GOP lawmakers seek tougher voting rules after record turnout

Feb 01, 20210

John Locher, Associated Press count

People wait in line to vote at a polling place on Nov. 3, 2020 in Las Vegas. 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.

AUSTIN, Texas - Republican lawmakers in statehouses across the country are moving swiftly to attack some of the voting methods that fueled the highest turnout for a presidential election in 50 years.

Although most legislative sessions are just getting underway, the Brennan Center for Justice, a public policy institute, has already tallied more than 100 bills in 28 states meant to restrict voting access. More than a third of those proposals are aimed at limiting mail voting, while other bills seek to strengthen voter ID requirements and registration processes, as well as allow for more aggressive means to remove people from voter rolls.

"Unfortunately, we are seeing some politicians who want to manipulate the rules of the game so that some people can participate and some can't," said Myrna Pérez, director of the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center.

https://www.startribune.com/gop-lawmakers-seek-tougher-voting-rules-after-record-turnout/600017315/