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Federal & State Voting Rights Acts

While the prevailing perception has been that voting rights in the United States are universally guaranteed, our state-by-state system of election laws means access to voting and the cornerstones of our democracy vary widely depending on where a voter lives. Uneven access to democratic participation, coupled with the increasing partisan attacks on and attempts to control our election systems, reveals the need for renewed federal legislation that sets a more consistent and independent standard and process across the country. In the absence of the preclearance requirements struck from the federal Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court in 2013, a small number of states have enacted state-level voting rights acts which seek to achieve similar goals to the federal law. These policies work by requiring local jurisdictions to receive permission from state authorities before changing voting procedures, and by prohibiting racial discrimination in election administration. 

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May 2023 - Detailing the level of risk to each state posed by election denialism and the resulting threats when the proper safeguards are not in place, this report offers over 10 recommendations for ways in which states can protect their elections.

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How the Freedom to Vote Act Would Improve Democracy in the States

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