Down-Ballot Voting: One tool for achieving Climate Action and Equity
By Lucia Wiggers
As climate change intensifies, communities everywhere are grappling with the urgent need to build climate resilience and pursue sustainable policies. While national elections garner the most attention, the decisions that most directly shape local climate action often occur in races further down the ballot. These "down-ballot" elections—those at local, state, and municipal offices—play a critical role in determining how communities respond to climate challenges. And with the disproportionate impacts of climate change on marginalized communities, down-ballot voting becomes even more essential for ensuring climate justice and equity.
What is Down-Ballot Voting?
Down-ballot voting refers to casting votes for offices and measures that appear lower on the ballot, such as state initiatives, city council members, school board officials, and county commissioners. While the media may focus on the presidential election, the outcomes of down-ballot races should not be overlooked as these elections shape the future of communities by determining who will be responsible for implementing crucial climate initiatives and policies at the grassroots level.
Why Does Down-Ballot Voting Matter for Climate Action?
Local officials often hold the reins when it comes to implementing policies that affect climate resilience and sustainability. While federal governments can establish broad climate goals, it’s local and state officials who are tasked with translating those goals into real-world actions. Mayors, city council members, zoning boards, and state legislators are directly responsible for enacting policies that impact climate resilience. These leaders can prioritize investments in renewable energy infrastructure, create urban planning regulations that protect vulnerable neighborhoods from flooding, and ensure that public transportation systems are both efficient and environmentally friendly.
Down-ballot voting has become particularly critical as local governments respond to increasingly severe climate emergencies. Local and state officials manage disaster preparedness plans, implement zoning laws designed to climate risks, and develop public spaces and transportation systems that can withstand intense storm inundation. These policies don't just affect environmental outcomes; they also shape a city’s equity and justice landscape by determining how climate impacts are distributed across its different communities.
Successful Local Climate Initiatives
Across the United States, local governments are stepping up to lead in climate action. California’s Air Resources Board (whose members are appointed by the governor and state assembly) developed the cap-and-trade program, which has succeeded in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while also generating billions of dollars for clean energy and climate resilience projects.
On the other side of the country, New York City’s Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice has introduced climate adaptation strategies that include creating coastal defenses and enhancing green infrastructure to manage stormwater and reduce the urban heat island effect in the country’s largest city.
In 2021, Illinois’ general assembly passed the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA). Signed into law by Governor JB Pritzker, CEJA includes provisions to reduce carbon emissions in Illinois’ energy and transportation sectors. The legislation incentivises renewable energy development, encourages electric vehicle adaptation and charging station infrastructure expansion in the state. CEJA also increases access to workforce clean energy training programs and equitably supports communities in their transition to renewable energy.
Down-Ballot Voting’s Role in Climate Resilience
Climate resilience refers to a community’s ability to withstand and recover from climate-related disasters. Local governments are responsible for developing the infrastructure necessary for resilience, whether that’s building flood walls, upgrading stormwater systems, or creating disaster relief plans. Local elected officials can also implement nature-based solutions, like restoring wetlands to act as buffers against storms. Local governments often control how and where climate resilience projects are funded. Bonds, taxes, and state funds are typically approved at the local level, making it critical that voters elect officials who will prioritize long-term investments in equitable climate resilience. Communities vulnerable to climate change, such as coastal cities or flood-prone areas, especially benefit from these investments.
In 2019, North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality sponsored a series of Regional Resilience Workshops to gain community input for the state’s Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan. Local Elected Officials partnered with stakeholders including county planners, emergency and floodplain managers, public works staff, and tribal organizations to discuss regional climate change and resiliency challenges, generate local/state climate resilience strategies, and prioritize regional vulnerabilities to be addressed in the 2020 Plan. The information gathered at these workshops informed the Plan’s warnings that hurricane intensity and inland flooding would likely increase with time, a fact not lost to communities recovering from the historic devastation that Hurricane Helene caused in the state in September 2024.
Why Your Vote Matters: Examples of Local Elections Shaping Climate Futures
Races That Affect Climate Action
Several local offices have a direct impact on climate policy, including public utility commissioners, zoning board members, and city council members. These officials make decisions about everything from clean energy investments to urban development. District attorneys also play a role in enforcing environmental laws, holding corporations accountable for pollution.
Ballot Measures on Climate and Environmental Issues
Ballot measures can have an equally significant impact on local climate action. For example, in November 2024, California voters will decide on the Oil and Gas Well Regulations Referendum, which will determine whether Senate Bill 1137 remains in effect. This bill restricts the construction of oil and gas wells near sensitive areas like schools and hospitals, aiming to protect public health and reduce environmental harm.
Minnesota citizens will also have the opportunity to vote on an environmental ballot measure this November. The “Minnesota Continue to Provide Lottery Revenue to Environment and Natural Resources Fund Amendment” will extend the dedication of revenue from the state-operated lottery to the Environment and Natural Resources Fund for another 25 years. It will also increase the amount of money that can be spent from the Fund each year by 1.5% and create a grant program that supports environmental education and natural resource conservation in the state.
Voting for a Sustainable and Equitable Future
Your Vote Shapes the Local Landscape
While national elections receive most of the attention, down-ballot races are where much of the real work on climate resilience happens. These races determine who will lead local efforts to mitigate climate change and ensure that the needs of marginalized communities are considered.
Call to Action: Be an Informed Voter
To make an impact, it’s important to research down-ballot candidates and ballot measures. Understanding where candidates stand on climate issues is key to building a sustainable and equitable future. Inform your decision by seeing who will be on your ballot, and check if there are any referendums you need to know about before it’s time to cast your vote. Organizations like League of Conservation Voters and Climate Cabinet provide guides on environmentally-conscious candidates and insights on high-impact races across the nation. By voting for candidates and measures that prioritize equity and justice in climate policy, you are helping to create more inclusive and resilient communities—where everyone has a stake in the fight against climate change.
Keep the Momentum Going
Your role in climate advocacy does not end at the ballot box, though! Voting is just the first step in garnering support for a climate future that is as bright and vibrant as the populations working to protect it. Get engaged in local town halls, organizations, and community events like a Climate Changemakers' Hour of Action. Having trouble finding local opportunities to champion climate justice? Explore how your passions and skills have yet to be applied to the climate fight and create the change yourself– the Earth will thank you!