Even as a major election approaches, state lawmakers across the country continue to change the rules governing our elections – from criminalizing the voting process to adding burdensome proof of citizenship requirements. All told, three key election-related trends from the 2024 legislative sessions could have a big impact come November.
STATES CRIMINALIZE THE BALLOT BOX
A growing number of states treat election administration and polling places like the scene of a crime. These new laws are as unnecessary as they are harmful: not only is it already against the law to commit voter fraud, but also even the perceived threat of criminal prosecution could have a suppressive effect on voter turnout and send more election officials out the door.
- We are tracking bills across 13 states aimed at criminalizing efforts to assist voters. Three states – Alabama, Idaho, and Louisiana – have already enacted bills this year to create new crimes restricting the ability of friends, neighbors, and community organizations to provide assistance to voters.
- We are tracking bills in 20 states that would criminalize work done by election officials. In South Dakota, a new bill allowing members of the public to observe the voting and counting process threatens poll workers with criminal prosecution for interfering with observation, even if done in good faith. Another passed in Washington last March expands existing election-related offenses and creates new, unnecessary protocols for the certification of election results.
- So far in 2024, bills in 30 states would create new felony offenses related to elections. Those bills have become law in five states, while bills in eight states have passed through one legislative chamber.
STATES ADD BURDENSOME AND UNNECESSARY PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP REQUIREMENTS
People pay a heavy price for voting illegally – which is why there’s no evidence noncitizen voting is an issue facing U.S. elections today. But this lack of empirical evidence has not stopped some state lawmakers from considering and adopting new laws that risk disenfranchising millions of eligible American voters.
Several recent efforts have shown this strategy catastrophically backfires. In 2019, for example, Texas sent letters to tens of thousands of naturalized citizens, threatening to remove them from the voter registration list based on outdated DMV records. Litigation ensued, a federal court blocked Texas from carrying out the purge effort, and the secretary of state resigned over the near-disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of U.S. citizens.
- We are tracking bills in 13 states that would add new proof of citizenship requirements – requiring voters to show documentation like a birth certificate or passport when registering to vote. Louisiana enacted such a law in April, and in New Hampshire, a bill has passed both legislative chambers but has not yet gone to the governor.
- We are tracking bills in 17 states that would compel voter purges in jurisdictions across the country in pursuit of purported noncitizens. Three states have enacted restrictive list maintenance bills this year: Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana. Similar legislation in Wisconsin was vetoed by the governor.
- At the federal level, the House passed new legislation, which would require “documentary proof of U.S. citizenship” to register to vote. The “Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act” (SAVE Act) would create an extreme burden for millions of Americans who do not have a passport and increase the risk that eligible voters are kicked off voter rolls.
Amid aggressive attempts to purge voter rolls, including through the proof of citizenship proposals mentioned above, it’s increasingly important that states offer eligible individuals — especially those who may have been improperly removed from the rolls — the opportunity to register when they show up to vote early or on Election Day. Currently, 28 states and D.C. allow voter registration on Election Day, during early voting, or both (while North Dakota does not require its voters to register).
STATES ENGAGE IN CROSS-PARTISAN EFFORTS TO SAFEGUARD OUR ELECTIONS
Amid a wave of legislation that will make registration and voting more difficult, some states have pursued just the opposite. New bipartisan legislation expanding protections for election workers and a series of bills aimed at safeguarding our elections from AI-produced deepfakes and disinformation leave room for optimism.
- Seven states and D.C. have enacted legislation that will expand protections for election workers in this time of growing threats. Bills in seven states have passed one legislative chamber, and bills remain active this year across 28 states and the District of Columbia.
- Our team is tracking bills across 43 state legislatures containing provisions to stop the spread of AI-generated election disinformation. Legislation to address this evolving issue has passed in 14 states and another 18 states have passed bills through the first chamber.
Voting Rights Lab is working to ensure accessible, secure, and trusted elections this November and beyond. Want to learn more? Sign up for The Lever, our monthly newsletter featuring expert analysis of the latest in election law and policy.