States make most rules governing elections in the United States. While Congress has set some national standards, states are responsible for devising and administering voter registration systems, the requirements for registering and voting, and how people register and vote. State legislatures have broad leeway to decide whether to create fair and convenient structures to ensure all eligible citizens can cast a ballot that counts or to erect hurdles that make it harder to vote. For many Americans, the ease or difficulty of voting turns on where they live.
Since the 2020 election, many states have turbocharged their efforts to restrict voting access. 2021 saw unprecedented action: At least 19 states enacted 32 laws that make it harder to vote. In 2025, states matched that total as at least 17 states enacted 32 restrictive laws, and so far in 2026 at least 11 states have enacted 14 restrictive laws. The 47 restrictive laws enacted between the 2024 election and September 1, 2026, surpasses the previous two-year high of 43 set in 2021–22. Other states have been busy making it easier to vote, although that pace slowed in 2025 when at least 25 states enacted 30 expansive laws. 2025 was the first year since at least 2020 that states enacted more restrictive laws than expansive ones. Through September 1, 2026, states have again enacted expansive laws at a faster pace than restrictive laws, with 15 states having enacted 31 expansive laws.
Meanwhile, 2025 continued a recent trend of states passing election interference laws that allow partisan actors to meddle in election results or create criminal penalties for election workers for honest mistakes. At least 7 states enacted 8 of these laws last year. As of September 2026, no state has enacted an interference law this year. If no state enacts an election interference law in 2026, it would be the first year this has occurred since the Brennan Center began tracking this type of legislation in 2022.
