Voters Speak Up on Voting Rights Restrictions

The battle over voting rights reached a new peak yesterday, when voters in Maine and Mississippi voted on controversial measures that affect their access to the ballot.

Fear of voter impersonation has fueled partisan efforts to raise voting restrictions, despite scant evidence of the illegal (and unrewarding) practice. The fear of fraud instigated investigations against student voters in Maine, dismantled the state’s decades-old Election Day registration policy, and prompted Mississippi Republicans to take a strict photo ID law to the state ballot.

While neither state can produce evidence of voter impersonation, voters in each state reacted differently when given the chance to “weigh in on the GOP’s war on voting,” wrote Ari Berman at the Nation today.

The Mississippi “initiative passed by 24 points,” wrote Berman, who added that the new law could affect an estimated 234,000 Mississippians.

But, yesterday, Mainers voted to restore their 1973 election law that allowed them to register up to Election Day, a practice that helped more than 60,000 citizens vote in last year’s midterm elections. The law was revoked by the state Legislature in June, but citizens challenged the restriction through a people’s veto, putting it on the state ballot.

“This is a big day for the voters of Maine,” David Farmer, spokesman for the Yes on One campaign, told the Associated Press yesterday. “They stood up for their rights to be heard. This tells us that Maine people won’t stand for people messing with their elections.”

Voters, advocates, and officials are increasingly calling for accountability among states in how they set up barriers to the franchise. Earlier this week, the NAACP announced plans for nationwide protests against photo voter ID laws and the Justice Department promised to take an “aggressive” look at jurisdictions that “restrict the ability of people to get to the polls.”

Meanwhile, lawmakers are shifting the dialogue to modernizing our election system with policies that expand access to our democracy. Last week, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) introduced bills to ban photo ID laws in federal elections and enact same-day registration

“If you truly believe in democracy, you should be doing everything you can to increase the enfranchisement of American citizens, not taking it away,” said Ellison.