Welcome to The Markup, our weekly insights and analysis of the latest in election law and policy.
We are tracking 1,097 bills this session across 47 states. Our analysis finds that 464 bills improve voter access or election administration and 280 bills restrict voter access or election administration.1
IMPROVING VOTER ACCESS OR ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
Federal appeals court blocks expansion of Arizona proof of citizenship requirement.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals recently upheld 2023 and 2024 district court decisions, finding that several provisions of two 2022 Arizona laws violated the U.S. Constitution, federal election laws, and a previous legal settlement.
The court struck down provisions of H.B. 2492 and H.B. 2243 that prohibited voters who have not provided documentary proof of citizenship from voting for president or voting by mail; required documentary proof of residency for registration; required applicants to provide their date of birth; required officials to toss out all state registration forms that did not provide proof of citizenship rather than treating them as federal-only applications; and required county recorders to cancel voter registrations if they “have reason to believe” someone is not a citizen. This case could now be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
New Mexico legislature advances rights restoration bill.
A New Mexico House committee advanced a proposed state constitutional amendment that would end disenfranchisement due to criminal convictions. Under current law, New Mexico citizens lose voting eligibility while incarcerated for a felony conviction. The resolution now moves to the full House. If approved by majorities in both legislative chambers, the proposal will be put before the voters in the next general election.
RESTRICTING VOTER ACCESS OR ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
Utah House passes bill to end universal mail ballots.
Utah’s House of Representatives sent H.B. 300 to the Senate. The bill would eliminate universal mail balloting and impose more burdensome voter ID requirements. Utah is one eight states (plus D.C.) that uses universal mail ballots in all statewide elections.
Wyoming bans proactive third-party distribution of mail ballot applications.
Gov. Mark Gordon signed S.B. 78, prohibiting anyone other than election officials and their designees from sending mail ballot applications to voters who have not specifically requested one.
Arizona House and Senate advance several restrictive bills.
The Arizona House passed several bills, including: H.B. 2038 (requires some already-registered voters to provide proof of citizenship); H.B. 2060 (overrides federal election law to impose additional requirements, including a documentary proof of citizenship); and H.B. 2673 (requires all voters on the permanent mail voter list to confirm their address each election cycle or face removal and moves up the return deadline for some mail ballots). The Senate passed S.B. 1064 (imposes burdensome new security standards on election workers and creates new crimes targeting election workers) and S.B. 1052 (strips voting rights from U.S. citizens born abroad to Arizonans).
ON OUR RADAR
Michigan and Missouri set to consider documentary proof of citizenship mandates; Arizona considers significant restrictions to voter access.
Tomorrow, the Michigan House Election Integrity Committee will consider H.J.R. B, a proposed constitutional amendment that would impose a proof of citizenship requirement for new and already-registered voters. The Missouri Senate is expected to vote this week on S.B. 62, which would require all voter registration applicants to provide documentary proof of citizenship.
In Arizona, the Senate Judiciary and Elections Committee will hear three bills this week. H.C.R. 2002 and H.B. 2017 would eliminate in-person early voting and ban countywide voting centers. H.C.R. 2013 would move up the deadline for the hand return of early ballots to the Friday before Election Day and require voters on the active early voting list to confirm their address each election cycle.
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- Our State Voting Rights Tracker is people-powered – our team of election lawyers read and analyze election-related bills across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. We strive to provide immediate analysis of all pending and current legislation; however, during periods of high volume – i.e. when legislatures are first convening for the year and introducing hundreds of new bills each day – we prioritize those that are advancing through legislatures over newly introduced legislation. For questions about our methodology or analysis, email tracker@votingrightslab.org ↩︎