In a post-VRA America, attacks on ballot access – and the impact of these attacks on Black people and communities of color – go largely unchecked.

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Welcome to the February edition of The Lever. Every year, we take time in Black History Month to celebrate and reflect on the accomplishments of the often unrecognized, ignored, or overlooked heroes who have shaped our nation’s history and who continue leading the way to a brighter future.

Here at the Voting Rights Lab, we want to take this opportunity to reflect on Black history in the context of voting rights and the systemic racism of our nation’s electoral systems that we see up close on a daily basis.

We wanted to share with you the story of Pam Gaskin in Texas. Her father took her to register to vote days after her 21st birthday in 1968 – just three years after the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA). Five decades later, she told the Texas Tribune ([link removed]) she can count the number of elections she’s missed on one hand. But this year, in the midst of the chaos surrounding the implementation of S.B.1, Gaskin and her husband have already been denied ballots twice.

While Pam’s father lived – and attempted to vote – in a pre-VRA Texas, Pam now lives in a post-VRA Texas – one where attacks on access to the ballot, and the impact of these attacks on Black people and communities of color, go largely unchecked.

These are the very real barriers to voting that Black communities continue to face more than 150 years after the ratification of the 15th Amendment and more than 50 years after the passage of the VRA. It’s people like Pam that we do this work for.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership. Together, we will continue fighting to create an America where voting is equitable and accessible, and serves as a celebration of our freedom, our democracy, and every one of our communities.


** HOT POLICY TAKE
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State legislators around the country have continued their efforts to enshrine policies into law that would allow partisans to subvert the will of voters. This new threat first emerged in 2021 and is on the rise in 2022.

Read our analysis ([link removed]) of where election subversion efforts stand in nine states anticipated to be election battlegrounds in 2024 – Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin – and how looming legislative threats could allow for partisan interference in future elections.
READ THE HOT POLICY TAKE NOW ([link removed])


** BY THE NUMBERS
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200+ Bills
In 2021, 33 states introduced over 200 individual bills ([link removed]) to undermine the administration of elections. Fourteen states enacted this type of legislation. ([link removed])

In our new report, Showdown 2022: The State of State Election Law – and the Fights Ahead ([link removed]) , we dig into the more than 225 election subversion bills that are active in 2022 and take stock of the policies that both expanded and restricted voting access in 2021 – with an impact on more than 230 million voters. You can also explore our new Election Interference issue area in the State Voting Rights Tracker. ([link removed])

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CHECK OUT THE FULL REPORT ([link removed])


** FROM OUR PARTNERS
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Our friends at the Election Protection Coalition put together this fantastic resource ([link removed]) to help Texas voters navigate the changes to voting under S.B.1 in the lead up to the primaries this Tuesday, March 1.

Please share this hotline with Texas voters in your networks to ensure that voters have an equal opportunity to vote and have that vote count: 866-OUR-VOTE.

SHARE THE TOOLKIT NOW ([link removed])


** WHAT WE'RE READING
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A recent opinion piece in the Texas Tribune ([link removed]) speaks to one group of voters facing serious threats to their freedom to vote: Texans with disabilities. The piece examines the unique barriers faced by voters with disabilities since the restrictive S.B. 1 was passed last year, highlighting a lack of clear guidance on election procedures from the secretary of state, as well as concerning ballot application rejection rates.

“Election measures — including the newest Texas law — lose any semblance of integrity and voter access if they interfere with the reasonable, necessary and legally protected accommodations for voters with disabilities that have already been in place and working well.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ([link removed])


** THE MARKUP
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The Markup is VRL’s weekly legislative update for voting rights insiders. Here’s a snippet from yesterday’s edition ([link removed]) – a sample of what you can expect each week:

Wisconsin Elections Commission removes guidance allowing drop boxes. In a unanimous vote, the WEC removed guidance ([link removed]) first introduced in 2020 allowing local clerks to use discretion in determining whether or not to permit the use of drop boxes. This vote came after the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected a motion ([link removed]) for a temporary stay of a lower court’s order banning drop boxes in the state. While this is not a final ruling on the merits, it is not a promising sign for the use of drop boxes in the state.
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