The dramatic national effort to restrict Americans' voting rights was met this year with an equally dramatic pushback by courts, citizens, the Department of Justice, and farsighted public officials.
Every voter should demonstrate that they are who they say they are before voting. That form of proof should not include restrictive documentation requirements like overly burdensome photo ID or redundant proof of citizenship requirements that serve to block millions of eligible American citizens from voting.
In the past two years, states across the country passed a wave of laws that could make it harder to vote. But then voting rights advocates fought back. This comprehensive roundup shows where laws were introduced, where they passed, where they were blocked or blunted, and where they are in effect for the 2012 election.
The Brennan Center Voting Rights and Elections Project
Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin all passed new voter ID laws in their 2011 or 2012 legislative sessions. We've compiled their vital details on each new law in this document.
Voter Challengers examines the laws that give rise to citizen-led challenge efforts and the difficulties such efforts create for both voters and election officials. It focuses on the shortcomings of existing voter challenge rules, the historical origins of these laws, the recent problems challengers have caused, and how lawmakers and election officials have responded to those problems.
