His latest report found that 361 bills restricting voting were presented in 47 states on March 24. The total, released on Thursday morning, marks a 43% increase in the number of bills submitted since Brennan released the count just over a month ago.
The Brennan Center’s previous count identified 253 restrictive bills in 43 states in February.
Three states led the country in the number of bills that aim to restrict voting: Texas with 49 bills; Georgia, 25; and Arizona, 23.
The increase reflects a stark contrast to the previous year – before the Covid-19 pandemic and well before the 2020 presidential election – when state lawmakers were much less interested in restricting access to voting. The Brennan Center’s review of state legislation in February 2020 identified only 35 restrictive bills in 15 states.
The legislative push is part of a national Republican effort to restrict access to the polls after a record turnout. Republicans currently control the two chambers of 30 state legislatures, including Texas, Georgia and Arizona. The only three states that have not yet introduced a voting bill with restrictive clauses are Delaware, Ohio and Vermont.
More than half of the 361 bills would make it more difficult to vote absent and by mail, after a record number of Americans voted by mail in November. Almost one in four restrictive bills seeks to impose stricter voter identification requirements.
Texas introduced 25 bills that would limit absentee voting and mailing, more than any other state. Georgia and Arizona – two major battlegrounds that shifted from 2016 to President Joe Biden’s vote in 2020 – follow Texas with 20 and 14 bills presented aiming for the absent vote, respectively.
Texas also leads the country in the number of bills aimed at purging electoral lists, voter registration and polling places.
As the current leader of the most restrictive bills presented in general, Texas is a key state to watch as the bills continue to advance through its legislature. Seven restrictive bills have already passed the Texas legislature, which means that a bill has passed at least one chamber or has otherwise been passed at the committee level.
Not every bill presented will be approved or even voted on. But five have already been enacted and at least 41 others were advancing through the state legislative process on March 24. These five include the SB202 in Georgia, the bill that has sparked national controversy. The other four include a comprehensive law in Iowa, two laws in Arkansas that tighten voter identification requirements and one in Utah that mandates the quick removal of dead people from voter lists.
State lawmakers are likely to act quickly in the coming months to introduce more legislation and try to get their bills past the finish line of the year. All but 12 state legislatures plan to postpone until June 30, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
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