When the US supreme court issued a decision in 2013 crippling the power of the landmark Voting Rights Act, Republican-controlled legislatures saw it as a green light to push restrictive voting laws that likely would have been blocked previously.
Before 2013, nine states and dozens of other jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting had to pre-approve changes to their voting law with the Department of Justice. But after the decision, states moved forward with a wave of sweeping voting changes that made it harder for people to register to vote and cast ballots.
In the past decade, the states previously subject to the pre-clearance requirement have collectively passed at least 20 laws that restrict voting, according to data from the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks state legislation.
“Without pre-clearance, you’re seeing an influx of new voter restrictions that either were held by pre-clearance from making it into law or other laws or changes at the local level that weren’t even proposed or put through because of knowledge they would not make it through the pre-clearance process,” said Sophia Lakin, the interim co-director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project.
Here’s a look at how state legislatures have acted over the last decade to restrict voting, according to data from the Voting Rights Lab:
2013
Before the Shelby county decision, a voter ID measure had been pending in the North Carolina legislature, but once the decision came down, lawmakers expanded the bill to include a host of new restrictions. As passed, the bill required photo ID for all in-person voters, required that mail ballot return envelopes be signed by two witnesses, required an ID number for mail ballot applications, eliminated same-day registration during early voting (North Carolina already didn’t allow same-day registration on election day) and eliminated the first week of early voting, among other measures. Voting rights activists and the justice department sued over the law, and it was ultimately blocked by a federal appeals court, which found that it discriminated against African Americans “with almost surgical precision”.
2016
Lawmakers in Arizona tried to criminalize third-party ballot collection before the Shelby county decision, but when they submitted the bill for pre-clearance, the justice department asked for more information about its potential impacts on Latino communities. That was enough of a deterrent for the attorney general to decide to drop the effort. But after the Shelby county decision, lawmakers were able to move forward with an even harsher bill to criminalize the returning of ballots by a third party other than a relative, household member or caregiver of the voter. The measure was challenged in court, but was ultimately upheld by the supreme court in 2021.
2018
A new bill in North Carolina required people voting by mail to have two witnesses or a notary sign their ballot return envelopes. Voting advocates have challenged witness requirements across the country, claiming they’re burdensome and unconstitutional and were especially difficult for voters during the pandemic.
Despite a court rejecting the prior iteration of their photo ID law, North Carolina tried again and passed a new law that required in-person voters to provide photo ID unless they have a reasonable impediment to obtaining one. It also required mail voters to provide a copy of an ID with their ballot applications or ballots unless they too have a reasonable impediment.
2019
Alabama policy prohibits anyone from voting who is convicted of a “crime of moral turpitude”, and a new law in 2019 added aggravated theft by deception to the list of disenfranchising convictions. Another new law in the state required all people voting by mail to submit a copy of a qualifying photo ID with their mail ballot applications.
Arizona passed a law requiring people voting in-person early to show the same ID documentation as election day voters.
North Carolina enacted another law tightening its ID law to require that people who vote by mail, who claim they have a reasonable impediment to attaching a photo ID with their application or ballot, must include an ID number. The law also restricted assistance with mail ballot applications.
South Dakota, which had two counties required to get pre-clearance before 2013, repealed a law allowing voter registration applications postmarked at least 30 days before an election to be counted even if received after the deadline of 15 days before the election.
2020
Virginia moved the application for mail ballot applications four days earlier to the 11th day before an election.
2021
Arizona passed a bill making it easier to remove voters from the list of people who are automatically mailed mail ballots.
Florida passed a sweeping law requiring an ID number on mail ballot applications, restricting where ballot drop boxes can be placed and who must monitor them and restricting third-party ballot return, among other new election rules.
A new omnibus voting law in Georgia restricted voting access in the state in numerous ways, including requiring mail voters to provide an ID number on their mail ballot applications and envelopes, eliminating signature matching to verify mail ballots, shortening the period when voters can apply for a mail ballot and restricting drop box availability.
A similarly sweeping bill in Texas prohibited drive-through voting and 24-hour early voting – two efforts launched by several counties during the pandemic to make voting easier. The bill also prohibited the distribution of mail ballot applications and increased requirements to vote by mail.
2022
A controversial new Arizona law, which is being challenged in court, required the state to perform voter registration list maintenance to check for potential non-citizens.
Arizona lawmakers proposed a state constitutional amendment that would have imposed ID number requirements for mail voters and required photo ID for in-person voters, but voters rejected the amendment in November 2022.
Florida created a new office to investigate claims of voter fraud, increased penalties for anyone violating election laws including third-party ballot collection and required election officials to update voter rolls annually.
Louisiana passed a law limiting sites where voters can drop off mail ballots.
2023
Mississippi established a process for individuals who fail to vote over a roughly four year period to receive address confirmation mailings, which could lead to them eventually having their registrations cancelled. The state also restricted third-party ballot return to relatives, household members and caregivers of a voter, and established a new misdemeanor for people who violate this law.
