What happens in 2023 elections beyond ‘key’ states like Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky
Here’s what was at stake for different communities nationwide, according to local news sites
If you have been following coverage of this election cycle, you probably have seen headlines about races in Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.
All eyes were on those states due to their potential impact on the 2024 elections. They weren’t the only states with elections Tuesday, however.
Voters in an Idaho town voted to allow alcohol sales for the first time in nearly eight decades. A Montana town banned recreational marijuana after 36 voters cast their ballots. Seattle is set to allot nearly $1 billion for an affordable housing program. Oregon’s capital city won’t impose wage tax to mitigate its budget shortfall because voters rejected the plan.
While national politics often dominates the news cycle, local off-cycle elections, which usually yield low turnouts, can have a significant impact on people’s day-to-day lives in ways that national elections don't.
So, I went through local news sites in each state and compiled a list of interesting races, election headlines and the issues at stake for various communities — so you don’t have to. Note that not every 50 states had an election Tuesday.
Here’s what I found from 31 states:
Alaska: Conservative incumbents were leading in a right-leaning school board district race, which has faced controversy over its policies around transgender students and its decision to review 56 challenged books. (Alaska News Source, Alaska Public Media)
Arizona: Phoenix voters approved the city’s proposal for a $500 million bond to improve infrastructure for public safety departments, local parks and library projects, cultural and economic development and affordable housing. (AZ Central)
California: The spotlight has been on elections in Shasta County, where officials decided to dump its Dominion Voting Systems earlier this year and opted for a hand-count system over unproven claims of 2020 election fraud. A state law prohibits hand-counting ballots. The count attracted observers from around the state. (Record Searchlight, Los Angeles Times, KRCR)
Colorado: Early returns showed that the state will be able to put an additional $24 million into its universal preschool program, which enrolls more than 40,000 children. The funding source, from tobacco, vape and nicotine taxes, was initially approved in 2020. (Colorado Public Radio)
Connecticut: In Bridgeport, the Democratic incumbent mayor received the most votes, but a new primary will take place due to a recent court order prompted by allegations of ballot harvesting and potential fraud, raised by his Democratic opponent. In nearby Derby, a mayoral candidate facing charges related to the Jan. 6 riot lost. (CT Mirror, CT Post)
Florida: Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer secured his sixth four-year term with 72% of the votes, on path to become the city’s longest-serving mayor. Miami Beach's mayoral race heads to a runoff later this month as no candidate reached the 50% threshold. (WESH, NBC Miami)
Georgia: Five of the nine Atlanta school board seats were contested, with a central concern being the frequent turnover of superintendents. The city’s school district has seen four superintendents in the past decade. (WABE, 11 ALIVE, Capital B Atlanta)
Idaho: Middleton, a 9,000-person city west of Boise, long known as a “dry city” since 1947 voted to allow bars and restaurants to serve alcohol, with about 70% of the vote in favor of the change. (KTVB)
Indiana: Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett secured a third term. In Lawrence, Democrat Deb Whitfield won the mayoral seat, making her the city’s first Black woman mayor while Democrats prevailed in all local offices. (Indy Star, Current)
Kentucky: Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear gets four more years, defeating former President Donald Trump-endorsed candidate. President Joe Biden lost the state by 26 percentage points in 2020. (Lexington Herald-Leader, NBC News)
Louisiana: There were no elections Tuesday, but the state’s getting its first Republican governor, Jeff Landry, in eight years in the recent October election. Analysts attributed that result to low voter turnout, especially among Black voters. The Democratic nominee sought to become the first Black governor since Reconstruction. (NOLA)
Maine: Voters turned down a plan to create a publicly owned power company. Portland voters rejected a proposal to exempt certain landlords from the city’s rent control regulations. These regulations include a cap on rent increases tied to inflation and a 5% limit on increases when apartments change owners. (Portland Press Herald, Maine Public)
Maryland: Rockville voters rejected an advisory referendum to grant voting rights to non-citizens and 16-17-year-olds. In contrast, Greenbelt voters opted to allow non-citizens who meet the city’s residency requirements to participate in local elections. (WTOP, Patch)
Massachusetts: Every Boston council candidate endorsed by Mayor Michelle Wu emerged victorious. In Revere, located about five miles from downtown Boston, a candidate advocating for a moratorium on new apartments due to perceived strains on the city faced defeat. (WGBH)
Michigan: Mayoral victories by two Democratic state representatives will leave the House of Representatives evenly split (54-54) between both parties. The two seats will be filled in special elections. Some saw this outcome as a win for the Republican Party. (9and10 News, WILX)
Minnesota: St. Louis Park voters picked their first Black, first Somali and first Muslim mayor. Nadia Mohamed is also the nation’s first Somali American to ever be elected to any municipality’s top office. (MPR News, Star Tribune)
Mississippi: The Republican Party maintained its control of the state, winning the gubernatorial and all statewide races. There were reports of ballot shortages in a majority-Black county, leading to lawsuits to keep the polls open for longer. (Daily Journal, Mississippi Today)
Missouri: Kansas City is set to impose a 0.375% tax on retail sales of property or services to support the public bus system for the next decade. However, voters in Jackson County, where Kansas City is located, rejected a proposal to use sales tax revenue from out-of-state online purchases for infrastructure repairs and homelessness programs. (KCUR)
Montana: Recreational marijuana sales have been banned in a 200-person town with a decisive 30-6 vote. Meanwhile, an election monitoring group in Cascade County reported several “ballot errors,” including duplicate ballots and issues with mail-in ballots. (KTVQ, Montana Public Radio)
New Jersey: Democrats expanded control of the General Assembly and the Senate, defying several analyses. While Democrats campaigned on abortions, Republicans focused on so-called parental rights. A poll showed voters cared more about the economy, taxes and the cost of living. (NJ Spotlight News)
New Mexico: About 54% of total votes were cast before Tuesday’s polls even opened, through early voting and absentee ballots. Voters found this method more convenient and accessible. Almost all winners in the Santa Fe and Albuquerque races were publicly financed, prompting discussions about the potential expansion of such programs. (Source NM)
New York: Two statewide proposals were approved. The first removes a debt limit for small city school districts, while the second allows cities and towns to exceed their debt limits for the construction of new sewage facilities. Republicans did well in mayoral races upstate. New York City only had an 11% turnout. (New York Times, Spectrum News 1, Gothamist)
North Carolina: The state Supreme Court in April reversed voting rights for formerly incarcerated individuals, a move that prompted questions about its constitutionality and whether it’s discriminatory. A Charlotte resident who was released last year after a five and a half years sentence said: “It feels like our voices don’t matter because you have a record; you don’t have a right to talk.” (Charlotte Observer)
Ohio: Access to abortion enshrined in the state constitution. Recreational marijuana legalized. State Republican leaders vowed to push back. (Columbus Dispatch)
Oregon: Salem voters overwhelmingly rejected a controversial proposal to levy taxes on wages and self-employment earnings within the city limits. The proposed law would have cost people about $40 per month to fund emergency services amid the city’s budget shortfall. (Statesman Journal, KOIN)
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia elected its first female and first Black woman mayor, Cherelle Parker. The city’s residents also voted in the first-ever openly LGBTQ person, Rue Landau, to the city council. Democrats won big across the state. (WHYY, NBC Philadelphia)
Rhode Island: Democrat Gabe Amo will be the first Black person to represent the state in Congress after winning a Congressional special election with 64.6% of the vote. (WPRI, Providence Journal)
South Dakota: There were no elections Tuesday, but lawmakers approved (at a committee level) new voting rules for the state. These rules include a post-election audit, which would involve a hand count in 5% of a county's precincts selected at random within 15 days. (Center Square)
Texas: Of 14 constitutional amendments on the ballot, 13 passed. These amendments encompass various changes, including property tax reductions for homeowners and businesses, a $3.9 billion endowment for research universities, the establishment of broadband infrastructure to enhance internet access and pension increases for retired Texas teachers. (Texas Tribune)
Virginia: Democrats maintained control in the Senate (21-19), although they lost a seat, and gained control of the House (51-48), marking a setback for Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin. (Associated Press)
Washington: Seattle voters approved the $970 million expansion of the Seattle Housing Levy, a program that funds affordable housing development for the lowest-income residents. It has already created more than 13,000 homes. The state, however, was on course for historically low voter turnout. (Crosscut, Cascadia Advocate)