Welcome to The Markup, our weekly insights and analysis of the latest in election law and policy.
We are tracking 1,813 bills so far this session across 44 states and Washington, D.C., with 323 bills that restrict voter access or election administration and 897 bills that improve voter access or election administration.
RESTRICTING VOTER ACCESS OR ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
Nevada voters advance a ballot measure to create stricter voter ID requirements, while thousands of mail ballots have signature issues.
Voters in Nevada approved a ballot measure proposing to amend the state constitution to require all voters to present a valid photo ID when voting in person or provide an ID number when voting by mail. The proposal will need to be approved by voters again in 2026 in order to be adopted. Current law does not generally require voter ID.
Additionally, the secretary of state reported nearly 14,000 mail ballots are at risk of being rejected if voters do not address perceived signature mismatches by today.
State court judge invalidates New York Voting Rights Act.
A New York judge struck down the state’s Voting Rights Act, ruling that the law’s racial and ethnic protections violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. constitution. An appeal is expected in the case.
IMPROVING VOTER ACCESS OR ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
Connecticut voters approve state constitutional amendment to allow all voters to request mail ballots.
In Connecticut, voters approved an amendment to the state’s constitution to allow the legislature to expand the option to vote by mail to all voters. Connecticut is currently one of only 14 states that requires voters to have a specific qualifying reason or excuse in order to vote by mail.
Lawmakers in Alabama and Mississippi express openness to providing an in-person early voting option.
After an estimated 78 million Americans cast their votes before Election Day over the last several months, some lawmakers in Alabama and Mississippi expressed openness to creating an early voting option for their states’ voters. These two states, plus New Hampshire, are the only ones in the country that do not offer in-person early voting. A bill that would have created early voting passed the Mississippi Senate earlier this year before failing in the House.
ON OUR RADAR
North Carolina legislature to convene twice before the end of the year.
The North Carolina legislature will convene in November and December for sessions, both of which may include changes to election laws. The results of last week’s election mean that the Republican Party will no longer have the supermajority necessary to override gubernatorial vetoes. Two major elections bills, S.B. 747 and S.B. 749, were enacted over Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes last year.
Voters widely reject ranked-choice voting and open primaries.
Voters in Colorado, Idaho, and Nevada rejected ballot propositions that would have established open primaries and ranked-choice voting (RCV). Oregon and Arizona voters rejected RCV as well; Alaska appears on track to repeal its existing RCV system; and Missouri voters passed a constitutional amendment prohibiting RCV. The only such measure to pass was in Washington, DC. In Montana and South Dakota, voters rejected open primaries.
Eight states approve ballot measures expressly requiring U.S. citizenship to vote.
Voters in eight states approved state constitutional amendments that specify only U.S. citizens can vote at the state or local level. These states include Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin. It is already illegal for noncitizens to vote in state and federal elections in every state.
This update is powered by VRL’s State Voting Rights Tracker: tracker.votingrightslab.org