These States Made Voting Easier This Year
Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington have led on improving voting access so far this year. Some state legislatures are still meeting, so more pro-voting reforms are likely on the horizon.

Caroline has been a staff writer since 2021 and, in addition to her long-form content, writes the weekly On The Docket newsletter. Originally from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Caroline graduated from New York University Abu Dhabi in 2021. She is particularly passionate about the intersection between voting rights and the criminal-legal system and supports jail-based voting advocacy in the Bay State. In her free time, Caroline plays in a soccer league and spends too much time in local coffee shops.
Minnesota, New Mexico and Washington have led on improving voting access so far this year. Some state legislatures are still meeting, so more pro-voting reforms are likely on the horizon.
A right-wing legal group founded by former Republican officials, Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE), consistently argues against voters and voting access under the guise of “integrity” and “security.”
The fact that a small city’s redistricting skirmish led to the gutting of a central portion of the federal Voting Rights Act should serve as a reminder to not overlook local redistricting.
Some states still condition voting rights on wealth. In Florida, North Carolina and elsewhere, these modern day poll taxes exemplify how laws protecting the right to vote too often fail to apply to people with past felony convictions.
On a single day, the North Carolina Supreme Court wreaked havoc on voting rights. The court dropped three major decisions, all harmful outcomes for democracy, two of which were decided by the same court just months ago.
After Rucho v. Common Cause (2019), state courts have been put to the test: Can they protect voters from partisan gerrymandering? Now, there are more maps, more lawsuits and slowly but surely, more rulings.
It’s been 167 days since the November 2022 midterm elections, but a trio of Republican election deniers in Arizona is still fighting in court. Despite trial courts rejecting the cases in December, all three lawsuits remain open and ongoing.
The newest member of Congress, U.S. Rep. Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), speaks with Democracy Docket about her path to public service, legislative accomplishments in the Virginia Legislature and voting rights goals in Congress.
The expulsions of two Black lawmakers in Tennessee did not take place in a vacuum, but are indicative of the GOP’s disdain for democracy, from felony disenfranchisement to partisan gerrymandering.
Chisom v. Louisiana is a decadeslong saga that includes a U.S. Supreme Court decision, a consent decree and a skirmish over chief justice control. Nearly 40 years later, the same case is awaiting a decision from the 5th Circuit.
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