State Voting Laws

9 Southern states have passed laws restricting voter access since 2021.

State voting laws passed, by whether they expand or restrict access to voting

Jan 1, 2021 - October 1, 2023

Source: Brennan Center for Justice. Notes: “Mixed” indicates that a state has passed both restrictive and expansive voting laws.

Since the 2020 election, 29 states have passed laws that make it harder for Americans to vote, including laws that limit early voting, institute stricter ID requirements, limit mail-in and absentee ballots, close polling places early, purge voter rolls, and more. For example, in late 2023, the NC legislature overrode the governor’s veto to enact a new law that would shorten the window to return mail ballots, ban the use of ballot drop boxes, and increase the chances that voters using same-day registration do not have their ballots counted.^[1],[2]

Barriers to voting and civic participation, such as those enacted in these new laws, disproportionately impact people of color.^[3],[4] These same communities are also disproportionately impacted by climate change, have fewer resources to respond to climate catastrophes, and are the last to recover from economic losses associated with disasters.^[5],[6] Research shows many voters of color care deeply about climate change, but voter suppression efforts and restrictive voting legislation pose serious challenges for their voices and interests on climate action to be represented in the political process.^[7],[8]

1. SENATE BILL 747. (2023). GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA. https://www.democracydocket.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/S747_Ratified.pdf

2. North Carolina S.B. 747 Undeliverable Mail Provision Challenge (Voto Latino). (2023, October 10). Democracy Docket. https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/north-carolina-s-b-747-undeliverable-mail-provision-challenge/

3. The Impact of Voter Suppression on Communities of Color | Brennan Center for Justice. (2022, January 10). Brennan Center for Justice. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/impact-voter-suppression-communities-color

4. Hajnal, Z., Lajevardi, N., & Nielson, L. (2017). Voter Identification Laws and the Suppression of Minority Votes. The Journal of Politics, 79(2), 363–379. https://doi.org/10.1086/688343

5. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2021, September 2). EPA Report Shows Disproportionate Impacts of Climate Change on Socially Vulnerable Populations in the United States. https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-report-shows-disproportionate-impacts-climate-change-socially-vulnerable

6. Howell, J., & Elliott, J. R. (2018). As Disaster Costs Rise, So Does Inequality. Socius, 4. https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023118816795

7. Donoghoe, M., Lall, J., & Perry, A. M. (2023, December 13). Black voters are more concerned about climate change than the national average, with implications for policy and messaging. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/black-voters-are-more-concerned-about-climate-change-than-the-national-average-with-implications-for-policy-and-messaging/

8. Ballew, M., Maibach, E., Kotcher, J., Bergquist, P., Rosenthal, S., Marlon, J., & Leiserowitz, A. (2020, April 16). Which racial/ethnic groups care most about climate change? Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/race-and-climate-change/