Voting Newsletter: States Renew Bid to Restrict Voting, A Few Reform

April 3, 2013

Latest Developments

States Renew Bid to Restrict Voting

State lawmakers this year are continuing to push laws that would make it harder for eligible citizens to vote, according to a new Brennan Center 50-state analysis. At the same time, others are pressing measures to improve elections.

In 30 states, 75 restrictive bills have been introduced since the beginning of this year (click map for larger view). As of this writing, 64 bills are pending in 26 states, and in 15 of those, there has been some form of activity, such as a hearing or vote. Two states, Virginia and Arkansas, already passed three laws adding obstacles to voting. Virginia passed two restrictions — one curbing registration drives and another requiring photo ID to cast a ballot — and Arkansas passed a strict photo ID measure.

But there’s good news, too. After long lines and confusion at the polls marred the 2012 election, many states have introduced measures to improve voting. Florida, a battleground for the some of the fiercest voting rights battles last year, voted to reverse some of the restrictions it set for the 2012 election, as has New Hampshire. Yesterday, voters in Wisconsin overwhelmingly supported an advisory referendum to keep the state’s highly-popular same-day registration law. More than 200 reform bills have been introduced across the country, including measures to expand early voting and add online registration. A more detailed analysis of affirmative reform bills is forthcoming.

“It is heartening to see movement in some states to improve election systems,” said Wendy Weiser, director of the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program. “But, at the same time, it is disappointing that politicians across the country are still trying to manipulate voting rules for partisan gain. These efforts to restrict voting will undoubtedly meet a fierce pushback in 2013, just as they did in 2012.”

Obama Officially Establishes Commission to Improve Voting

After announcing it in his February State of the Union Address, President Barack Obama officially launched a nine-member bipartisan commission last week to issue a report “intended to serve as a best practices guide for state and local election officials to improve voters’ experience at the polls under their existing election laws.”

Other than the co-chairs, former Obama campaign counsel Robert Bauer and former Romney counsel Ben Ginsberg, members have not been chosen. A White House spokesman told Bloomberg News that the administration still supports congressional action to address voting issues, including registration reform.

“There are now efforts to make sure voting works better and easier for people, particularly in areas where we saw repeated problems,” said Lawrence Norden, deputy director of the Democracy Program. “This taps into a notion a lot of Americans have — that there should be some kind of minimum national standards that elections should be free, fair, and accessible to everyone.”

Watch Brennan Center President Michael Waldman discuss the commission and new voting restrictions on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews.

State Updates

Arizona – The U.S. Supreme Court heard a second critical voting rights case last month when it heard arguments considering the legality of a restrictive Arizona voter registration rule under federal law. “Congress has taken steps to protect our fundamental right to vote — so must the Supreme Court,” Myrna Pérez wrote in Roll Call. Read more about the case at NBC Latino, TPM, The Nation, and MSNBC.

Arkansas – Joining the Republican-controlled state Senate, the state House, which also has a GOP-majority, voted April 1 to override Gov. Mike Beebe’s (D) veto of a voter ID bill.

Iowa – Two days after Secretary of State Matt Schultz (R) implemented a new rule that could result in removal from the rolls of voters whose citizenship is questioned by election officials, the Iowa ACLU and the Iowa League of United Latin American Citizens sued in state court to block the measure.

Nevada – Brennan Center Counsel Lee Rowland testified at a Senate committee hearing this week in favor of a bill to modernize voter registration. “As more and more states are discovering, a modern voter registration system boosts registration rates, increases the accuracy of the voter rolls, and reduces the opportunity for fraud, while saving taxpayer dollars,” she said.

New Hampshire – The House rejected a proposal to repeal the state’s voter ID requirement, but did approve “legislation that would prevent tighter regulations from taking effect until the attorney general’s office completes an inquiry into the last election.” The House also voted to reverse a voter registration law that would have made it harder for students to vote. The measure will now be considered by the state Senate.

North Carolina – Two GOP lawmakers introduced bills to cut early voting from two weeks to one and eliminate same-day registration. Read more here. Legislators also plan to introduce a voter ID measure in the next several weeks. Brennan Center Senior Counsel Keesha Gaskins testified against a possible photo ID mandate before the state’s House Elections Committee. Read more here and here.

Ohio – Recommendations from the Ohio Association of Election Officials would expand weekend voting before the election, but cut the overall number of early voting days and eliminate a week in which voters can register to vote and also cast an in-person absentee ballot at the same time.

Oregon – Secretary of State Kate Brown (D) unveiled an “ambitious” automatic voter registration proposal, which would use driver’s license data and eventually information from other state agencies to enlist all eligible citizens. The Statesman Journal called it an “exciting prospect” to increase voter participation, but GOP lawmakers expressed concern.

Virginia – Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) signed a bill requiring citizens to show a photo ID to vote. Voting rights groups criticized the law, saying it imposes “unwarranted restrictions that will only further exacerbate existing problems” such as long lines at the polls. The state is covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, so the law must win federal approval before taking effect. Read more here and here.

West Virginia – Secretary of State Natalie Tennant formed the Voting Rights Protection Coalition to combat voter ID bills proposed in the legislature.

Media Round-Up

  • “It would be the greatest example of judicial activism in generations” if the Supreme Court finds the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional, former White House Counsel Gregory Craig wrote in a Washington Post op-ed, which drew on his work registering southern blacks to vote during the civil rights era. “Such an opinion would bring the Supreme Court to its lowest point in 150 years.” Read more at the Associated Press.
  • Online voter registration is gaining traction across the country, in red states and blue states alike, Politico reports.
  • In a keynote essay in the Democracy Journal’s special issue on voting, Brennan Center President Michael Waldman urged aggressive action on voting reform. Progressives “must put forward an agenda that addresses public concern for election integrity without disenfranchising voters,” he wrote.
  • The wave of laws restricting voting rights — particularly voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements — disproportionately target Latinos, MSNBC reported. “We are seeing more intense efforts to block the growth of the electorate in states with greater Latino numbers,” said Nina Perales of the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund.
  • The Nation and The Maddow Blog reported on a new Project Vote report finding 55 new voting restrictions introduced in 30 states in 2013.
  • There are exciting opportunities in the 2013 legislative session to restore voting rights to Americans with past criminal convictions. Check out the Brennan Center’s latest Right to Vote Newsletter for developments in Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, and Virginia.