“No-show” elections: 10,000 open seats in 2024 had zero candidates
Introduction
In this shocking new report based exclusively on BallotReady research, we found that for over 10,000 open seats up for election across the country in 2024, zero candidates appeared on the ballot.
In some cases, no new candidates filed to run, elections were canceled, and incumbents were elected unofficially.
In many more cases, seats went unfilled. As you’ll see below, this includes thousands of local school board, city council, and elected judge seats.
In past research on this topic, including a feature in the New York Times, we found that nearly 70% of elections in 2024 across the country went uncontested. Typically, incumbents face no challengers, and voters are left with no real choice. We also found that in partisan races, Democrats challenge significantly fewer races than Republicans.
Now, we pose a new problem: no one to run — or to fill an open seat at all.
In Part One of our new report, see an analysis of this trend from the 2024 election cycle based on our data collection of elections, positions, and the candidates running (or not running) in them.
Interested in the full list of open seats that were “no shows” in 2024? Get started below.
Nearly 12% of all open seats on the ballot in 2024 had zero candidates appear on the ballot.
Stat to know: A majority of these candidate-less elections occurred in nonpartisan elections, including 8,000 general election seats and 2,700 primary seats across the year.
Thousands of school board and city council seats had no candidates on the ballot
Stat to know: In addition to the thousands of school board and city council seats that went unfilled, over 750 state trial court judge elections during the cycle had no candidates file to run. In these cases, judicial seats are typically backfilled by appointment instead — and don’t always appear on the ballot the next time around.
Small cities and counties are struggling most — but some state and regional seats had zero options too.
Stat to know: According to our research, there are 177 unique position types across the country that had zero candidates or went unfilled, mostly down-ballot. This includes positions like county sheriff, county constable, city attorney, and — in some cases — even state legislator or superior court judge.
A complex election schedule contributed to “no-show” races throughout the year
Stat to know: 6,100 open seats on November 5, 2024 alone didn’t even have a default candidate option.
