Over the past two years, Republican states in the US have passed several voting rights laws and measures under the guise of fighting voter fraud. The new rules, experts warn, are opening avenues for voter intimidation and poll interference, making the midterm elections on November 8 a test of the US election system and of American democracy.
Two years after a presidential election contested by the loser, tensions are mounting ahead of the November 8 US midterm elections. Donald Trump’s “stolen election” assertions have never been proven, due to a lack of evidence of large-scale voter fraud. But that has not stopped several Republican states from enacting new laws to "fight the fraud". These laws have been denounced by democracy rights organisations as attacks on the right to vote.
In total, 42 laws restricting this fundamental right have been enacted in 21 states since US President Joe Biden’s January 2021 inauguration, according to the Brennan Center For Justice.
Of these laws, 33 contain at least one provision that are in effect for the 2022 US midterms in 20 states. These numbers are much higher than in previous election cycles, with 2021 being a record year so far, according to the Washington DC-based nonpartisan law and policy institute. In key states with close races, these new laws could well affect the election outcome.
The Brennan Center distinguishes between two types of laws: those that make it more difficult for voters to cast ballots and measures that open the door to partisan interference or threats against election officials. The bulk of the practical restrictions focus on absentee voting, which was popular in 2020, especially among seniors, as the Covid-19 pandemic raged.
Licenced to drive, vote
In Texas, where Trump’s stolen election conspiracy theory has gained wide traction, a new law imposes additional restrictions on obtaining and returning a ballot by mail. Its effects have already been felt. In the March 2022 primary, around 25,000 absentee ballots were rejected — a 12-fold increase in the rejection rate for mail-in ballots in 2020. Rejections were slightly higher for Democratic voters than Republican voters.
Similar measures were passed in the key states of Florida, Georgia and Arizona, where voters will be asked on November 8 to vote on amendments to the local constitution that impose stricter identification requirements for voting in-person and by mail. For instance, the absentee ballot will not be validated if the envelope containing it does not include an identification number from the voter's driver's licence or Social Security card.
Providing physical identification in order to vote might seem obvious in countries such as France, where a highly centralised state provides ID cards for all citizens. But in the US, where a driver’s license is often used for identification, that’s not the case. "Some people say that everyone has identification, but that's not true,” explained Lisa Bryant, political science department head at California State University, Fresno, and an expert on election planning. “People who live in densely populated urban areas and don't drive may not have them. That’s also the case with many older people who no longer drive, or ethnic minorities, especially people with low incomes. It’s important to note that in the United States, the government does not provide identification. You have to pay to get one, such as by passing your driver's licence."
Voters of colour targeted
Other types of restrictions have been enacted across the country that further penalise people of colour. Oklahoma made it very difficult for people without traditional addresses, such as the homeless or Native Americans living on tribal lands, to register to vote. In Texas, voting by car has been banned. In 2020, the practice was particularly popular – and contested – in Houston's densely populated and multicultural Harris County.
Georgia, meanwhile, has restricted access to outdoor ballot boxes, which allow voters to cast their ballots outside a polling place, as is sometimes seen in front of Black churches.
In the state's primary earlier this year, while overall turnout increased, White voters turned out more than Black voters, a gap of six percentage points. This is much larger than in past primaries. "This doesn't prove that it was the new restrictive laws in Georgia that widened this gap, but it does show that things are not going in the right direction," noted the Brennan Center.
Bryant notes that in the US, elections are held on a Tuesday, a working day. Performing your civic duty on election day by voting in places other than the polling station is considered a welcome way of improving participation. But that’s where most of the attacks on the right to vote are occurring today, said Bryant. "Either you make voting less convenient [by limiting the possibility of voting by mail], or you try, perhaps intentionally, to drive people away from the ballot box by making voting [in person] difficult and time-consuming,” she noted, referring to measures such as reducing the number of polling stations in some neighbourhoods, leading to long lines.
‘Conspiracy theorists trying to infiltrate the election system’
In addition to these practical restrictions, there’s also the issue of partisan interference with the running of the vote.
Once again, Georgia tops the list of states where this is a major concern. Legislators have granted more rights to poll watchers or observers delegated by political parties to monitor polling stations. This is a way of putting pressure on the staff responsible for receiving voters and counting ballots. Election officials charged with counting ballots were already put under considerable pressure in 2020, when they had to recount votes under the scrutiny of threatening observers, sometimes under police protection.
Bryant worries that such threats will have a devastating effect on the recruitment of polling station staff, on whom the success of the election depends. "Most of the time, these are volunteers who get a small stipend, like $100 a day, for working long hours from 6am to midnight," she explained. "Historically, this is viewed as coming in to do their civic duty, of giving back to the community and participating in the electoral process. Often, they are retirees – the average age is 67. But the early voting period, which extended our election period by a few weeks, had already created difficulties in recruiting these volunteers, who are not available for as many days in a row. The problem of understaffing is now compounded by worries about possible intimidation and threats from the poll watchers. So, they don't want to come in anymore."
Conversely, supporters of the "Big Lie" (those who believe the 2020 election was stolen from Trump due to voter fraud) are signing up in droves to serve in various roles in election offices, such as serving on absentee ballot control boards. "There’s a fear that they will try to throw out some ballots if they think a voter is not really registered," said Bryant, adding that "election codes are not equipped to deal with this influx of conspiracy theorists trying to infiltrate the election system."
An ‘atmosphere of fear’
Republican efforts at the state level don't stop there. In Georgia, legislators have given the state Board of Elections a say in what counties do, with the ability to fire the local professional administrators in charge of elections. This puts them at risk of being replaced by partisan figures who don't know the job.
To make matters worse, another law allows the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, a state agency, to investigate and refer suspected voter fraud to the attorney general or local district attorneys. This, according to the Brennan Center, opens the door to "politically motivated" prosecutions in the courts.
"These laws serve to intimidate election officials, those who work at the polls, and voters themselves. They contribute to an atmosphere of fear and create the risk that those overseeing the elections are more concerned with avoiding criminal prosecution than protecting voters," the institute said.
Added to these restrictions is the problem of gerrymandering. In Texas, the electoral map has been redrawn in such a way that Republicans are almost immune to defeat. Some districts have been reshaped to dilute the ethnic minority vote. For example, the Democrats would have to win 58% of the vote to hope for just over 37% of the seats in the local legislature. "The 2022 election will be played out on a field deliberately designed to favour one party," warned the Brennan Center For Justice.
(This is an adaptation of the original in French.)
