Despite gains made in voter turnout in 2020, 27 states have passed laws restricting voter access since 2021.
Voting laws passed
Jan 1, 2021 - May 29, 2023
Source: Brennan Center for Justice. Notes: “Mixed” indicates that a state has passed both restrictive and expansive voting laws.
In anticipation of the 2020 election and in response to the pandemic, nearly every state did something to make voting easier, such as temporarily expanding access to mail-in voting, establishing ballot drop-boxes, or increasing the availability of early voting. Despite concerns that the pandemic might depress voting rates, voter turnout reached a record high in the 2020 election with national voter participation jumping to about 67% amid an increase in new voters from both parties.1
However, since 2020, many states have reversed those temporary provisions and there have been a deluge of new voting laws passed in states across the nation. From Jan 2021- May 2023, 27 states have passed voting laws that make it harder for Americans to vote. 35 states have passed expansive voting laws and, of those, 18 states passed a combination of both expansive and restrictive voting laws.
Among the one-third of voters who did not participate in the 2020 election, the Current Population Survey found that 8% did not vote because of structural barriers.2 Rather than building on progress made in 2020, states’ efforts to restrict voting access could significantly reduce participation in future elections, including the 2024 presidential election.
“Turnout soared in 2020 as nearly two-thirds of eligible U.S. voters cast ballots for president”. DeSilver. Pew Research Center. January, 2021. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/28/turnout-soared-in-2020-as-nearly-two-thirds-of-eligible-u-s-voters-cast-ballots-for-president/
“Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2020. U.S. Census Bureau. April, 2021. https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/voting-and-registration/p20-585.html
