The Hill: Republicans plan voting overhauls after Biden’s win

Republican state legislators are advancing a rush of new bills aimed at limiting voting access, and especially access to voting by mail, in the wake of President Biden’s victory last year in the highest-turnout election in American history.

The proposals come after months of pressure from former President Trump, who with the help of Republican allies spread false claims and conspiracy theories related to the election, including that widespread voter fraud cost him a victory.

In many states, Republicans have used those claims to cite unspecified concerns about the integrity of their own elections, despite elections officials who show proof that counts were fair and accurate.

Democrats and voting rights advocates counter that the proposals are thinly veiled attempts to restrict access to the polls. …

Voting rights advocates said they struggled to understand the logic behind proposing changes after an election in which many Republicans not named Trump did well.

While the GOP lost the Senate majority after the Georgia results, Republicans gained seats in the House, for example.

“It’s sort of baffling considering that besides the president, Republicans won up and down the ticket and had record turnout as well,” said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at Common Cause. “These are states with Republican election officials and Republican legislatures because these policies have been used by Republican voters that elected those individuals.”