Welcome to the April edition of The Lever, featuring expert insights and analysis from Voting Rights Lab. 

In this issue, we highlight the distinction between voter ID and documentary proof of citizenship requirements and spotlight the explosion of documentary proof of citizenship bills in 24+ states. We also examine the recent court ruling on President Trump’s executive order on elections and share some of the challenges blind voters experience as explained by Denise Jess, executive director of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired.

VOTER ID IS NOT DOCUMENTARY PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP. HERE’S WHY THAT MATTERS.

Voter identification laws require common IDs like driver's licenses to confirm voter identity. Documentary proof of citizenship laws, on the other hand, generally require harder-to-get documents like passports or birth certificates. These distinct policies are often conflated — despite presenting very different implications for voters, election administrators, and the future of our elections. 

In this month’s analysis, we shed light on just how exclusionary, costly, and burdensome documentary proof of citizenship policies are — and offer recommendations for a better path forward.
READ OUR ANALYSIS

BY THE NUMBERS

 

24

That’s how many states have introduced measures this year that would require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering to vote. This type of excessive mandate on voters became law in Wyoming this year, joining laws passed last year in Louisiana and New Hampshire.

The SAVE Act, which is pending in Congress, and President Trump’s recent executive order on elections both seek to implement a national documentary proof of citizenship mandate. While those efforts face an uncertain future, they have served as clear directives to lawmakers in more than two dozen states. 

While each of these state bills vary in terms of proof of citizenship requirements, the impacts would be the same – more unnecessary red tape mandates that would create significant challenges for voters and election officials alike.
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WHAT WE'RE READING

On Thursday, Judge Colleen Kotar-Kelly issued a ruling partially blocking President Trump’s executive order on elections. The ruling halts the provision mandating that the Election Assistance Commission include a proof of citizenship question on the federal voter registration form, as well as provisions that would have allowed federal agencies to deny or refuse to send voter registration forms to voters. 

In her ruling, Judge Kotar-Kelly made clear where the constitutional authority lies when it comes to elections:

“Our Constitution entrusts Congress and the States—not the President—with the authority to regulate federal elections. Consistent with that allocation of power…[N]o statutory delegation of authority to the Executive Branch permits the President to short-circuit Congress’s deliberative process by executive order."
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FROM OUR PARTNERS

When Wisconsinites vote, they must choose between casting their votes using hand-marked paper ballots or through ballot-marking devices that make the voters’ selections on paper ballots. Votebeat published a story earlier this month about how these common circumstances at polling places present particular challenges for voters who are blind or visually impaired. The article profiles Denise Jess, executive director of the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired, who highlights how polling places still – often unintentionally – miss the mark when it comes to accessibility.

“We’ve had voters say, ‘I’m not going back. I’m just not doing that again, doing that to myself,’ [Denise Jess] said. “So then we lose a voter.”

One practical solution would be to offer fully electronic absentee voting for people with disabilities. Using this method, voters can receive a ballot electronically, mark it using screen reader technology, and securely return it — similar to electronic document signature procedures. Over a dozen states offer this form of voting. Wisconsin is not one of them.
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THE MARKUP

The Markup is Voting Rights Lab’s weekly law and policy update, powered by our State Voting Rights Tracker. If you would like to get these weekly insights, please tick the sign-up box at the bottom of this form. Here’s a preview of what we’re watching this week:

  • Alabama House passes bill prohibiting ERIC membership. The Alabama House passed H.B. 479, which would prohibit the state from joining ERIC, a bipartisan group that helps states maintain accurate voter rolls. The bill would also require new data-sharing methods between states. The state left ERIC in 2023 and has since entered several bilateral data-sharing agreements with other states.

  • Federal court pauses Mississippi mail ballot deadline ruling, pending Supreme Court review. A federal district court stayed a prior ruling that Mississippi's five-day grace period for counting mail ballots postmarked by Election Day violates federal law. The stay will remain in effect while the state petitions the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. The decision restores Mississippi's place alongside 18 states and D.C. that rely on postmarks to determine the timeliness of mail ballots, even if they are received after Election Day. President Donald Trump's executive order on elections seeks to end this practice.
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