(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Voting rights under attack: can we hold the line? [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2023-09-06
Voting rights have been under siege by Republicans since the Voting Rights Act has been weaken by Supreme Court rulings. The chart below shows that there have been many states adopting voter-friendly policies since 2012 as well. The major restrictive policy change has been the move to requiring voter photo IDs. But despite state laws that require photo IDs and other documentation to register and/or vote, the voting rate has held tight. There has not been a decline in voting due to these new restrictive laws. People adjusted and the party and other organizations helped them navigate the new rules.
Percentage of states using various registration/voting procedures over time
Year Online registration Automatic registration Election Day registration No excuse absentee voting Registration lead time < 22 days Early In- person voting Photo ID Drop box Average wait time <10 minutes Hours open> 12.5 2020 84% 37% 45% 69% 55% 84% 49% 34% 55% 65% 2016 69% 6% 33% 61% 45% 43% 16% 33% 71% 57% 2012 27% 0% 20% 59% 39% 71% 10% --- 55% 55%
But that was 2016 and 2020. The attack has continued and it is unclear If you pile enough on, do you eventually break people? The map above uses Brennan Center for Justice data and shows states have been very active legislatively. It is a mixed picture in terms of expanding and restricting the voting process. Generally, states controlled by the Democrats have been enacting laws that make it easier to vote while Republican controlled states have been placing more restrictions on the voting process. Past experience suggests these changes will not affect the voting rate but with all the new efforts to curtail rights, we may be playing in a new ball game now.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/9/6/2191819/-Voting-rights-under-attack-can-we-hold-the-line
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
