Politics
Ballot questions nationwide average graduate-level reading difficulty, report says
A new analysis says titles for 2026 statewide ballot measures require an average of 17 years of education to understand. Maryland enacted a law this year requiring ballot questions to use plain, clear language, but the report did not provide a separate readability score for the state.
Statewide ballot measure titles in 2026 average a reading level equivalent to 17 years of education — roughly the level of a first-year graduate student — according to a new analysis of 164 measures across 40 states.
The findings put a spotlight on how difficult ballot language can be for voters to navigate. Maryland enacted a law earlier this year requiring ballot questions to be written in plain and clear language. The analysis did not give a separate readability score for Maryland’s measures.
Ballotpedia’s report examines the titles and summaries voters see on ballots. Titles averaged 17 years of education to understand, while available summaries averaged 15 years. Many measures have no summaries, and researchers note that voters often make decisions after reading only the title.
The questions span issues including abortion, property taxes, voter identification and firearms. Readability varied sharply by state: Kentucky, Massachusetts and Tennessee had the lowest average title score, at 10 years of education, while Colorado averaged 33 years. Colorado’s title scores ranged as high as 48 years for a proposed constitutional right to hunt and fish, a rating that does not correspond to a formal education level but signals highly complex language.
“The most significant factor driving readability differences isn’t the type or topic of the ballot measure, but which state it’s in,” Ryan Byrne, managing editor of Ballotpedia’s ballots team, said in a statement.
Research has found that voters are more likely to skip ballot questions written in complex language. About 42% of U.S. adults ages 25 to 54 have a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the latest available Census Bureau data.
About half of states have passed laws intended to make ballot measure language easier to read. Arkansas, for example, requires ballot titles to be written at no more than an eighth-grade level. Despite such measures, the average readability score for statewide ballot measures since Ballotpedia began tracking them in 2017 has been about 18 years of education, equivalent to a second-year graduate student.
The report also found wide variation in title length. A Kansas measure defeated in August had a 927-word title; it would have authorized the election of state Supreme Court justices and eliminated an existing nominating commission. Alaska’s upcoming measure on restricting voting to U.S. citizens has a five-word title.
Ballotpedia calculates readability using two formulas that consider factors including syllables, words and sentences. Its report includes scores for all 164 measures that have appeared or will appear on statewide ballots this year.