Our Work

This Report surveys current state laws affecting direct democracy, with an emphasis on those relating to voter participation and understanding. For instance, what information appears on the ballot, and who prepares it? What standards exist, if any, to ensure that ballot language is clear and impartial? When, and how, can courts step in?

State-level administrative agencies, like their federal counterparts, play a significant role in governance across the nation. Their responsibilities run the gamut—from elections to education; from public waterways to public health; from property to prisons; from taxis to taxes. Many state legislatures, for their part, have sought to retain checks on agencies’ regulatory authority beyond the ordinary legislative and oversight processes via a "legislative veto."

This Report surveys and classifies the standards that state courts around the country use to adjudicate state constitutional challenges to restrictive voting laws. This survey found that a majority of states apply a standard more rigorous than federal Anderson-Burdick review.

State constitutions reflect a powerful commitment to democracy. This website highlights state constitutional provisions across the nation that contribute to the democracy principle.

Explore the full, up-to-date text of each of the 50 state constitutions. Search within and across states, and use the “Tracking Constitutional Change” feature to see how each state’s constitution has evolved over time.

In a challenge to several restrictive voting statutes, the State Democracy Research Initiative filed an amicus brief arguing that the Montana Constitution requires the court to subject laws that burden the right to vote to close judicial scrutiny. On March 27, 2024, the Montana Supreme Court reaffirmed the state constitutional right to vote and held that the challenged laws were unconstitutional.

In recent years, litigation has routinely accompanied elections. To better understand developments in election litigation, we recently completed a survey of election-related lawsuits filed in state and federal courts in 2018, 2020, and 2022.

This year, our research shows a significant uptick of those lawsuits occurring in the state court system and challenging every step of the election process — from whether candidates or ballot initiatives qualify to appear on the ballot, to what address information must be completed in order to accept mailed ballots. It also extends to specific procedures for county clerks or poll watchers as voting occurs.

When it comes to current efforts to strip or distort the people’s ability to choose their government, state courts have both the authority and the duty to act.