Greetings from sunny Los Angeles! I’m here for our first VoteRiders Board of Directors meeting of the year, where we’re talking about everything we need to do in 2023 and beyond.

I thought I’d share some of what we’re talking about with you. This email will be a little longer than usual but since you’re one of our valued supporters, John, I thought you’d like an inside look at what lies ahead. (You can also skip down to the bottom for 3 things you can do to help right now!)

The big picture is that tough new voter ID laws show no signs of slowing down. If anything, they’re speeding up.

Following the 2020 election, we saw a wave of new legislation that restricted the right to vote for eligible Americans, including voter ID laws. By the 2022 midterm elections, 11 states had new or stricter voter ID laws in place. 

That meant that for tens of millions of voters, the voting rules had changed since the last time they voted, and they didn’t always know about the changes until it was too late. Just one example: In Texas, a new voter ID law meant that almost 10,000 mail-in ballots were rejected in the general election — the highest percentage of rejected ballots nationwide.

VoteRiders staff and volunteers across the country saw firsthand that even when state-issued IDs are free, voter ID laws still impose extra costs on the voting process in terms of time, transportation, and logistics. Imposing additional costs on voters to exercise their fundamental freedom to vote will continue to impact the most marginalized voters in the biggest ways.

Now, looking to 2023, new voter ID laws have already gone into effect in New Hampshire and Arizona. The Arizona law, which requires voter registration applications to be accompanied by “satisfactory evidence of citizenship” such as naturalization documents, a birth certificate, or an Arizona-issued driver’s license, risks being particularly confusing and burdensome for voters across the state.

Meanwhile, in Nebraska, voters approved a voter ID constitutional amendment in November that state legislators are moving through the legislative process. And earlier this year, Ohio passed one of the country's most onerous voter ID laws, potentially disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of eligible voters including students and veterans once it goes into effect in April.

It can sometimes feel a bit depressing, but don’t worry — I also have good news! VoteRiders has more than a decade of voter ID expertise and we’re ready to meet these challenges head on — reaching millions of Americans with our voter ID education programs while also helping voters one on one to secure the ID they need to cast their ballot. Here are just a few of the things we're working on right now: 

• We’ve put together a major coalition in Arizona ahead of Phoenix city council elections in March to make sure voters know how to register and vote with the new voter ID requirements in place.
• In Ohio, we’ve been meeting with leading local organizations to break down the new law, share experiences and lessons from other states, and make plans to start NOW to help communities clear the new voter ID related hurdles to voting.
• In Wisconsin — a strict voter ID state with critical State Supreme Court primaries in February and elections in April — we’re organizing tons of on-the-ground and virtual events with a focus on reaching and educating student voters.

If you're ready to help, here are three ways you can support VoteRiders’ work right now:

1. Volunteer! We're holding our first virtual letter writing party of the year on February 9 at 7pm ET to deliver essential information and assistance to Wisconsin voters most likely to be disenfranchised by the state's strict voter ID law. Sign up for this event HERE, or join our volunteer list to get notified of other upcoming virtual and in-person volunteer opportunities. 
2. Donate! With so many new voter ID laws on the books, we'll need to increase our outreach and assistance efforts in a big way. Your gift directly supports these efforts.
3. Help us spread the word! Direct your communities to our state-by-state voter ID resources, order Voter ID Info Cards to pass out all year long, share our social media graphics, or follow us across all platforms at @VoteRiders. 

It won’t be easy, but the VoteRiders team is feeling energized and ready to tackle everything that this next election cycle has in store for us and — most importantly — for the millions of Americans we serve who are confronting rising barriers to casting a ballot. 

Thanks for supporting VoteRiders. We couldn’t do this work without you!

Sincerely,

Lauren Kunis
CEO and Executive Director
VoteRiders

Follow @VoteRiders

VoteRiders is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization registered in the US under EIN 45-5081831.

VoteRiders
171 Pier Avenue #313
Santa Monica, CA 90405
United States 

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