79% of last August’s elections were uncontested

Throughout August, Ballotpedia covered 11,320 elections in 21 states, 79% of which were uncontested.

That’s up from July when 67% of the 560 covered were uncontested.

Ballotpedia defines an uncontested election as one where the number of candidates running is less than or equal to the number of seats up for election. This analysis does not account for write-in candidates.

During August, Ballotpedia covered more than 500 elections in Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Of those, the greatest number of elections were covered in Wisconsin, where 80% of the 6,905 elections covered were uncontested. Florida had the least uncontested elections at 73% of 649 total elections.

August’s rate of uncontested elections was greater than the 58% average rate identified between 2018 and 2023.

It also brings the year-to-date rate of uncontested elections to 75%.

For comparison, since 2018, each year has had more uncontested than contested elections except for one, in 2021, when 50.4% of the elections Ballotpedia covered were contested.

Click on the link below to learn more about uncontested elections nationwide last month and in all previous months through 2024.