The Markup: EAC finds early voting surged ahead of 2024 election

We are tracking 1,682 bills prefiled or introduced this session across 50 states. Our analysis finds that 736 bills improve voter access or election administration and 434 bills restrict voter access or election administration.

Improving Voter Access or Election Administration

Rhode Island expands access to permanent mail ballot application list to all voters, establishes election worker protections.

Gov. Dan McKee signed H.B. 5709/S.B. 520 into law, allowing any registered voter to join the state’s permanent mail ballot application list. Previously, the permanent mail ballot application list was limited to voters who have a disability or are otherwise indefinitely confined. Voters who enroll will automatically receive a mail ballot application ahead of each election. Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have similar policies. Nine states and D.C. allow all voters to opt in to receive mail ballots for each election. Gov. McKee also signed H.B. 5300 / S.B. 729, establishing a misdemeanor for threatening election officials or their immediate family members. 

New Mexico’s automatic voter registration law goes into effect.

Automatic voter registration is now available to eligible voters at the Motor Vehicle Division as of July 1. The policy (established by H.B. 4 in 2023) requires the MVD to register eligible citizens. The agency must also send the secretary of state the voters’ information within seven days of their transaction. Twenty-five states and D.C. offer – or are in the process of implementing – automatic voter registration at state agencies.

Restricting Voter Access or Election Administration

New Hampshire lawmakers send bills adding new mail voting and registration burdens to the governor.

The legislature sent several bills to Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s desk. That includes S.B. 218, which would expand the state’s proof of citizenship requirement to mailed registration applications. S.B. 287 would require mail ballot applicants to submit a copy of a photo ID or have their signature notarized. Additionally, the legislature passed S.B. 221, which would increase the frequency of a voter list maintenance process from once every 10 years to once each year. 

On Our Radar

Election Assistance Commission finds early voting surge ahead of 2024 November election.

The Election Assistance Commission’s 2024 Report identified key trends about the ways Americans vote and elections are administered. The report found that voting before Election Day, whether by mail (30% of voters) or in person (35% of voters) is extremely popular, with in-person early voting nearly surpassing Election Day voting. In addition, the data showed that overall voter turnout decreased by 3 percentage points compared to November 2020.

North Carolina to request missing information from roughly 200K voters.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections unanimously voted to begin contacting roughly 200,000 voters whose registration records lack an ID number, such as a driver’s license or Social Security number. The Trump administration recently sued the state, alleging that failure to maintain these records violates federal law.

Georgia appeals court affirms election boards must certify election results.

A three-judge panel from the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision late last week, unanimously ruling that county election boards must certify election results and make them official. The ruling comes after the Georgia State Election Board attempted to hand broad powers to election board members last year. This could have delayed or disrupted certification ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

Republican National Committee and Arizona Republican Party challenge registration status of overseas citizens, as settlement is reached in mail voting litigation.

The Republican National Committee and Republican Party of Arizona sued the state over a policy that allows U.S. citizens born and raised abroad – but who have never resided in the U.S. – to vote in Arizona if the state was a parent’s last U.S. residence. The plaintiffs claim that this policy violates the state’s constitution. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that a similar policy violated their state’s constitution, and state policies vary when it comes to “never-resided” overseas voters. Meanwhile, a lawsuit challenging S.B. 1485, a 2021 law that removes voters from the permanent early voting list for failure to vote, has reached a possible settlement subject to final approval by the court. The settlement agreement would give voters additional notice before being removed from the list. 

Wisconsin Elections Commission publishes new rule to guide election observers’ conduct at polling places.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) published an administrative rule to guide election observers’ conduct at polling places beginning August 1. The rule specifies who is allowed to observe elections and defines the boundaries of what observers and members of the media may do. It also specifies when poll workers may call in law enforcement to assist with any issues. The WEC will hold a meeting later this year to approve new guidance for election clerks administering the rule.

Supreme Court allows challenge to Virginia’s lifetime disenfranchisement policy to move forward in lower courts.

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Virginia, allowing a legal challenge to the state’s lifetime voting ban for citizens with felony convictions to proceed in the lower courts. The plaintiffs argue that Virginia’s policy violates the 1870 Virginia Readmission Act. This federal law sets the terms for Virginia to regain congressional representation following the Civil War. Virginia is currently one of only four states where individuals with past felony convictions permanently lose their right to vote, barring individual action from the governor or another government entity.

North Carolina and the Department of Justice get involved in lawsuit over Wyoming proof of citizenship law.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed motions in support of Wyoming’s new law that requires voter registration applicants to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. The RNC moved to defend the law alongside the state, while the DOJ filed a statement of interest and seeks to submit a brief in support of the state. Voting rights organizations who filed the lawsuit allege that the law imposes unconstitutional burdens on eligible citizens attempting to register to vote.