Lawmakers in 32 states across the US have introduced or pre-filed at least 150 bills aimed at making it harder to vote, according to a new analysis from the liberal-leaning Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s law school.
The report, which covers legislative activity through January 25, 2023, was released Wednesday morning. The number of proposed bills represents an uptick in comparison to bills introduced at the same time in 2022 and 2021.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean that the country will have a record number of new restrictive voting laws by year’s end, but the high number of bills is an indicator that many legislators are still focused on making it harder to vote,” Jasleen Singh, counsel in the Brennan Center’s democracy program, told CNN.
The restrictive voting bills are part of an ongoing Republican-led push to change election laws following record turnout in the 2020 presidential election and unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud.
Proposals in two states would open new doors for election results to be overturned.
One bill proposed in Texas would allow presidential electors to set aside election results if passed.
In Virginia, one piece of proposed legislation aims to allow citizens to demand forensic audits of results, which would then be presented to a jury of “randomly selected residents,” who could vote to invalidate the election.
Of the 150 bills, more than half aim to limit access to mail-in voting which gained popularity during the coronavirus pandemic.
Some of the bills also propose increasing or imposing voter ID requirements for in-person voting and registration. Of the bills, 32 would require voters to present a photo ID at the polls. Opponents of voter ID laws say they disproportionately impact minorities, people with disabilities and those from low-income backgrounds who may not have the necessary forms of identification.
The report notes that no bills aimed at restricting access have been proposed in Georgia where a controversial election law was passed in 2021.
The push to restrict voting access has been met with legislative efforts to expand access to voting.Thirty-four states pre-filed or introduced 274 expansive voting bills since new legislative sessions began, according to the Brennan Center report.
Should any of the bills aimed at restricting or increasing voter access pass and be signed into law, they would go into effect ahead of the 2024 presidential primaries and election.
