Recent voting issues and trends that will impact the coming elections.
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Welcome to the July edition of The Lever, featuring expert insights and analysis from Voting Rights Lab ([link removed]) . In this month’s newsletter, we’re diving into the key state legislative trends shaping elections this year. Plus, we’re highlighting new research from Protect Democracy, recent reporting on election certification challenges, and new laws to protect election workers.
** SUMMER WATCHLIST: LEGISLATIVE TRENDS SHAPING ELECTIONS IN 2024
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Even as a major election approaches, state lawmakers across the country continue to change the rules governing our elections. All told, three key election-related trends from the 2024 legislative sessions could have a big impact come November:
1. States criminalize the ballot box.
2. States add burdensome and unnecessary proof of citizenship requirements.
3. States engage in cross-partisan efforts to safeguard our elections.
Read our latest blog post for more on the issues and trends we’re watching in 2024. ([link removed])
READ OUR ANALYSIS ([link removed])
** BY THE NUMBERS
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7
That’s the number of states that have enacted legislation this year expanding protections for election workers. That list includes Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Virginia, Washington, and D.C.
These laws and policies have become especially critical in the aftermath of the 2020 elections. Since 2020, 19 states and D.C. ([link removed]) have passed similar legislation in response to a rise in intimidation, politicization, and violence directed towards election workers.
LEARN MORE ([link removed])
** WHAT WE'RE READING
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The New York Times ([link removed]) and Washington Post ([link removed]) reported on a covert, coordinated strategy to refuse to certify election results and/or disrupt the voting process this November. From the New York Times:
“Mr. Trump’s allies have followed a two-pronged approach: restricting voting for partisan advantage ahead of Election Day and short-circuiting the process of ratifying the winner afterward, if Mr. Trump loses. The latter strategy involves an ambitious — and legally dubious — attempt to reimagine decades of settled law dictating how results are officially certified in the weeks before the transfer of power.
“At the heart of the strategy is a drive to convince voters that the election is about to be stolen, even without evidence. Democrats use mail voting, drop boxes and voter registration drives to swing elections, they have argued. And Mr. Trump’s indictments and criminal conviction are a Biden administration gambit to interfere with the election, they claim.”
READ THE FULL ARTICLE ([link removed])
** FROM OUR PARTNERS
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Our friends at Protect Democracy ([link removed]) released a report ([link removed]) last month on the current trend of mass voter challenges. Since 2020, mass pre-election challenges to voter eligibility have emerged as a tool to stoke fears of voter fraud. While the vast majority of these challenges are deemed invalid, these challenges still do more harm than good: they can overwhelm officials, intimidate voters, and discourage participation in our elections.
“Ultimately mass challenges represent little more than a clumsy, inaccurate effort to duplicate the work election officials already do to maintain registration lists.”
READ THE REPORT ([link removed])
** THE MARKUP
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The Markup is Voting Rights Lab’s weekly law and policy update, powered by our Voting Rights Tracker ([link removed]) . If you’d like to get these insights straight to your inbox, head here to sign up ([link removed]) . Here’s a preview of what we’re watching this week:
Federal judges in Nevada ([link removed]) and Mississippi ([link removed]) upheld those states' policy of accepting mail ballots postmarked on time but received after Election Day, rejecting challenges from political organizations seeking to have those ballots tossed out. Eighteen states and D.C. ([link removed]) rely on postmarks to ensure all timely cast ballots are counted.
The Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners approved a rule ([link removed]) prohibiting the use of electronic signatures on voter registration forms. Under the rule, residents must provide a "wet signature" on their applications made by physically using a writing device. Arkansas is one of only seven states ([link removed]) that does not give residents the option of registering to vote online.
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