There are currently several hundred voting restriction bills making their way through state governments in nearly every state, according to a new report released by the Brennan Center for Justice on Thursday (April 1).
The report found as many as 361 bills have been introduced in 47 state governments. The surge in bills backed by Republican lawmakers comes after record voter turnout during the 2020 presidential election and after Donald Trump perpetuated false claims about widespread voter fraud. Trump’s claims were the subject of his second impeachment trial, which lawmakers said incited the violence at the US Capitol on January 6 that left five people dead.
“In a backlash to 2020’s historic voter turnout, and under the pretense of responding to baseless and racist allegations of voter fraud and election irregularities, state lawmakers have introduced a startling number of bills to curb the vote,” the Center wrote in its report, per The Huffington Post.
Voting rights advocates are protesting the wave of legislation, calling out how the bills’ restrictions impose disproportionate barriers on Black, Latino, Indigenous, low income, and other marginalized groups to casting their ballots.
Georgia passed its voting restriction bill two weeks ago, sparking boycotts from community activists, corporations, and leaders.
Texas, according to the report, is leading other states with 49 election-related bills introduced in its state governing body, while Georgia and Arizona trail behind with 25 and 23 bills, respectively.
Lawmakers in the US House and Senate have called for action at the federal level to protect voting rights of the people and ensure that states won’t be able to introduce bills that seek to make voting harder for Americans.
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