The Hill: Legislatures across country plan sweeping election reform push

The Hill: Legislatures across country plan sweeping election reform push

“What we’re seeing in a number of states are clear attempts to either roll back expansions of access to the ballot or add more suppressive measures,” said Sylvia Albert, who runs the voting and elections program at Common Cause.  “What’s happening here is legislatures using propaganda to make changes to election law. Changes to election law should be made very deliberately in concert with election officials in the states, with election experts, with nonpartisan advocacy groups, with security experts,” Albert said. “They are using the president’s rhetoric and all of the undermining of the election as an excuse, and I say excuse because there are no facts to back up what they are saying.”

State legislatures across the country are contemplating sweeping changes to the way elections are administered after a tumultuous presidential contest, one that ended with both the highest voter turnout in American history and the outgoing president baselessly calling its integrity into question.

In its wake, election rules have become the hottest topic for state legislatures, especially in presidential battleground states.

Lawmakers in a handful of states have begun introducing legislation in so-called pre-filing periods, windows that open before a session begins that enable lawmakers to propose bills. At least 60 election-related bills have been introduced in Texas, 26 are pending in New Hampshire and 41 in Montana, according to a count compiled by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). …

But some voting rights advocates see different motivations behind the proposals, placing them on par with voter identification rules or changes to the locations of polling places that have taken place in the last decade.

“What we’re seeing in a number of states are clear attempts to either roll back expansions of access to the ballot or add more suppressive measures,” said Sylvia Albert, who runs the voting and elections program at Common Cause. …

In other states, legislators are taking steps that will allow a closer inspection of the 2020 election results, in a more direct response to President Trump’s baseless claims. Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R) said Wednesday the state House will give subpoena power to its oversight committee in hopes of investigating an election that President-elect Joe Biden won by nearly 3 percentage points.

Legislators in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona have already held meetings to hear complaints about alleged fraud alongside Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s attorney. Giuliani has falsely claimed widespread fraud, though he has proven none and offered no evidence.

“What’s happening here is legislatures using propaganda to make changes to election law. Changes to election law should be made very deliberately in concert with election officials in the states, with election experts, with nonpartisan advocacy groups, with security experts,” Albert said. “They are using the president’s rhetoric and all of the undermining of the election as an excuse, and I say excuse because there are no facts to back up what they are saying.”