Answers

Questions across the states, answered

Which states combine two policies? Each answer joins two of our sourced 50-state trackers, so it is something no single table shows. The District of Columbia is excluded, so every count is out of 50.

• Which states hold all-mail elections and have abolished the death penalty?

  4 states: Colorado, Hawaii, Vermont, Washington.

  The pairing that describes the states furthest from the national middle in the other direction.

• Which states have universal school choice and no income tax?

  5 states: Florida, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming.

  The pairing that comes up whenever families compare states on schooling and cost.

• Which states have right-to-work laws and no income tax?

  6 states: Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming.

  The two policies most often cited together when a business weighs relocating.

• Which states have strict voter ID and right-to-work laws?

  12 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Wyoming.

  Election rules and labour rules, two areas that rarely appear in the same table.

• Which states have strict voter ID and permitless carry?

  12 states: Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Tennessee, Wyoming.

  Tests whether the states strictest on voting are also the most permissive on carry.

• Which states have right-to-work laws and universal school choice?

  15 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming.

  Both are long-running state policy fights and they do not always move together.

• Which states have universal school choice and permitless carry?

  16 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming.

  Two of the fastest-moving state policy areas of the last five years.

• Which states have the death penalty and permitless carry?

  21 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming.

  Two separate questions about state force that are often assumed to travel together.

• Which states have right-to-work laws and permitless carry?

  22 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming.

  The clearest overlap between labour policy and gun policy.

• Which states have the death penalty and no duty to retreat?

  22 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming.

  Both describe how far a state goes in sanctioning lethal force.

• Which states have permitless carry and no duty to retreat?

  26 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wyoming.

  Together these describe the states with the fewest restrictions on carrying and using a firearm defensively.