Nov. 3, 2024
By Isabella Bartlett
Managing Editor
This article is part of a five-part in-depth reporting project about the 2024 presidential election.
With nine states enacting 18 restrictive voting laws this year, 2024 has been the second-most active year in the past decade regarding limiting voting legislation, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. This year is surpassed only by legislation enacted in 2021.
The Pew Research Center reports that 66% of eligible voters cast their ballot in the 2020 presidential election, leading to the largest voter turnout in the 21st century. This increase resulted in accusations of voter fraud and election inconsistencies that caused a surge in legislation, making voting more difficult in 2021. While 2021 was the peak of these laws, legislators continue to sign more into law.
History teacher Mr. Duus said concerns regarding electoral irregularities are not viable reasons to restrict voting access.
“Many academic and journalistic works have shown that fraudulent voting is not a major problem in the United States and is not happening on a large scale,” Duus said. “As a result, efforts to decrease voter turnout are instead designed to diminish our democracy by giving more power to groups that are less affected by these policies.”
According to the online publication Inside Higher Education, 18 states have laws in place that limit absentee voting, making voting more difficult, especially for students. Absentee voting is the act of voting by mail, which often accommodates students who live far from home or have busy schedules.
“Early and mail-in ballots are a safe and convenient way to vote. Many students rely on them because they cannot go back to their home state to vote, or they may not be able to vote in person on Election Day,” Duus said.
“Democracies only function well when citizens fight to exercise their rights. We need to work to keep the United States as free as it can be.”
Duus said for the government to operate properly, Americans should be allowed to vote and make their opinions heard.
“Democracies only function well when citizens fight to exercise their rights. We need to work to keep the United States as free as it can be,” Duus said.
Junior Carley Paserchia, who is enrolled in the Advanced Placement U.S. Government and Politics class at LHS, said she is opposed to legislation that makes voting more difficult for those who are eligible.
“These states are trying to put up restrictions against [groups] of people that have different beliefs and views than what the majority of that state aligns with,” Paserchia said. “I plan on voting when I’m eligible because I think that it’s important for not only my opinion on issues to be heard, but also for others’ opinions to be.”
Another restriction affecting first-time voters relates to the forms of identification and proof of citizenship needed to register to vote. For example, the only ID a voter in Ohio can use to show proof of residency is a passport, Ohio state ID, Ohio driver’s license or a military, National Guard or Veterans Affairs ID. This requirement especially impacts college students who moved to Ohio from another state.
Paserchia said the hassle of these rules may deter eligible first-time voters from registering.
“If [first-time voters] have an easier time registering, it’ll make them more inclined to vote again because of how easy it was,” Paserchia said.
Unlike Paserchia, Junior Noah Melendez, who is also enrolled in A.P. U.S. Government and Politics, said he is not particularly concerned about legislation that makes it harder to vote.
“[A] state with fewer restrictions probably makes the voting process quicker compared to the other states,” Melendez said. “If someone really wants to vote, they will go and vote because showing an ID isn’t that big of a problem for most people.”
Melendez, who will turn 18 in 2026, said he plans on voting in the 2028 presidential election.
“Voting is important because we live in a democracy, and we have the power to make change,” Melendez said.
MAP BY ISABELLA BARTLETT, SOURCE: Brennan Center for Justice
Since he intends to vote in New Jersey, Melendez said he does not feel strongly about other states’ voting laws.
Even though it is easier to vote in New Jersey than in some other states, restrictive voting laws still exist in the Garden State. In 2022, Bill A3819 removed voters from the state’s vote-by-mail list if they failed to vote in four consecutive elections, and Bill A3820 prohibited mail-in ballots from being sent to those who have not declared a political party.
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, any laws that make it difficult for eligible Americans to stay on voter rolls or limit who receives mail-in ballots are restrictive.
Over the past four years, Texas has passed laws restricting absentee voting as well as curtailing time frames to register, limiting valid forms of ID and reducing polling locations. The state has also made it easier to remove eligible voters from voter rolls in the event of an address change.
However, on Sept. 28, a federal court in Texas struck down a provision of Texas Senate Bill 1, a controversial voting law passed in 2021, which restricted voting access to people with disabilities and those who need assistance with reading, speaking and writing in English.
Mr. Ricciardi, who teaches AP U.S. Government and Politics, said while some states are passing laws that make voting more difficult, voter suppression is not as big of a problem as it once was.
“There used to be English tests that non-white citizens needed to pass… to register to vote. There were also educational standards as well as [laws] preventing anyone who didn’t own property from voting. Women couldn’t vote until 1920,” Ricciardi said. “I do not think today’s laws are repeating the same suppression that has been experienced in the past.”
Despite laws that are making it harder for young people to vote, Ricciardi said this group will be most influential in determining the outcome of the 2024 election.
“If a young voter truly wants to vote, they will find a way to do it,” Ricciardi said. “The use of celebrity endorsements and social media has put voting in the spotlight for younger people, and the notion of getting out to vote seems to be a bipartisan idea.”
