Ballotpedia

A Ballotpedia readability analysis found Utah's two proposed constitutional amendments this year require roughly 21 years of formal education to understand, about nine years beyond a high school diploma. Amendment A, which would remove the requirement to publish proposed amendment text in newspapers 60 days before Election Day in favor of online posting, scored lowest in readability. Amendment B, which would raise the approval threshold for tax-raising ballot initiatives to 60%, was comparatively easier to parse.

Critics argue dense legal language can leave voters uninformed and invite lawsuits over ballot wording, pointing to a 2024 case in which a judge voided a separate Utah amendment over misleading text.

A Ballotpedia analysis finds Colorado's 2024 ballot measures are the hardest to read in the nation, averaging a 33rd-grade reading level against a national average of 17th grade. Amendment 83, which would establish a constitutional right to hunt and fish, tops the list nationally at a 48th-grade reading level. In response, Amendment 85 asks voters whether future ballot questions should be capped at an eighth-grade reading level, following a model used in New York; state lawmakers separately passed a plain-language law this year. Critics, wary of the measure's backing by conservative group Advance Colorado, warn simplification could reduce transparency and invite legal challenges. Amendment 85 requires 55% approval to pass.

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has drawn support from Gov. Spencer Cox and former Gov. Gary Herbert after refusing a Justice Department request for the state's full voter registration list, including sensitive personal data. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation into Henderson over the refusal, arguing it violates federal law. Henderson's office maintains that neither state nor federal law entitles the DOJ to collect private information on citizens, and Cox has publicly criticized the investigation as improper.

The dispute comes as the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a Trump administration plan requiring the Postal Service to screen mailed ballots against a federal citizen registry before delivery, upholding an injunction against the rule. Henderson said the ruling ensures Utah's 2026 election will proceed normally. Utah relies heavily on vote-by-mail, which state officials credit with boosting turnout from among the lowest in the nation to among the highest since 2018. A recent state audit found only a small number of confirmed noncitizens among Utah's more than 2 million registered voters, underscoring officials' argument that state-run election oversight is working effectively.

In November, Chicago voters will elect all 21 members of the Chicago Board of Education, ending 30 years of mayoral control over the nation's fourth-largest school district. The board sets district vision and priorities—separate from CPS's central office under CEO Macquline King—controlling property tax decisions, budget allocation, hiring and evaluating the district CEO, approving labor contracts and charter agreements, and gathering community input through referendums.

The 21-seat board resulted from 2021 state legislation tripling membership from seven, driven by demands (led by the Chicago Teachers Union) for accountability after controversial appointed-board decisions like the 2013 mass school closures. A 2024 transition elected 10 members alongside 11 mayoral appointees; this fall's election fills all seats via 20 subdistricts, each producing one member. Newly elected members replacing appointees serve two-year terms, while those in subdistricts with 2024 winners serve four years, with terms swapping in 2028. Board members remain unpaid, a point of ongoing debate, even as they oversee a district facing a budget deficit exceeding $700 million.