*Read the John Lewis Legislation and related information on the Congressional web site by clicking here.
*Excerpt from the Voting Report Roundup of 2023 produced by the Brennan Center for Justice:
As of January 25, 2023, state lawmakers in at least 32 states pre-filed or introduced 150 restrictive voting bills. Legislation is categorized as restrictive if it contains one or more provisions that would make it harder for eligible Americans to register, stay on the voter rolls, or vote as compared to existing state law. The 150 restrictive bills represent an increase from the number of restrictive bills introduced at the same time in 2021 and 2022, indicating that lawmakers are using the same playbook from the past two years to make it harder to vote. Restrictive legislation often disproportionately impacts voters of color, and Brennan Center research has demonstrated the outsized racially discriminatory impact even one voting provision can have on voters.
In 2021, states enacted more restrictive voting laws than at any time since we began tracking legislation in 2011, but this year’s increase in the pace of introduction will not necessarily translate into an increase in passed legislation. The start of 2022 also saw more restrictive bills introduced compared to 2021, but fewer bills were passed by the close of the year.
In the first weeks of 2023, at least 27 election interference bills have been pre-filed or introduced in 10 states. Legislation is categorized as election interference if it does one of two things: increases opportunities for partisan interference in election administration or results, or it threatens the people and processes that make elections work. These include proposals to create entities controlled by the political branches of government for the prosecution of election crimes; enable political actors to prompt, initiate, or conduct audits of any election; impose new criminal penalties on election officials for routine election administration; or impose statewide bans on the use of machines to count ballots.
Two of the more radical proposals include a Texas bill that would allow presidential electors to disregard state election results and a Virginia bill that would empower a random selection of residents to void local election results.
There is usually an increase in legislative activity in odd years, when new legislative sessions begin, especially when they precede presidential elections. But there have actually been fewer election interference bills introduced this year than at this time last year. This slower pace may be a response to the outcome of the 2022 midterms, in which voters rejected prominent election denier candidates in battleground states.
At the same time, lawmakers in at least 34 states have pre-filed or introduced at least 274 bills that would expand voting access. Legislation is categorized as expansive if it contains one or more provisions that would make it easier for eligible Americans to register, stay on the rolls, or vote as compared to existing state law. While 274 is less than the number of bills introduced by this time in 2021, it is more than twice the number introduced by this time last year.
Restrictive Legislation
As of January 25, legislators in 32 states introduced or pre-filed at least 150 restrictive voting bills, and New Jersey carried over 23 such bills from last year. This far exceeds the 104 restrictive bills introduced in 29 states at this time in 2021 — a record-breaking year for restrictive legislation. Although there is an increase in restrictive legislation across the country this year, no restrictive voting bills have been introduced in Georgia so far, a state that was a focal point for enacting restrictive legislation in recent years and enacted four election interference laws last year. [Editor’s note: After January 25, the end date for bills included in this edition of the Voting Laws Roundup, a restrictive voting bill was introduced in the Georgia legislature. That bill is not included in this edition’s data.
In line with legislative trends from the past two years, more than half of the restrictive voting bills (80) introduced thus far would limit access to mail voting. This year differs from recent years in that lawmakers are also introducing a significant number of voter ID bills (51), including bills that would require voters to present photo identification or documentary proof of citizenship. Other bills would risk faulty voter purges and restrict early voting, either by shortening the early voting period or eliminating it altogether.