It’s important for democracy that citizens have confidence in their elections. For the average American, confidence means that elections have reasonable safeguards against fraud and that every eligible person has ample opportunity to participate. Regarding elections, most Americans agree that it should be easy to vote and hard to cheat.
American elections are under greater scrutiny than ever. Because elections are largely a matter of state law and community-level implementation, in these contentious times it’s useful for interested citizens to have access to just what their state’s laws are. This resource identifies key election laws and reports their status in all 50 states. Any interested citizen can find at a glance what their state’s rules are.
Our hope is that knowing their election laws can help people engage in reasonable discourse about balancing the two things most of us want when it comes to elections: no cheating, and ample voting opportunity for every eligible citizen. We also hope that readers will peruse how their states’ laws compare to those in other states. One promise of federalism is that states will function as “laboratories of democracy,” so it’s helpful to know how one’s neighbors are solving the problems you’re confronting in your own state.
As state laws change, we’ll keep this resource updated. We’ll also provide, as we’ve begun below, additional resources that highlight how leaders in various states approach elections, and the cultivation of a healthy republic more broadly. Amidst the cacophony, it’s helpful and inspiring to learn that many leaders are dedicated to strengthening civic functioning in their communities.
