Marketplace (AUDIO): Voting rights issue sparks huge fundraising across political spectrum

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There is a wave of new bills and some new laws popping up in state legislatures all over the country to change voting laws. They’ve been called efforts to reform, restrict or suppress voter access. The language used depends on where the speaker sits on the political spectrum.

And even though these are state-level laws, there is national money behind the efforts, both for and against new laws.

This is nothing new. …

On the political left, groups like End Citizens United and the Let America Vote Fund have partnered with the National Democratic Redistricting Committee on a $30 million effort to fight the more restrictive bills and to support federal legislation to access to the ballot box.

But that’s probably not all the money going into these fights. Jay Riestenberg with Common Cause, which advocates for more accessible voting, is particularly concerned about conservative “secret donors” funding the push for more restrictive laws.

“Well, the truth is, we’ll never really know because a lot of these groups do not disclose their spending or where their funding comes from,” Riestenberg said. “But I think we’re well in the area of over $100 million on both sides.”

And with so many bills moving through so many statehouses, even more political cash is likely on the way.