Voting rights: more than 100 bills that would restrict voting are in progress in state legislatures

Voting rights: more than 100 bills that would restrict voting are in progress in state legislatures

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In all, 28 states have introduced, pre-archived or are moving forward with 106 restrictive bills for the 2021 legislative session, a significant increase from just 35 bills in 15 states in 2020, according to the Brennan Center’s analysis. Most projects aim to restrict or place limitations on how and who can vote by mail, while others seek to impose photo identification laws and adopt a more aggressive voter purge policy, according to the report.

His sponsors argue that the measures are necessary to restore confidence and integrity to the voting process after it was marked by unfounded allegations of electoral fraud promoted by former President Donald Trump and other Republican Party officials, culminating in the deadly uprising of January 6 at the US Capitol. .

Voting by mail was dramatically expanded in 2020 because of the pandemic, when election officials and lawmakers sought to balance public health precautions with the right to vote – and led to a dramatic shift in voter turnout, with Democrats disproportionately favoring the post or in advance voting options.

Although there was no evidence of widespread electoral fraud, Republicans across the country prioritized changes to electoral laws this year.

Republican National Committee chairman Ronna McDaniel said the party will have an “important role” in promoting electoral change.

“This will be done at the state level. I think many of these states are already examining their state laws,” McDaniel said in an interview with Fox News on Monday.

Opponents of the measures say they make the voting process less secure, while limiting voter participation.

“There are some politicians who are very concerned about the historic turnout we saw in the 2020 elections and are determined to put up barriers in front of the polls to try to play a job security game,” Myrna Pérez, director of voting rights and elections in Brennan, said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday.

“There are some politicians who are trying to manipulate the rules of the game so that some people can participate and others cannot,” added Pérez.

Reverting ‘voting without excuse’

Among the states where Republicans are leading a charge against postal voting is Pennsylvania, where postal ballots sealed President Joe Biden’s victory over Trump. Lawmakers offered three different proposals aimed at eliminating the so-called “no excuses” mail-voting legislation that was passed in 2019 by a legislature led by the Republican Party.
Pennsylvania State Representative Jim Gregory, a Republican co-sponsor for one of the projects, previously told CNN that the goal is to restore “integrity and trust” in the voting process.

“The confusion that followed, and just the lack of faith in how things were going, is really affecting people’s belief and desire to want to vote again. This is especially true in my district,” he said.

In Arizona – another battleground state – that passed to Democrats for the second time in more than seven decades, Republicans introduced legislation that would repeal the state’s permanent early voting list – which allows voters to automatically receive their ballots by mail for each election.
Missouri lawmakers are also trying to eliminate concerns about Covid-19 as an excuse to request absentee ballots, while a North Dakota bill would limit who can vote by absentee votes.

Suppress applications and third party involvement

Other states like New Jersey, Texas and Washington are considering bills that would limit who can send absentee ballots, or how widely they can get out.

Prior to the November election, Texas in particular became the center of a dispute over postal ballot orders when Harris County, which includes Houston’s largest city, was barred from sending orders to all voters in kinda legal fight with republicans. The GOP argued that entries should go only to voters qualified to vote by mail.

A number of other projects being considered include measures that would restrict voter assistance, increase witness requirements and limit a voter’s options to return his absent ballot.

Requiring photo identification

Lawmakers in nearly a dozen states have introduced bills that would impose the requirement for photo identification for early personal voting or by post.

Proponents of photo identification requirements argue that this prevents electoral fraud, although recent election studies show that electoral fraud in person is rare.
New Hampshire Republicans introduced a bill that required voters to include a copy of their photo ID along with the absentee voting form and when returning completed ballots.
Similar legislation was introduced on Monday in Georgia, where Republicans parted ways with Trump to defend the November results, but have since signed the proposed reforms.

Granite State is also considering a bill that would prevent the use of a student ID as identification to vote. Mississippi is considering legislation that would prohibit the use of driver’s licenses from other states.

Purge of voters

Republican Party lawmakers are also focusing on maintaining voter registration, specifically seeking to remove voters from inactivity voting books.

An Arizona Republican lawmaker introduced a bill that would remove voters who did not vote in a four-year electoral cycle and did not respond to a warning. Mississippi is considering a similar measure.

A New Hampshire bill would allow election officials to remove voters from voter lists based on data provided by other states, a practice that has been blocked by federal courts for violating the Nation’s Voter Registration Act.

CNN’s Dianne Gallagher contributed to this report.

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