From the simplest administrative changes to the broadest of omnibus overhauls, dozens of voting and elections laws are set to take effect this month.
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Welcome to our special mid-January edition of The Lever – hitting your inbox just as state legislative sessions kick off all across the country. Our democracy is strongest when everyone has a voice.
In this month's Hot Policy Take ([link removed]) , we take a look at the major shifts to state election laws going into effect as we start the year. That's right: there's no better time to talk effective dates for legislation than the start of a new year. From changes to voter list maintenance, to active voter list purges, to Texas election audits and more, we combed through the landmark elections bills passed since the 2020 election to find the changes that matter most as we start 2023.
Looking for what’s happening in state legislative sessions this year? Look no further than The Markup ([link removed]) – our weekly newsletter with legislative updates for voting rights insiders. Check it out to see what we're following as bills are prefiled and introduced all over the country. Right now, we're tracking more than 303 individual pieces of legislation in 19 states and DC.
** HOT POLICY TAKE
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Three hundred sixty-eight ([link removed]) . That's how many laws impacting how people vote and how elections are run were enacted or adopted since the 2020 election. From the simplest of administrative changes to the broadest of omnibus overhauls, as the new year begins, dozens of voting and elections laws are set to take effect.
Some changes will be immediately apparent, others likely won't become visible until an election is held, either later this year or in 2024. In this week's Hot Policy Take, New Year, New Laws: The Post-2020 Election Laws Taking Effect January 2023 ([link removed]) , we take a look at ten bills with provisions taking effect this January that will have a significant impact on elections across the country – whether for voters, state agencies, local election officials, or advocates.
READ THE HOT POLICY TAKE NOW ([link removed])
** BY THE NUMBERS
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303
That's how many bills have been prefiled or introduced as of Tuesday, January 10. One hundred sixty-two (162) bills in 13 states and DC will improve voter access or election administration, 55 bills in 10 states will restrict voter access or election administration, and the remaining 86 are either neutral or unclear in their impact.
New Jersey leads the way with 131 bills – though each of those bills were introduced in 2022 and have since carried over into 2023. The vast majority of prefiled legislation is in Texas, whose legislature only meets in odd-numbered years. In fact, 75 ([link removed]) of the 97 ([link removed]) bills prefiled for 2023 are in Texas.
SEE OUR TRACKER FOR MORE ([link removed])
** WHAT WE'RE READING
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As we all settle in for the new year, take a moment to read Bolts' 'Ten Questions that Will Shape Democracy and Voting Rights in 2023.' ([link removed]) Released in late December, their reporting looks at the potential impact of new secretaries of state, increasing criminalization of elections, the future of ballot initiatives, and so much more – we can't recommend it enough.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE ([link removed])
** FROM OUR PARTNERS
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The Cobb County Board of Elections failed to send thousands of voters the mail ballot they requested not once, but twice in Georgia's November general election and the pursuing December runoff. In both instances, ACLU of Georgia and the Southern Poverty Law Center stepped in to ensure eligible voters had the chance to be heard at the ballot box.
By filing suit in the Cobb County Superior Court, the two groups secured protection for voters who did not receive a mail ballot on time and, as a result, could not return their ballot to their local election office by the deadline of 7 p.m. on Election Day – extending the deadline for ballot return by one week for both the general election and the runoff. With more than 1,000 voters affected in November and a further 3,400 affected in December, the ACLU of Georgia and the SPLC made sure no one lost their right to vote as the result of an administrative failure beyond their control.
LEARN MORE ([link removed])
** THE MARKUP
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The Markup is VRL’s weekly legislative update for voting rights insiders. As state legislative sessions will be underway in 45 states by the end of the month, and as a clear picture for what to expect in voting and elections legislation has already begun to form, yesterday's edition of The Markup dove into the early action we're seeing in several states. Here’s a snippet from this week’s edition – a sample of what you can expect each week:
Bills to protect election officials and workers introduced in several states. Responding to the ongoing harassment of election officials, some legislatures are considering legislation to protect them. So far, at least five legislatures (Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, Texas, and Washington) have introduced eight bills ([link removed]) . Among them are efforts to allow election officials to keep their addresses confidential, create new crimes for those who harass election officials, stiffen penalties for existing laws against the harassment of election officials, and require local district attorneys to defend election officials in court.
If you’d like to get insights like this straight to your inbox each Monday, head here to sign up ([link removed]) .
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