2021 has been a historic year for voting rights, with some discouraging setbacks occurring in state legislatures across the country. From Texas to Florida to Georgia, millions of voters have watched as state lawmakers around the country erect new and unnecessary...
Georgia
The Markup: Weekly Election Legislation Update for Monday, September 27
Hello again! Good to be with you for another week. Thanks for being a part of this important insider’s update. Will you help get this weekly newsletter into more hands by forwarding it along? If you received this email from someone else and you'd like to get these...
The Potential Impact of H.R. 4
On August 24, the House passed H.R. 4, also known as the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. This federal legislation would require states and jurisdictions to obtain certification, or “preclearance” before making changes to election procedures in...
Party First: How State Legislatures Are Injecting Partisanship Into Our Elections
This year, we’ve spotted a new trend taking hold at the state level with many states introducing bills that give partisan actors more power to shape and control election outcomes. The most extreme legislation would move the power to choose the president from the...
From the Polls to Prison: A New Front in the War Against Voting Rights
The biennial Texas legislative session, concluding at the end of the month, has seen lawmakers open up a new front in the ongoing national war for voter suppression. Legislators have proposed numerous bills seeking to create or raise criminal penalties for actions by...
No Comparison: Pitting Laws in New York Against Georgia’s Election Legislation is a False Argument
In the wake of the passage of Georgia’s sweeping anti-voter legislation, some have been quick to draw comparisons between Georgia’s bill and laws on the books in blue states — particularly New York. Comparing Georgia’s enacted legislation to New York’s current law is...
The 2020 Backlash Begins: Early Trends in Photo ID Requirements for Absentee Voting
Record-breaking turnout in 2020, along with rampant misinformation spread after the election in an attempt to cast doubt on the results, has provoked some legislators into proposing new voter suppression methods. My team and I have been scouring pre-filed and recently...
COVID-19 and States of Emergency
The resources below detail the steps taken by state and local officials to prepare for the 2020 elections during the COVID-19 pandemic. State and Local Response Database Throughout 2020, we tracked state and local responses to the pandemic – a mix of executive orders,...