All eyes are on the New Jersey and Virginia Governors’ races as they enter their last week. Pundits are looking to these races for insight on where voters stand on the Trump Administration a year before the midterm elections. These two races are receiving outsized attention largely because of how few races there are on the ballot.

What few know, however, is that the custom of having these statewide elections in off-years came about as a means of voter suppression — one that remains effective and costly.

Five states have off year elections for state government officials: the two on the ballot in 2025, as well as Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky, which will have elections in 2027.

The roots of this practice date back to the Early Republic. In the early 19th century, states voted for P

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