Ballot measure readability scores, 2024
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Ballotpedia's readability report offers insights into the educational level voters might need to comprehend statewide ballot measure titles and summaries.
Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), the report measures how accessible these texts are based on objective factors, such as the number of syllables, words, and sentences in a text. It's important to note that these scores focus solely on language structure, not the complexity of the ideas themselves.
In 2024, 159 statewide ballot measures were certified for the ballot in 41 states for elections in 2024. The average FKGL for ballot titles, also known as ballot questions, was 16, which correlates with a bachelor's degree. The average FRE for ballot titles was 20, which also corresponds with college graduate.
See the sections below for further information on the following topics:
- Analysis by measure
- Analysis by state
- Analysis by author
- Analysis by type
- Analysis by topic
- Historical comparison
- Readability index details
- 2024 readability scores
Analysis
Measures
In 2024, 159 ballot measures were certified for elections. The following individual ballot measures had the highest or lowest scores or word counts:
- The ballot measure with the highest ballot title grade level, at 42, was Maine Question 2, a bond measure to issue $25 million in general obligation bonds for the Maine Technology Institute. While no formal education level, including post-graduate, corresponds to a 42nd-grade level, this indicates that the language structure is advanced or difficult, at least based on the FKGL.
- The ballot measure with the lowest ballot title grade level, at -2, was Florida Amendment 2, an amendment to provide a state constitutional right to hunt and fish. While no formal education level corresponds to -2 years, this number indicates that the language structure is basic, corresponding to two years below 1st grade. The exact ballot title is short and uses one-syllable words: "Right to Fish and Hunt." This was the lowest score for a ballot measure title, and the first below zero, since Ballotpedia started tracking scores in 2017.
- The longest ballot title, with 940 words, was for Ohio Issue 1, an initiative to establish a non-politician redistricting commission. The next longest title, for North Dakota Initiated Measure 1, had 303 words. Ohio Issue 1 had the longest ballot title since Ballotpedia started tracking scores in 2017. Before Ohio Issue 1, the longest ballot title was for Arkansas Issue 4 of 2018, which had 710 words.
- The shortest ballot titles each had five words. There are three measures with five-word ballot titles: California Proposition 32, Florida Amendment 2, and Florida Amendment 3.
States
Map
The following map illustrates the average readability grade levels for ballot titles of each state. The lowest average score was seven in New Hampshire, and the highest average score was 28 in Alabama.
See also
Past readability analyses:
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2018
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2017
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2019
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2020
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2021
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2022
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2023
- Ballot measure readability scores, 2025
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Note: This includes the automatic constitutional convention question in Rhode Island.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Reilly, S. (2015). "Language Assistance under the Voting Rights Act: Are Voters Lost in Translation?" Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. (pages 55-56)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 University of Canterbury, "How to Write Plain English," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Naval Technical Training Command, "Derivation of new readability formulas (Automated Readability Index, Fog Count, and Flesch Reading Ease Formula) for Navy enlisted personnel," February 1975
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Reilly, Shauna, and Sean Richey. "Ballot Question Readability and Roll-off: The Impact of Language Complexity." Political Research Quarterly 64, 1. (2011): 59-67.
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The standard deviation (SD) measures how spread out around the mean the scores of individual measures were. The smaller the standard deviation, the closer the scores of individual measures were to the mean. The larger the standard deviation, the farther apart the scores of individual measures were to the mean.
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