A wave of voting laws

A wave of voting laws

Republicans in key battlegrounds have passed restrictive voting laws, while other states have made voting easier.

Voting laws passed in 2021


Restrictive


Expansive


Both


Battleground states


Republicans have passed a wave of new voting requirements and limits this year in battleground states such as Georgia, Florida and Arizona, citing a need to stamp out alleged electoral fraud that former President Donald Trump says, without evidence, cost him the November election.

But some Republicans lawmakers and election officials in states that are less competitive in national elections, such as Vermont, Kentucky and Oklahoma, say their party should be making it easier to vote, not harder – and support legislation to do just that.

The laws by type

Rep./Dem Control

Split legislature

Laws restricting:

VOTE BY MAIL

AZ

AR

AL

FL

GA

IA

ID

IN

MT

OK

KS

KY

IN-PERSON VOTING

AR

IA

FL

GA

KY

MT

UT

WY

Laws expanding:

VOTE BY MAIL

IN

ND

KY

MD

VT

IL

VA

EARLY VOTING

IN

OK

KY

MA

MD

NJ

VA

ACCESS FOR DISABLED / CONVICTED / YOUTH

NY

WA

IN

MT

ND

MA

VA

KY

Rep./Dem Control

Split legislature

Laws restricting:

VOTE BY MAIL

AZ

AR

AL

FL

GA

IA

ID

IN

MT

OK

KS

KY

IN-PERSON VOTING

AR

IA

FL

GA

KY

MT

UT

WY

Laws expanding:

VOTE BY MAIL

IN

ND

KY

MD

VT

IL

VA

EARLY VOTING

IN

OK

KY

MA

MD

NJ

VA

ACCESS FOR DISABLED / CONVICTED / YOUTH

NY

WA

IN

MT

ND

MA

VA

KY

Rep./Dem Control

Split legislature

Laws restricting:

Laws expanding:

VOTE BY MAIL

VOTE BY MAIL

AZ

AR

AL

FL

GA

IA

ID

IN

MT

OK

KS

KY

IN

ND

KY

MD

VT

IL

VA

IN-PERSON VOTING

EARLY VOTING

IN

OK

KY

MA

MD

NJ

VA

AR

IA

FL

GA

KY

MT

UT

WY

ACCESS FOR DISABLED / CONVICTED / YOUTH

NY

WA

IN

MT

ND

MA

VA

KY

Rep./Dem Control

Split legislature

Laws restricting:

Laws expanding:

VOTE BY MAIL

VOTE BY MAIL

AZ

AR

AL

FL

GA

IA

ID

IN

MT

OK

KS

KY

IN

ND

KY

MD

VT

IL

VA

IN-PERSON VOTING

EARLY VOTING

IN

OK

KY

MA

MD

NJ

VA

AR

IA

FL

GA

KY

MT

UT

WY

ACCESS FOR DISABLED / CONVICTED / YOUTH

ACCESS FOR DISABLED / CONVICTED / YOUTH

NY

WA

IN

MT

ND

MA

VA

KY

Types of laws by 2020 margins

Most of the states with restrictive voting laws went for Trump in the 2020 election, with most states expanding voting access voted for Biden. A handful of states that went for Trump passed laws classified in both categories.

Biden margin

Trump margin

States with restrictive laws

States with expansive laws

States with both

Voter advocates still criticize some elements of the laws. Eliza Sweren-Becker, a voting rights and elections counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, said the Kentucky law limited the period in which voters could apply for absentee ballots and created a process for purging voters from the rolls, while the Oklahoma law shortened the time in which voters could return absentee ballots.

Sweren-Becker said the voting expansions in both states and Vermont reflect the fact that none of the states are highly competitive in general elections.

“When you’re not in a state where the margins are expected to be so close, that same voter suppression motivation is not necessarily at play,” she said.

Note

Data is current as of June 10, 2021.

Sources

Brennan Center for Justice; Reuters reporting

Edited by

Chris Canipe