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Welcome to the September edition of The Lever, featuring expert insights and analysis from Voting Rights Lab.
In this issue, we examine how the rapidly approaching 2025 elections in Virginia, Maine, and Pennsylvania could shape future elections. We also scrutinize the push for hand-counting ballots in Dallas, Texas, and examine the Trump administration’s efforts to establish a federal voter database.
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ELECTION POLICY IS ON THE BALLOT IN 2025
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Several state elections this fall could have a significant impact on future elections, including the 2026 midterms. In our latest analysis, we examine three high-stakes elections this fall: the gubernatorial election in Virginia, a ballot measure related to elections in Maine, and a consequential Supreme Court retention election in Pennsylvania.
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BY THE NUMBERS
21 hours
That’s how long it took Republicans in Gillespie County, Texas, to hand-count 8,000 ballots in a 2024 primary election, using a counting staff of 200 people. Dallas County expects voters to cast as many as 50,000 ballots on Election Day in the upcoming March Republican primary — but the party just voted this month to hand-count all of them.
As we’ve explained, hand-counting ballots is expensive, time-consuming, and can yield inaccurate results. Texas state law requires the completion of all manual ballot counts within 24 hours of the polls closing on Election Day. If the party can ensure adequate funding and staffing to make this happen, Dallas County would be the largest jurisdiction in the country to hand-count ballots.
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WHAT WE’RE READING: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION QUIETLY SEEKS TO BUILD NATIONAL VOTER ROLL
President Trump’s Justice Department is pursuing the largest-ever collection of state voter roll data. Recently, DOJ officials have stated that all 50 states have received or will receive requests demanding the names, addresses, and even Social Security numbers of registered voters. More than 30 states have reportedly already received such requests. The administration claims it will use this information to compare states’ voter rolls with the Department of Homeland Security’s federal immigration records. However, as one former Department of Justice official warned:
“It’s wading in, without authorization and against the law, with an overly heavy federal hand to take over a function that states are actually doing just fine … it’s wildly illegal, deeply troubling, and nobody asked for this.” — Justin Levitt, former Department of Justice official and election law expert at Loyola Marymount University.
At this time, most states, whether led by Democrats or Republicans, have steadfastly refused to hand over sensitive information, citing privacy laws and constitutional limits. As a result, eight states (so far) are facing lawsuits from the administration. These recurring instances of federal overreach are part of ongoing, unconstitutional efforts to meddle in state-run elections.
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THE MARKUP
The Markup is Voting Rights Lab’s weekly law and policy update, powered by our Election Policy Tracker. We’re currently on a biweekly summer schedule. If you would like to receive these emails, please tick the sign-up box at the bottom of this form.
Here’s an excerpt from the latest Markup:
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules officials must notify voters about mail ballot errors. Pennsylvania's highest court ruled that county election officials must inform voters when their mail ballots are disqualified due to errors, such as missing dates or signatures. They must also allow these voters to cast a provisional ballot in person. This case arose days before the 2024 primary after the Washington County Board of Elections decided to stop notifying voters about such disqualifying errors.
- Wisconsin lawmakers unveil package of election reforms. Wisconsin legislators announced a legislative package that includes several election reforms. These would allow for the processing of mail ballots on Mondays, create new requirements for ballot drop boxes, and more. Processing ballots before Election Day has been proven to speed up the reporting of election results.
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