Wendi Strauch Mahoney reports state by state.
Seven states that imposed new or stricter voter ID laws in 2021 are TX, IA, FL, MT, WY, GA, and AR. Fourteen states “created or expanded election-related crimes.” Seven states “codified processes to ensure voters are notified of problems with their ballots and provided an opportunity to resolve the issue.” Thirteen states put legislation in place to restrict mail-in voting. Five states tightened voter registration laws and requirements. Texas and Arizona are the two states that seem to show up consistently as making laws on election integrity. North Dakota, Arkansas, and Montana also made a good showing. Iowa appears to be the only state thus far to restrict early voting. Every Democrat opposed it.
Since drop boxes were such a point of contention for the 2020 election due to issues of ballot harvesting and, worse, ballot trafficking—they deserve special mention. Eleven states have introduced bills, according to the Voting Rights Lab. Bills have passed the first chamber in three states; GA, AZ, and ID. None have yet been signed into law.
Twelve states have introduced legislation on referencing absentee ballots. Those states which have introduced legislation are GA, SC, AZ, CO, MN, MA, MO, NJ, OH, OK, TN, PA.
Texas has made some of the most substantive changes and/or amendments to its election laws to shore up election integrity.
The Arizona legislature gets points for being active when submitting and debating bills. In some cases, bills were passed and signed. In 2021, Gov. Ducey signed 13 bills addressing early voting, voter registration database issues, and private funding, among other issues. However, most of the bills signed were relatively modest steps toward election integrity.
A key amendment currently considered in Wisconsin seeks to prevent the disaster that took place in five key Democratic strongholds in the state as a result of the Zuckerberg-Chan money.
S 202 is a 98-page bill signed into law by Gov. Kemp in March of 2021 that significantly amended the Georgia Elections Code. The Republicans sponsored Election Integrity Act of 2021 was voted in along party lines. It called for changes to absentee voting, stricter ID requirements for absentee ballots, and no unsolicited ballots may be sent.
S 90 was signed by Florida Governor DeSantis on May 6, 2021. The law was a comprehensive revision of mail-in voting, voter registration rules, and ID requirements. It also limits the number of ballots delivered, who is designated to deliver them, and prohibits election officials from accepting private funds, etc.
Governor DeSantis also signed a bill in early March, SB 524, that would enable the state to have a force “dedicated to election crimes and voter fraud.” It is one of the first states to do so. The governor would oversee the office. The House passed the Republican-led bill on Mar. 9 after a 23-15 vote in the Florida Senate. The new election crimes office would have a budget of $3.7 million.
Read more here: https://uncoverdc.com/2022/03/24/election-integrity-review-of-notable-state-legislation-and-issues/
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