WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats have vowed to pass federal voting rights legislation, but eight months into his term they are losing a race with Republican-led state legislatures.
Eighteen states — 17 with legislatures under GOP control — have enacted new restrictions on voting with many of the laws tightening rules around mail ballots, which were used widely during the 2020 election, according to New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice.
“Certainly the efforts to make it harder to vote have been turbocharged this year. We are seeing truly unprecedented levels of new laws that make it harder to vote,” said Eliza Sweren-Becker, counsel for the democracy program at the Brennan Center. “It’s not too late for Congress to pass legislation.”
