Kansas and Missouri ballots read at a college sophomore level
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If reading Kansas and Missouri ballot measures makes you feel like you need to go back to school, join the club.
Why it matters: Voters are more likely to skip ballot measures that are harder to read, according to research cited in a new Ballotpedia analysis.
The big picture: Both states' ballot titles average a 14th-grade reading level, or about two years of college, which puts them in the middle of the pack nationally.
By the numbers: These grade levels are readability scores, not education requirements, and they don't measure how complicated the ideas are.
- The national average is 17th grade, about the level of a first-year graduate student, according to Ballotpedia.
- Colorado's ballots rank hardest at a 33rd-grade level, theoretically 17 years of schooling beyond a bachelor's degree.
Zoom in: Kansas voters will decide one statewide question Nov. 3, an amendment that would add a U.S. citizenship requirement to the state constitution's voting rules.
- It runs around 270 words at a 12th-grade reading level.
- Kansas prints the full text of a constitutional amendment on the ballot, according to Ballotpedia, which is why the state's ballot measures average nearly 600 words, the most in the nation.
😵💫 Stunning stat: Kansas' August amendment on electing state Supreme Court justices ran more than 900 words, the longest ballot title in the country this year.
- Voters rejected it.
In Missouri, voters will see five statewide measures, and Amendment 7 is the hardest to read.
- The amendment would create a state investment fund aimed at eliminating most state-imposed taxes, including the income and sales taxes, in about 100 years.
- Its title reads at a 19th-grade level, and its summary reads at a 24th-grade level.
- Proposition A, a vote on the state's new congressional map, has the easiest summary at an 8th-grade level.
What's next: Kansas voters can look up their sample ballots on VoteKansas.gov before Election Day, and Missouri voters can use the secretary of state's voter portal.