The fight for voting rights

A poll worker talks to a voter
A poll worker talks to a voter before they vote on a paper ballot on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2020, in Atlanta. Republican efforts to restrict voting access are taking shape in statehouses across the country with a flurry of legislation aimed at limiting measures that led to record turnout in the 2020 presidential election.
Brynn Anderson | AP 2020

Former President Donald Trump and some high-level Republicans falsely claimed there was election fraud. Then came a flood of new legislation aimed at making it harder to vote.

According to an ongoing study by the Brennan Center for Justice, as of February, more than 250 bills with provisions that restrict voting have been introduced in 43 states, including Minnesota. That’s more than four times the number of bills compared to this time last year. 

The measures being considered in state legislatures are primarily designed to restrict mail-in voting, bolster ID requirements and decrease voter registration opportunities.

This all comes as the Supreme Court considers a pair of voting rights cases from Arizona, one of last year’s battleground states.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

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Tuesday, MPR News host Kerri Miller got an update on the right to vote as it stands and considered how new legislation and the Supreme Court could impact voting in the future.

Guests:

  • Judd Legum is a journalist, lawyer and author of the politically-focused Popular Information newsletter.

  • Barry Burden is a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and founding director of the Elections Research Center. 

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.