Why Republican voter restrictions are a race against time

With their drive to erect new obstacles to voting, particularly across the Sun Belt, Republicans are stacking sandbags against a rising tide of demographic change. In many of the states where Republicans are advancing the most severe restrictions — including Georgia, Arizona and Texas — shifts in the electorate’s composition […] Read more »

Making it easier to vote does not threaten election integrity

An election worker during mail-in ballot counting at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia on Nov. 6, 2020. Chris McGrath/Getty Images Douglas R. Hess, Grinnell College As state legislators consider hundreds of bills on election policies this spring, false claims of voter fraud are being repeated as justification for proposals […] Read more »

The Biggest Thing Kamala Harris Could Do This Year

The battle to protect voting rights needs a field general. Vice President Kamala Harris needs a cause to define her tenure. The second problem suggests the answer to the first: President Joe Biden could designate Harris as the administration’s point person in combatting the onslaught against voter access now advancing […] Read more »

Democrats’ Only Chance to Stop the GOP Assault on Voting Rights

The most explosive battle in decades over access to the voting booth will reach a new crescendo this week, as Republican-controlled states advance an array of measures to restrict the ballot, and the U.S. House of Representatives votes on the federal legislation that represents Democrats’ best chance to stop them. […] Read more »

Republicans now enjoy unmatched power in the states. It was a 40-year effort.

Over the past 40 years, Republicans have quietly gained overwhelming power in state legislatures. It did not happen overnight, and it won’t reverse itself soon. The implications could linger for years. Even after the 1980 election — when Ronald Reagan was first elected president — Democrats still controlled most statehouses: […] Read more »

False fraud claims fanned Capitol riot. Now they’re fueling GOP efforts to restrict voting.

Even after President Donald Trump’s disproven allegations of voter fraud fueled last week’s deadly assault on the US Capitol, Republicans across an array of swing states are still touting his baseless allegations to advance measures that would make it tougher to vote. When Congress voted last week, in the immediate […] Read more »