ATLANTA – Changes in the way millions of Americans voted this year have contributed to a record turnout, but that does not guarantee that the measures that facilitate voting will remain in place in the next elections.
Republicans in key states who voted for President-elect Joe Biden are already pushing for new restrictions, especially for absent votes. It is an option that many states have expanded in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, which has proved extremely popular and helped ensure one of the quietest election days in recent years.
President Donald Trump has been relentless in his attacks on voting by mail, while continuing to challenge the legitimacy of an election he lost. Despite the lack of evidence and dozens of court losses, his allegations of widespread electoral fraud gained momentum with some elected Republican officials.
They are swearing to crack down on ballots and threatening to reverse other measures that have made it easier for people to vote.
“This myth cannot justify discarding election results, nor can it justify imposing additional burdens on voters that will deprive many Americans,” said Wendy Weiser, head of the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law .
It is estimated that 108 million people voted before election day, either by early personal voting or by post or withdrawing absent ballots. This accounted for almost 70% of all votes cast, after states took steps to make it easier to avoid crowded polling places during the pandemic.
Some states sent ballots to all registered voters, while others removed requirements that voters needed a specific excuse to vote absent. Many states have added drop-down boxes and expanded early voting options.
The changes were popular with voters and did not lead to widespread fraud. A group of election officials, including representatives of the federal cybersecurity agency, considered the 2020 presidential election to be the “safest” election in the history of the United States, and US Attorney General William Barr told the Associated Press that there was no evidence of fraud that would change the outcome of the election.
However, Republicans in Georgia have proposed adding a photo identification requirement when voting absent, a ban on mailboxes and possibly a return to the requirement for an excuse to vote by mail, such as sickness or work travel on the day of election.
Early advocates of the identity requirement include Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Republicans who have been relentlessly criticized by Trump for failing to back up his allegations of fraud after losing in Georgia. A senior Raffensperger deputy said the identification requirement would increase public confidence and refute any future allegations of fraud.
The two second rounds of the state Senate next month will take place under current law, which requires local election officials to verify signatures on absent ballots.
In Pennsylvania, Republican lawmakers have been drafting legislation to resolve what they say are problems with the 2020 election and voting by mail in particular, although courts and electoral officials have found no evidence of widespread problems.
“We would like to narrow it down as soon as possible,” said Kim Ward, majority leader in the Pennsylvania Senate.
Republicans hold a majority in both legislative chambers and their support was instrumental in a one-year state law that extended postal voting to all registered voters. A bill under discussion would go so far as to repeal that law and force voters to give an excuse to receive a ballot in the mail.
Previous elections have shown that voters appreciate postal voting, regardless of their party affiliation. Republican candidates did very well this year, despite a record 81.2 million voters voting for the Democrat in the presidential race.
In Michigan, Republicans held all seats in Congress and maintained control of the legislature, despite Trump losing his state. Still, Republicans still held a legislative hearing in which Trump’s lawyers argued that there were widespread irregularities, without explaining how these somehow affected only the presidential race, but not other disputes.
“Just as we have seen many lawmakers making reckless decisions to hold hearings that turned out to be more political theater than political debates, we can expect lawmakers to promote this hyperpartisan agenda to restrict voting,” said Michigan State Secretary Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat .
Benson said lawmakers should look at high participation in the presidential election as a guide to improving what worked and then making the changes sought by election officials, such as giving more time for clerks to process ballots by mail. Michigan does not allow work to begin before election day.
Lisa Schaefer, executive director of the Pennsylvania County Commissioners’ Association, said her organization would also like lawmakers to focus on reducing the tension faced by local election officials.
“The more time we spend debating other issues, the less time we have to do something good with the changes to the electoral code,” said Schaefer.
Democrats and voting rights groups have already started to react, saying Republicans should focus on protecting voter access to the polls and not feeding the conspiracy theories launched by Trump and his allies to undermine the November 3 election.
They say that the identification requirements do little, but have a high cost.
“It’s a solution in search of a problem,” said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat who was recently chosen to serve as Vice President-elect Kamala Harris in the United States Senate. “Without a doubt, it will have the net effect of depriving many people without necessarily improving electoral security.”
Padilla supports the sending of votes by mail to registered voters.
Electoral fraud does happen, but studies show that this is extremely rare. Numerous safeguards are incorporated into the voting systems to ensure that only qualified voters vote. Election officials say that when fraud occurs, people are arrested and prosecuted.
Not all Republicans are looking to add restrictions.
In Ohio, Secretary of State Frank LaRose said his legislative priorities are to expand early voting venues, increase oversight of election vendors, add an online option to order absentee ballots and resolve the confusion about hanging boxes.
“Ohio has a good thing, but we don’t want to rest on our laurels,” said LaRose, who wants his priorities to be approved by the Republican-dominated legislature.
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams said the pandemic forced the state to implement early voting, which has proved popular with voters from both major parties. The Republican said he believed state legislators are likely to create an early voting policy for subsequent elections and has not heard of any opposition to this in the Republican-controlled legislature.
“It just makes voting easier,” he said.
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Izaguirre reported from Lindenhurst, New York. Associated Press writers Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Ben Nadler in Atlanta; and Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
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The Associated Press’ voting rights coverage is supported in part by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The AP is solely responsible for this content.