Welcome to The Markup, our weekly insights and analysis of the latest in election law and policy.
We are tracking 1,806 bills so far this session across 44 states and Washington, D.C., with 321 bills that restrict voter access or election administration and 896 bills that improve voter access or election administration.
RESTRICTING VOTER ACCESS OR ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
Ohio Supreme Court upholds new drop box restrictions.
Secretary of State Frank LaRose recently issued a directive restricting drop box use, requiring that the ballots of voters who require assistance in completing their ballot must be returned by mail or to a board of elections office. Individuals assisting the voter must also complete a form if the ballot is returned in person. The state’s Supreme Court upheld this restriction.
Texas Senate committee holds hearing on inflated noncitizen voting claims.
The Texas Senate Committee on State Affairs held a hearing about noncitizen voter claims and signaled a possible move next year to advance legislation requiring voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. Gov. Greg Abbott claimed earlier this year that the state purged 6,500 noncitizens from its rolls. These claims have since been found to be inflated, and in some cases, wrong.
IMPROVING VOTER ACCESS OR ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
Georgia judge blocks last-minute rules passed by the State Election Board.
A judge blocked implementation of seven rules recently passed by the State Election Board, declaring them void and unconstitutional. Among the invalidated rules were requirements targeting the certification process, drop box surveillance, and poll watcher access. Republican Party organizations are appealing the ruling.
Nebraska Supreme Court orders officials to restore voting rights to citizens with past felony convictions.
The state’s Supreme Court issued an opinion ordering the secretary of state to implement L.B. 20, a bill that accelerates the restoration of voting rights to citizens with past felony convictions. Implementation of the law had been delayed by the secretary of state based on arguments by the state’s attorney general that the law violated the state’s constitution.dis
Federal courts reject voter purges in Arizona, North Carolina, and Alabama.
An Arizona court denied a request to require Arizona’s 15 counties to verify the citizenship of 42,000 voters who have not provided documentary proof of citizenship. In North Carolina, a federal court rejected a request from the Republican National Committee to purge 225,000 voters from the state’s rolls. An Alabama court ordered Secretary of State Wes Allen to temporarily stop purging voters from the rolls through a program that targeted naturalized citizens.
ON OUR RADAR
Partisan lawsuits in Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania target overseas voters.
Republican Party organizations and elected officials in three battleground states – Michigan, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania – are challenging the legitimacy of ballots cast by U.S. citizens living abroad. The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Abroad Voting Act – known as UOCAVA – establishes secure procedures for eligible citizens living abroad and members of the military to vote in U.S. elections.
This update is powered by VRL’s State Voting Rights Tracker: tracker.votingrightslab.org