State Legislators Respond to Coordinated Attacks on Voting Rights

On Wednesday, April 7, state representatives from four states responded to Republican attacks on voting rights via a press conference call. Michigan State Rep. Darrin Camilleri (D-23rd Dist.) joined State Representatives Erica Thomas (D-GA), Athena Salman (D-AZ), and Allison Dahle (D-NC) to discuss the political motives behind the broad attack on voting rights taking place in state legislatures across the country. The representatives also highlighted strategies for stopping the repressive efforts and the impact such legislation would have on communities of color across the nation. The press conference call was hosted by State Innovation Exchange (SiX), a national resource and strategy center that collaborates with state legislators to enact effective public policy. SiX Director of Democracy, Lauren Bealore moderated the discussion.

According to the nonpartisan law and policy institute The Brennan Center, state legislators had introduced 361 bills in 47 states as of March 24, each with the potential to dramatically reduce voting access, particularly for voters of color. Furthermore, 89 percent of these bills were sponsored either primarily or entirely by Republicans.

"We are now seeing a direct on attack on our voting rights in Georgia and all across the country," said Thomas. "There are so many different things that Republicans are doing to stop black and brown voters from voting." The Georgia state representative added that from 2016 to 2020, the number of registered Georgia voters participating in the national election increased by 66 percent. Thomas said the increase in voter participation likely was the impetus for the introduction and eventual passage of Georgia Senate Bill 202, which was signed into law by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on March 25. Democrats argue the new law hampers voters by enacting restrictions on absentee and early voting and restricts the use of drop boxes.

In an op-ed for Newsweek Magazine, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton (R) argues the Georgia law makes the election process more secure, accessible, and fair by actually expanding early voting by requiring weekend early voting for a minimum of 17 days. The law also allows Georgians to request an absentee ballot for any reason, while prohibiting mass unsolicited mailing of absentee ballots-a process vulnerable to fraud. Georgians must now provide an ID number to vote absentee, a modern step, according to Cotton, which is an improvement over the current process of signature verification which is more difficult and can lead to speculation.

Michigan's Camilleri recalled the 2018 voter initiative Constitutional change which expanded the right to vote in Michigan and added that in 2020, Michigan voters took advantage of the expanded voter access and turned out in droves to elect Joe Biden the next president. "But because Republicans were so upset at the results, they fomented lie after lie to try to discredit the votes that took place in our state and tried to discredit our election which laid the foundation for these attacks that are happening across the country," he said. "Now we see in the Michigan legislature the Republican Senate has put forth over 39 bills that they are attempting to pass to suppress the vote here in our state."

Camilleri went on to explain that despite having a Democrat leader in Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who has vowed to veto any repressive voter legislation put on her desk, Republicans do have a mechanism for passing such bills into law in the state. "In Michigan we have a unique system...called an initiative petition, and Republicans have already promised when she vetoes these bills, they will collect the hundreds of thousands of signatures that they need, take them to the legislature, and the legislature, which is Republican-held in both the House and the Senate, can adopt any proposal they want if those signatures are valid, without the governor's signature," he said, "It is a unique component in our state legislature that we've seen used before."

Both Salman and Dahle agreed that new voting legislation currently being proposed in state legislatures across the county gives the right to choose elected leaders to legislators and not to the voters. The bills pending in state legislatures can be thwarted if the U.S. Congress passes the For The People Act, or H.R. 1. Camilleri said that restrictions on absentee voting and drop boxes may make some voters feel disenfranchised and unwilling to participate further in the election process. He did add, that however that he hopes the restrictions being attempted make voters feel empowered to participate and that they instead fight back and elect leaders who will preserve our democracy. All the representatives emphasized the importance of voters being aware of what's going on in their states and what state legislators are attempting to pass into law in regards to new voting laws, adding that voters need to stay engaged with their representatives in the U.S. Congress and urge them to pass H.R. 1.

"Democracy should not be a partisan idea; democracy is something that we've all agreed to as our system of government and we should make sure that everyone has a chance to access that right, access the ballot , and remove any restrictions that make it harder for us to vote," said Camilleri.

Rep. Darrin Camilleri can be reached at [email protected]