• 9 points
• Source: New York Times   |   New York City   |   September 27, 2012
• The new font size that candidates' names will appear in on New York City's general election ballot this fall. Voters had complained that they could barely read the names when they were printed in a 7-point font.

• 42%
• Source: McClatchy Newspapers   |   California   |   September 26, 2012
• The portion of California voters who would repeal the death penalty, while 45 percent would retain it, according to a new poll. Voters will decide this November whether to make the state the 18th to abolish capital punishment.

• $60 million
• Source: Bloomberg/The Journal Gazette   |   Allen, Texas   |   September 25, 2012
• The cost of a newly built 18,000-seat high school football stadium in Allen, Texas. More than 100 stadiums have been built in the state using voter-approved bonds.

• 20
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   September 24, 2012
• The number of states where income inequality significantly increased from 2010 to 2011, according to new census estimates. View data for each state with GOVERNING Data's interactive map.

• 25%
• Source: AP/New York Times   |   New York   |   September 21, 2012
• The portion of their income that low-income smokers in New York spend on cigarettes, according to a new study. The state has the nation's highest cigarette taxes.

• 8.7%
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Chattanooga, Tenn.   |   September 20, 2012
• The portion of Chattanooga, Tenn.'s budget spent on employee health care, which is almost half the rate that localities spend on employee health care, on average. Chattanooga lowered its spending in this area by setting up an on-site, government-sponsored clinic and pharmacy and providing financial incentives for workers to get or stay healthy.

• 4.1%
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Michigan   |   September 19, 2012
• The maximum rate that public universities in Michigan can raise their tuition by in a single year and still get extra funding. The state set aside more than $9 million this year to reward colleges that kept their tuition increases low – something every school did.

• 23
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   September 18, 2012
• The number of states that didn't include pro and con arguments for ballot measures in their official voter guides in recent years, according to a new study.

• 8.1%
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   September 17, 2012
• The decline in Americans' household incomes since 2007. View median household income totals for each state since 2000.

• More than 300,000
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   September 14, 2012
• The number of people who voted in the 2010 elections in part because of Facebook's efforts to encourage users to go to the polls, according to a new study.

• 2
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   September 13, 2012
• The number of states that formally approve physician-assisted suicide. Massachusetts could become the third in November if voters approve it.

• 52
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   September 12, 2012
• The number of electric utilities that offer prepaid service in the country -- most of which are in southwestern states like Arizona, Oklahoma and Texas where regulation is reportedly weak.
• 2 Comments

• 19
• Source: GOVERNING   |   Nation   |   September 11, 2012
• The number of cities (out of 20) where the tree population is falling. Experts say that trees increase an area's safety and real estate value as well as cut the cost of cooling a home or building.

• 1.3 years
• Source: Pew Center on the States   |   South Dakota   |   September 10, 2012
• The average time offenders released in 2009 spent in prison in South Dakota, reflecting the shortest prison stay among 35 states, according to a recent Pew report.

• 5.9%
• Source: Salt Lake Tribune   |   Utah   |   September 7, 2012
• The portion of high school students in Utah who smoke cigarettes -- a significant drop from 12 percent in 1999 and much lower than the national rate of 18 percent. Utah has the nation's lowest smoking rate among adults.