Welcome to the April edition of The Lever. This month, we analyze a concerning trend cropping up across the country, from Florida to Wisconsin: the hypercriminalization of elections. Learn more in our latest Hot Policy Take, Treating the Voting Booth like a Crime Scene.
We also share updates from the State Voting Rights Tracker with more legislative details about the far-reaching nature of this trend. We feature a recommended read on a congressional investigation into election misinformation, and we commend our New Hampshire partners for their phenomenal work mitigating anti-voter legislation. Let’s get right to it.
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In this month’s Hot Policy Take, we explore a concerning trend: the hypercriminalization of elections. Following the 2020 election, vague allegations of widespread election irregularities appeared in several states. Despite a lack of evidence of those irregularities, even after states have spent enormous resources searching for such evidence at the behest of partisan actors, some states are now responding with efforts to increase the involvement of criminal law enforcement in the election process.
One type of proposal that is gaining momentum is to increase the involvement of criminal law enforcement in the election process. From Florida to Georgia to Pennsylvania, states are devoting substantial resources to this needless increase in elections-related law enforcement. These proposals threaten to confuse, intimidate, and possibly deter eligible voters and well-meaning election officials who seek to assist them.
For the full analysis, check out our latest post: Treating the Voting Booth like a Crime Scene.
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BY THE NUMBERS
46 bills
Fourteen states have introduced 46 bills that would escalate the investigation or prosecution of purported election crimes. Arizona is the first state to enact such a law, with House Bill 2492 requiring the attorney general and county recorders to investigate the citizenship status of certain voters and applicants for registration. The bill requires the attorney general to prosecute non-citizen registered voters and subjects recorders to criminal penalties for failing to investigate as required. An additional nine bills in six states have passed at least one legislative chamber, including four that passed both chambers.
These bills represent just a portion of the 293 bills in 2022 that would threaten voters, election officials and others with civil and criminal penalties in potentially harmful ways. For up-to-date analysis of these bills and more, check out the State Voting Rights Tracker.
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WHAT WE'RE READING
Congress may be preparing to take action on election misinformation, and they're looking to election officials in key states to learn more. The Dallas Morning News had coverage of a letter the House Oversight & Reform Committee sent to election administrators in Texas, Arizona, Florida, and Ohio last week – giving local election experts the chance to speak up on the threats they see facing the democratic process today. Look no further than what lawmakers wrote to the president of the Texas Association of Election Administrators to see what they have in mind:
"The Committees are seeking to understand the scope and scale of election misinformation in your state, the impact that this flood of false information has had on election administration, the risks it poses for upcoming federal elections, and the steps that your organization and local election administrators have taken in response. Our investigation also aims to identify steps that federal, state, and local governments can take to counter misinformation and prevent these lies from being used to undermine the legitimate vote count in future elections."
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FROM OUR PARTNERS
The New Hampshire coalition of voting rights advocates – led by our friends at the ACLU and America Votes – have been working to mitigate S.B. 418, a bill that would make the state’s voter ID law more restrictive, among other harmful provisions. Coalition partners made a significant show of force in testifying against the bill, with testimony from several military veterans. Thanks in large part to their advocacy, the ID requirement was removed for people who are already registered to vote, and the enactment date was moved to January 1, 2023.
As amended, S.B. 418 now would only apply to those who register to vote at their polling place on Election Day. There were also small improvements to parts of the bill impacting Uniformed And Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) voters, though there are still concerns over how this legislation may impact these voters’ ability to have their vote counted. S.B. 418 now heads to the House Finance committee for a vote tomorrow, April 27. The coalition is continuing their advocacy against this restrictive legislation.
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THE MARKUP
The Markup is VRL’s weekly legislative update for voting rights insiders. Here’s a snippet from yesterday’s edition – a sample of what you can expect each week:
The Missouri House adds a poison pill to legislation that would create in-person early voting. H.B. 2140 would expand early voting via the in-person absentee voting process; allow first responders, health care workers, and members of law enforcement to vote absentee; and allow Missouri registered voters to make same-day changes in residence up to and including Election Day. However, during a floor debate on the bill, a poison pill amendment was passed concerning transgender student athletes’ participation on school sponsored athletic teams, making the bill very unlikely to pass the Senate. If early voting passes in Missouri this session, it is likely to be through H.B. 1878, legislation that would make the state’s voter ID law more strict but also create in-person early voting. H.B. 1878 has passed the Senate Local Government and Ethics Committee and is ready for consideration by the full Senate.
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