Voting

The right to vote is a fundamental human right. Free and fair elections are essential to democracy. Voting allows citizens to influence governmental decision-making. 

Federal law requires states to: 

• meet uniform standards in federal elections, 
• maintain centralized voter lists, 
• allow voters to cast provisional ballots when necessary, and 
• permit voters to verify and correct any missing information that required them to use a provisional ballot. 

The Voting Rights Act requires some states and other jurisdictions with histories of discriminatory voting practices to receive federal permission for changes in voting laws, including voter ID laws. This preclearance process must come from a federal court or the Department of Justice. The purpose is to block discrimination. However, the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder struck down the formula that determined which jurisdictions had to seek preclearance. Congress still needs to create and pass a new formula. Until then, covered jurisdictions no longer have to seek preclearance for their voting law changes unless a court specifically requires it. 

Outside of these limited federal requirements, the U.S. has a decentralized voting system. Voting procedures vary greatly by location. States pass laws related to voter registration, voting, and counting ballots. Localities then administer these laws. 

Voter turnout refers to the percentage of eligible voters who vote in an election. Turnout typically varies by state. This is partly due to each state’s registration and voting procedures. Some states have practices that encourage registration and voting, such as allowing people to register to vote on the day of the election. These states typically have higher voter turnout. Those that put in place barriers, such as burdensome voter ID requirements, usually have lower turnout. 

The 2020 election featured the highest turnout in over a century. Over two-thirds of the voting population cast a ballot despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2022 midterm elections, about 47 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot. This was relatively high for a midterm election. However, it was lower than the 2018 midterm election in which half of eligible voters cast a ballot despite the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Voter registration: Several policies can improve voter registration procedures. Same-day voter registration allows people to register and vote at the same time on election day. Automatic voter registration adds people to voter rolls unless they opt out of doing so. This is stronger than asking them to opt into registering to vote when they apply for a driver’s license, as the so-called Motor Voter Act allows. Preregistration of 16- and 17-year-olds can also increase participation. 

Online voter registration gives people the opportunity to register on the internet. Election officials then review and validate registrations before adding people to the election rolls. Online registration saves money, improves security, decreases errors, and makes changing a voter’s name or address easier. 

Exact match laws: Exact match voter registration laws require the voter registration to match perfectly the records from the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Social Security Administration, or both. Ohio and Georgia, in particular, have vigorously enforced this requirement. If the files do not match—for example, because one uses a middle name and the other a middle initial—the voter must re-register before casting a ballot. In 2018, Georgia blocked over 51,000 voter registrations as a result of this type of law. About 80 percent of blocked registrations involved Black, Latino, or Asian American voters. 

Unnecessary purging of voter registration lists: States regularly purge voters who have moved out of state or have died. However, as of 2020, nine states have adopted aggressive “use it or lose it” laws. These states remove the registrations of voters who have not voted in a certain number of recent elections. Between 2014 and 2016, some 16 million voters were removed from the rolls as a result of these laws. These purges are much more likely to affect people from communities of color. Moreover, given historic voter suppression techniques, people from these communities may be less likely to vote regularly. Thus, even if these laws do not directly target these groups, aggressive purging of voter registration lists disproportionately disenfranchises them. 

Another problem is that voters can be purged in error. For example, more than 40,000 of the 235,000 voters that Ohio had planned to purge in 2019 were wrongly added to the purge list. Further, these practices are unnecessary. The nonpartisan Electronic Registration Information Center provides voter data to 29 states and the District of Columbia to improve the accuracy of their voter registration rolls without discriminatory effects. The organization provides participating states with information on who has moved or died, who has a duplicate registration, and who is potentially eligible to vote but has not yet registered. 

Voter identification (ID) requirements: Federal law imposes voter ID requirements in some circumstances. First-time voters who register by mail or online must provide verifying information, such as a driver’s license number. If they do not, they must prove their identification at the polls. They can do so with an approved document indicating their name and address. 

Some states impose stricter voter ID requirements. Many require voters to show a government-issued photo ID before voting. Obtaining such an ID typically requires a birth certificate, passport, or other official documentation. As of 2020, 36 states require some form of ID at the polls, while 18 mandate a photo ID. Proponents say voter ID laws help combat fraud. However, studies show that voter impersonation fraud is extremely rare. 

Opponents note that many do not have the requisite ID. Those who do not are disproportionately from communities of color. A 2017 North Dakota voter ID law is one example. According to a federal district court, after the law was enacted, 19 percent of Native Americans in the state did not have a qualifying ID. That compared with less than 12 percent of other voters who did not have one. In addition, Black Americans who grew up in the South under Jim Crow may never have been issued a birth certificate. This is one of the documents often required by voter ID laws. Courts have struck down some state restrictions because of their discriminatory effects. For example, North Carolina’s voter ID law was struck down in 2017. That voter ID law rejected the forms of identification that Black voters disproportionately used. 

Voting procedures and tools: Offering a diversity of voting options maximizes the chance for people to exercise their right to vote. Early voting allows all voters to cast a ballot ahead of the election. Voters can do so in person or by mail (with the option to hand-deliver ballots to drop boxes). Early voting by mail is sometimes called no-excuse absentee voting. States can make casting an absentee ballot more convenient by removing signature and notarization requirements. They can also provide a range of convenient ballot drop-off sites and prepaid postage for those who mail them. States also can streamline the process to allow voters who initially requested an absentee ballot to surrender or cancel the ballot and vote in person instead. Some studies have found that early voting is not associated with higher turnout. Even so, early in-person voting is particularly important for some populations, particularly for Black and Latino voters. Some states have permanent early voting lists, or the ability for a voter to be placed on a list that is automatically sent a mail ballot. These lists are convenient for many older voters who need to navigate procedures for requesting an absentee ballot. 

The location, number, and hours of polling places are also important. In some areas, polling places are located equitably across neighborhoods. This gives everyone equal access to the polls. In others, certain neighborhoods have relatively few polling places. It can make it difficult for some people to vote. Some voters find it helpful to be able to vote in any precinct in their community rather than only the one where they are registered. This is especially important when a neighborhood does not have enough polling places to accommodate the number of voters and lines are especially long. 

People who vote in the wrong precinct must use a provisional ballot. Frequently, those ballots are rejected. Voting in the wrong precinct can easily happen when several precincts are housed in one polling place. In 25 states, provisional ballots are entirely rejected if a registered voter casts a ballot in the incorrect precinct. In 19 states plus the District of Columbia, they are partially counted. Some states often choose to consolidate precinct polling places into larger county vote centers. This makes it less likely that a voter will cast a vote in an incorrect precinct. However, it also can disenfranchise voters with mobility issues or those who live too far away from the vote centers. 

Polling places also need adequate staff and equipment. Outdated voting machines increase the risk of accidental failures and malicious hacking. Their continued use can lead to long lines and lost votes during an election. This potentially damages voter confidence. 

Voting procedures in emergencies: Voting can be especially challenging during emergencies. These include major weather events and public health crises. Voters of all ages, backgrounds, and ability levels may need greater flexibility to vote in such times. States can help provide this flexibility by, for example, sending all registered voters an absentee ballot. They can also allow voters to cast their ballots at any location in the area. 

Emergencies can cause many more people to cast absentee ballots than normal. For example, nearly half (46 percent) of votes in the 2020 election—conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic—were cast using absentee ballots. This was about double the rate of absentee ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election. 

During public health emergencies, voters and poll workers may be especially concerned about safeguarding their own health. Election officials can put in place procedures to increase safety. For example, during the 2020 election, some polling places increased sanitation procedures, encouraged mask use, and promoted physical distancing. 

Voters with disabilities: Federal laws mandate accessibility in the registration and voting processes. Polling places must be accessible. They also require better outreach to older adults and people with disabilities. 

About 10 percent of American adults (some 23 million people) have conditions limiting mental functioning, including dementia or other cognitive impairments. Many of them have an electoral preference and are capable of voting. Voters with cognitive impairments who want to vote but need assistance can obtain it. For example, they can receive help reading or filling out a ballot. 

Most states have constitutional provisions barring people with various kinds of mental impairment from voting. The language used in these provisions is often imprecise and scientifically outdated. State voting and guardianship laws often use updated and more nuanced definitions that narrow the broad exclusions used in their constitutions. However, they can also vary significantly in this regard. 

The capacity to vote is most likely to be raised and determined in guardianship proceedings. Only a few state guardianship laws specifically require a court to determine whether an individual has the capacity to vote in a guardianship proceeding. However, several state laws allow people under guardianship to retain all legal and civil rights not explicitly removed. With strict parameters, this safeguard may avoid inappropriately depriving people of the right to vote based on mental impairment. 

The American Bar Association has recommended that state guardianship laws explicitly express that the right to vote is retained unless a court finds after due process that the person cannot communicate, with accommodations if necessary, a specific desire to participate in the voting process. In 2017, this recommendation was included in the Uniform Law Commission’s Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship, and Other Protective Arrangements Act (see also Adult Guardianship). 

About 1.4 million people live in skilled-nursing facilities. They may face challenges in exercising their right to vote. Mobile voting machines can increase the ability of nursing home residents to vote. The voting machines can be brought to these facilities. There, trained local election officials supervise the voting process. These voters often designate staff at their facility, friends, family members, or acquaintances to drop off their ballots either in drop boxes, or with election officials. States that restrict ballot handling can disenfranchise voters in nursing facilities or those with mobility impairments who cannot travel to drop off their ballots. 

Voters in the District of Columbia: The Twenty-Third Amendment provides DC residents the right to vote for president. However, they still do not have the right to vote for representation in Congress. DC has no senators. It has a delegate to Congress in the House of Representatives, but the delegate does not have the right to vote outside of committee. This is a unique voting-rights barrier for DC’s nearly 700,000 residents. DC’s population is higher than that of several states. And its residents perform all the obligations of U.S. citizenship, such as paying federal income taxes and serving in the armed forces. 

College students: In recent years, many states have passed laws making it harder for college students to vote in the jurisdictions where they attend school. For example, states that require utility bills or driver’s licenses to vote can disenfranchise college students. 

State ballot initiatives: State ballot initiatives allow citizens to exercise power over the legislative process. They sometimes decide contentious issues this way. But the process may also be subject to abuse. Signatures must be collected to place an initiative on the ballot. Fraudulent signatures and misrepresentation by some who circulate petitions are a few examples of abuse. Another challenge is technical, confusing, or misleading ballot language. This can make it difficult for voters to cast informed votes. Moreover, the lack of legislative oversight makes it impossible to correct a poorly drafted measure. 

Several states have passed laws to prohibit fraud and protect the integrity of the ballot initiative process. But concerns remain. The large sums of money involved can favor special interests or those with deep pockets. 

Alternative voting models: Some states offer an alternative to the traditional electoral systems. For example, rather than holding traditional party-specific primaries, some states allow open primaries. Open primaries allow voters to choose which primary they would like to vote in, regardless of party affiliation. (They can still only vote in one primary election.) This can lead to decreased partisanship and increased participation.  

Another model is the runoff system, which can be used in a primary or general election. Under this model, if no candidate receives a majority of support in an election, a second election occurs between the top two finishers. Ranked-choice voting is another alternative. Voters rank candidates by order of preference to ensure that the winning candidate secures a majority of the vote. If no candidate wins an outright majority, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and the results are rerun. The process continues until a winner with majority support is declared. These voting systems can help avoid a situation where the winner is opposed by most voters because opponents’ votes are split. The shift away from zero-sum elections may encourage more positive campaigning and help increase voter participation. 

Electoral College reform: The Electoral College is used to determine the outcome of U.S. presidential elections. Voters cast their ballots for a slate of electors, who then elect the president and vice president. The formula used to determine the number of electors gives states with smaller populations relatively more electoral power. In five presidential elections, the winner of the Electoral College has been different from the winner of the national popular vote. The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact is a potential agreement among some states to award all of their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote. As of 2020, it has been enacted in 15 states and DC. These jurisdictions represent 196 electoral votes. The agreement will only go into effect when states with at least 270 total electoral votes, the number needed to win the presidency, adopt it. 

Nonpartisan election administration: The nonpartisan and transparent administration of elections is essential to building confidence and trust in the democratic process. In recent years, nonpartisan election officials have come under attack, sometimes facing personal threats and harassment. Some have been pressured to change election processes and results. These efforts are dangerous to democracy. They also make it difficult to recruit nonpartisan poll workers who can ensure that elections are administered fairly, safely, and with integrity.