- In the aftermath of Biden’s victory, Republicans in the US are introducing new voting restrictions.
- Republican leaders claim the proposals are about maintaining voter integrity, although fraud is rare.
- Here are some of the voting proposals being discussed around the country.
- Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
President Joe Biden has been in office for less than two weeks, but in the United States legislature, the Republicans who are still reeling from former President Donald Trump’s election loss are devising ways to restrict the vote, of eliminating it. from ballot boxes to demanding a notarization of the absence of a ballot paper.
In 2010, the Republicans made historic gains in the state legislature, turning 24 chambers that year, allowing them to control the redistribution process of the past decade. In addition to pulling dozens of safe GOP House seats, the party pushed a wave of socially conservative legislation aimed at limiting abortion rights and minimizing the collective bargaining power of public sector unions.
While Biden and Trump both won 25 states in the 2020 presidential election, Biden flipped five states that Trump carried in 2016, including Arizona, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, along with Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district.
These presidential swing states are now home to some of the most dramatic election-related proposals submitted to a vote or submitted to the legislature. But even in states where Trump won easily, including Mississippi and Texas, voting restrictions have a good chance of success.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, 106 bills aimed at limiting access to votes have been introduced or submitted to the state legislature in 28 states, almost tripling from the same period last year. .
The proposed laws ignore the overwhelming evidence that voter fraud is incredibly rare.
Last November, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the November 2020 election was “the safest in US history,” in spite of Trump’s debunked allegations of voter irregularities.
Here are some of the voting proposals being discussed around the country:
Arizona
Since 1952, Republicans have won Arizona in every presidential election, except for Bill Clinton’s 1992 win and Biden’s win last year.
Biden won the state by less than 11,000 votes out of a total of about 3.3 million votes cast, performed strongly with Latino voters, and even impressed some of the state’s Republican voters.
With the support of high-profile Republicans, including Cindy McCain, the wife of the late GOP Senator John McCain, and former Senator Jeff Flake, Biden took advantage of the state’s independent nature, similar to the Democratic Senate’s campaign strategy. Mark Kelly, who defeated GOP appointed Senator Martha McSally last November.
Read more: Trump tested the constitution and fragmented traditions. Biden and the Democrats themselves have big plans about what to do next.
Conservative activists have vigorously challenged the election results, including Trump, who criticized GOP Governor Doug Ducey for certifying the election results, a normal routine process. Because the GOP controls the state legislature in Arizona, the many restrictive bills are put into commissions.
According to The Arizona Republic, Republican lawmakers have introduced bills that:
- Allow the legislature to invalidate the results of presidential elections “anytime before the President’s inauguration”
- Give the legislature the power to grant two of the state’s 11 electoral colleges
- Allocate state electoral votes by congressional district instead of the current winner-takes-all system
- Restriction and / or end of mail-in votes
- Limit postal voting to those who cannot physically access a polling station
- Narrow down voting centers in each province based on population size
- Require mail-in ballot envelopes to be notarized or returned in person
Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, was sharply critical of House Bill 2720, introduced by GOP State Representative Shawnna Bolick, which would allow the legislature to reverse the election results.
“It’s a slap in the face for voters,” she said in an NBC News interview. “It absolutely, 100%, allows a legislature to undermine the will of voters.”
She also tweeted: “So we should really do away with the presidential election altogether? In reality, that’s what this bill would do.”
Georgia
Georgia has been the scene of deep political consternation for the GOP. Last November, Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state since 1992. Trump insisted on winning the state for months, asking GOP Governor Brian Kemp to reverse the election results and even overthrow GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. the roughly 12,000 votes it would take to overcome Biden’s margin of victory.
Ultimately, Trump caused so much internal political unrest in the state that Democrats, fresh off Biden’s victory, took an enthusiasm advantage for two second Senate elections with then-GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue running against Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, respectively.
Democrat Raphael Warnock addresses supporters at a meeting with Jon Ossoff in Atlanta on the first day of the early vote in the Georgia Senate elections.
Ben Gray / AP
Warnock and Ossoff won their races, gave control of the Senate to the Democrats, and gave the party their strongest anchor in the Deep South in years.
Republicans in Georgia, stung by the losses, now hope to introduce additional voting restrictions.
Top officials, including Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, support a more rigorous voter identification process for absentee ballots.
A GOP legislator has introduced a bill requiring two proof of identity to vote absent.
Last year, House Chairman David Ralston dissuaded Georgia voters from their ability to elect the Secretary of State by putting a measure on the ballot that would allow voters to relinquish that responsibility to the GOP. controlled legislature.
Michigan
Michigan voted for every Democratic presidential candidate from 1992 to 2012. When Trump upset a small upset in 2016, the Democrats pledged to outdo the GOP and reclaim the Midwestern state and its 16 electoral votes.
2018 had a big year for the party, with Gretchen Whitmer elected as Governor, Dana Nessel as Attorney General and Jocelyn Benson as Secretary of State.
Last November, Biden won the state by more than 150,000 votes and a margin of nearly 3% (50.6% -47.8%), securing a victory in a state that Democrats were happy to put back in their column.
The state legislature is still in the hands of the GOP, a dragging result of the party’s 2010 midterm election, but Whitmer also serves as a check on far-reaching proposals.
Michigan GOP Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey told The Detroit News that he would like to improve the state’s qualified voter base and party leaders, including the chairman of the home state Republican National Committee Ronna McDaniel.
Pennsylvania
With its 20 electoral votes, Pennsylvania has long been a top prize for Democrats, winning the state by combining overwhelming victories in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with growing suburban strength and workers’ support in cities like Allentown and Scranton.
Democrats won Pennsylvania in every presidential election from 1992 to 2012, but like Michigan, Trump got a little upset in 2016.
Born in Scranton and representing neighboring Delaware in the Senate for 36 years, Biden won the state 50% -49% against Trump last November.
Democrats, eager to build on Biden’s victory, have already targeted GOP Sen’s eviction of the Senate seat. Pat Toomey in 2022 and the Governor’s race to succeed limited Democratic Governor Tom Wolf that same year.
Republicans, who have repeatedly tried to reverse the 2020 election results, including throwing out millions of post-in ballots, are determined to impose new restrictions.
GOP proposals are currently on the table to make no excuses for absentee ballots and make it easier for state officials to throw ballots with a mismatched signature if the ballot is not established within six days of notification, according to the Brennan Center.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is another major state in the Midwestern Democrats’ presidential election. After narrow victories in 2000 and 2004, the party easily won the state in 2008 and 2012, before Trump narrowly won the state in 2016.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is pictured on Oct. 16, 2020.
Jim Watson / AFP via Getty Images
After a hard-won race, Biden won Trump’s state by about 20,000 votes out of more than 3.2 million votes cast.
Read more: Trump tested the constitution and fragmented traditions. Biden and the Democrats themselves have big plans for what to do next.
The Trump campaign, outraged that voting in Democratic-leaning Milwaukee County Biden exaggerated, demanded a recount in Milwaukee and Dane County, home of Madison, the state’s liberal capital. Not only was Biden’s victory confirmed by the recounts, but he also received additional votes.
A GOP legislature hovers over a proposal to allocate eight of the state’s 10 electoral votes per congressional district, starting with the 2024 election, and the party may also seek additional restrictions on absenteeism voting.
Democratic Governor Tony Evers has the option of vetoing, but he also faces re-election in 2022.
Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district
Last year, Biden carried Nebraska’s congressional district in Omaha, the first time a Democrat won the district since Barack Obama in 2008.
The victory marked a breakthrough for the party in the otherwise predominantly Republican state.
Since 1991, Nebraska has awarded two electoral votes to the overall statewide winner, while the remaining three votes have been awarded to the winner of each congressional district.
In 2020, Trump received four electoral votes for Biden’s single electoral vote.
A new GOP bill introduced into the state legislature would introduce a winner-takes-all system; had it been there in 2020, Trump would have won all five electoral votes.
The 2nd congressional district contains a sizeable black and Latino population, and opponents of the bill argue that the legislation would be detrimental to minority voters.
So said the executive director of American Civil Liberties Union Nebraska, Danielle Conrad, in an interview with ABC News.
“You can see very clearly that there was a lot of excitement, particularly from colored voters in the Omaha metro area who engaged in that process over the past few election cycles because they had that meaningful opportunity,” she said.