Ballot Box: New Laws, More Trust?

Voting is one of the pillars of our democracy and trust in our voting system is key to the smooth transition of power between administrations.  Last month, members met to discuss their concerns about current voting regulations, laws, and processes.  In this second meetup in our series on voting, we will look at new legislation (proposed as well as recently enacted) to see how well they address the problems we uncovered during our first meeting, which included such concerns as:

• Voter IDs
• Access to polling stations (hours, locations)
• Mail-in ballots

As we look at these laws, our discussions may get into any of the following areas:

• Which of the laws appear to be attempts to solve the problems we identified?
• What do we see as potential pros and cons of each?
• Do we think these laws are being enacted at the appropriate level of government (i.e. local, state, Federal)?
• What goals do you think are most important in designing new legislation?

Note:  We will not be addressing some of the other concerns raised, which include how votes are counted, gerrymandering, and the electoral college.  We’ll schedule additional meetups for those topics soon.

Join the Crossing Party Lines discussion and have a voice in our Nation’s Conversation! People of all views are welcomed, appreciated, and heard.

Curious about laws in your state and across the nation?

– Voting laws in every state  (https://stacker.com/stories/4484/voting-laws-every-state)

– What Actions Are States Taking Now to Change Voting Laws? (https://blogs.findlaw.com/law_and_life/2021/02/what-actions-are-states-taking-now-to-change-voting-laws.html) 

– Map: See Which States Have Restricted Voter Access, And Which States Have Expanded It (https://www.npr.org/2021/08/13/1026588142/map-see-which-states-have-restricted-voter-access-and-which-states-have-expanded)