Most state legislatures have now convened or are about to. Project Vote tracks state legislative activity relating to election administration and voting rights. The fun just never stops. In recent years, new state laws on voting have constituted something of a “civil rights revolution” in reverse. Strict voter ID and proof of citizenship are just the tip of the iceberg. Repeals or rollbacks of reforms that have made voting more accessible and convenient are not far behind. This year, the onslaught of regressive legislation continues.
Since January 1st—a day when most people rest up– “pre-filed” and filed bills have been dropped in state legislatures at an alarming pace. Many of them are duplicates of each other—as if each sponsor wanted to take all the credit for filing his very own disenfranchisement bill. So far it looks as if Arizona wins the prize for the best bills filed on election issues—but, needless to say, progressive improvements to the system are unlikely to be enacted in Arizona.
Virginia and New York probably have the most bills on election issues. But New York’s are slow to move, if they ever do, and Virginia has been much more active in recent years. Missouri probably has the most bills on a single issue, strict photo ID. Proponents of ID have been trying to enact it for many years but have fallen short for one reason or another—including a court ruling that such a measure violates the state constitution. The most recent attempt to put a constitutional amendment before the voters was stalled by litigation over the ballot language. But voter ID advocates in the “Show Me” state have shown amazing persistence and are trying again this year.
Since 2007, Project Vote has provided the public with the tools to monitor the passage of voting rights laws in all 50 states and the U.S. Congress. As part of Project Vote’s Election Administration program, our Election Legislation project keeps close watch on the legislative threats and opportunities to voting rights in American elections. We regularly provide advocates, reporters, and voters with our findings through weekly email updates on legislative activity and biannual Threats and Opportunities reports.
Click here to sign up for our bill alerts and weekly legislative newsletters, and receive notices of the Threats and Opportunities reports, the first of which will be released in the spring.
With the 2016 election cycle already underway, we hope this resource is useful to you in navigating the proposed laws that affect our access to the ballot.