections. This does not apply to elections at the state and local levels. Certain municipalities in three states—California, Maryland, and Vermont—as well as the District of Columbia, allow for noncitizens to vote in local elections.

The amendment was introduced as House Joint Resolution 5 (HJR 5) on March 5, 2024. In Idaho, constitutional amendments need to pass each legislative chamber by a two-thirds supermajority vote (66.67%) in order to be placed on the ballot. On March 11, the House passed HJR 5 63-6, with 58 Republicans and five Democrats voting for the bill, and six Democrats voting against it. On March 25, the Senate passed the amendment 28-6. All Republican senators voted “yes,” and all “no” votes were from Democratic senators.

Idaho will be the fourth state to vote on a citizenship voting requirement amendment in 2024. Voters in Iowa, Kentucky, and Wisconsin will also be deciding on constitutional amendments requiring citizenship to vote in elections.

Previously, voters in Alabama, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, and Ohio have decided on citizenship voting requirement amendments. All amendments were approved.

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Candidate filing deadlines scheduled for the next two weeks

With so many 2024 primary contests taking place, it is a great time to take a look at important upcoming filing deadlines that candidates need to be aware of to run in their state’s primary election. We last updated you on candidate filing deadlines in The Brew on March 18; now, let’s take a look at the upcoming filing deadlines over the next two weeks.

In order to get on the ballot, candidates must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines. These regulations, known as ballot access laws, determine whether and how candidates appear on an election ballot. These laws are set at the state level and apply to candidates running for state or federal offices.

Six states have upcoming candidate filing deadlines in the next two weeks. The map and bulleted list below show which states have candidate filing deadlines scheduled between April 3 and April 16, 2024.