Maybe you don’t often care about off year elections but this one is important. It may portend whether we survive as a country. Most of them are happening next month so it’s time for us to pay attention even though they may not be in your state.
I happen to have a big one here in California — Prop 50 which will determine whether or not we redistrict and offset Texas’s power grab. But there are many others.
Bolt.com has put together its annual cheat sheet for us:
Four contests have come to largely define the 2025 elections: the elections to lead New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City, plus California’s redistricting measure. But there’s so much else on the ballot.
Enter our annual cheat sheet to help you track this busy general election.
We’ve identified more than 180 key elections that will be decided this fall—from mayors and governors to school boards and judges—and explain why they matter.
All in all, 32 states are represented.
Three seats are at play on Pennsylvania’s supreme court, and two on Georgia’s utility commission—all in statewide races. Democrats are defending chambers in New Jersey and Virginia, but legislative seats could also flip in Minnesota, Mississippi, and Washington.
Dozens of cities are holding intriguing mayoral races, starting with Albuquerque, Detroit, Jersey City, Minneapolis, and Seattle. City councils are also at play, from Aurora to Spokane.
Ballot measures could reshape how people vote in Maine and New York. Voters will directly weigh in on criminal justice via sheriff and prosecutor races, such as in Philly and Seattle. They’ll set the course for education policy as conservatives vie to take over or retain school boards in Pennsylvania and Texas. And across the country, referendums could unlock billions in bonds and spending for parks, schools, and transit.
Scroll down to explore the races and themes that interest you below. Or simply search for key terms, like your state’s name, on your browser.
You can also jump straight to the sections of this guide that break down statewide races, key legislative battles, prosecutors, sheriffs, mayors, county executives, school boards, and city councils, plus referendums on election law, housing, transit, parks, infrastructure, labor, and criminal justice.
Do you have questions about the elections happening this fall? Share them with us on this page, and we will answer as many as possible before Election Day!
This guide is not an exhaustive list of everything that’s on the ballot; it’s our selection of key races to monitor. (That said, it does contain every race for a statewide office.) In fact, voters will fill thousands of other offices all around the country; check your city or county’s local election office for more information.
I would suggest you bookmark the page. Elections remain our one main tools to fight this battle (for now) so they’ve never been more important.
