As action stalls in DC, Democrats look to state leaders to defend, expand voting rights

Texas Democrat Chris Turner doesn't have much to celebrate legislatively in a state controlled by Republicans.

Last week, Texas's GOP majority muscled through a measure that makes sweeping changes to the state’s election and voting laws that analysts have said will make it harder and legally riskier to vote.

"We were very clear from the beginning that we would not be able to hold this back forever in Texas," Turner told USA TODAY.

The four-term legislator remains optimistic, however. When Texas Democrats fled the Lone Star State for Washington, D.C., in August and met with federal officials, Turner said, the urgency they conveyed to congressional Democrats was part of a string of events that pushed up a voting rights bill named for civil rights icon John Lewis, which originally had been planned for a vote this fall.

"That absolutely was a win for our caucus and our members who broke quorum, sacrificed and worked hard to join in this effort. Ultimately, it's not all within our control. We need the U.S. Senate to finish the job,” Turner said.

That sentiment is echoed by Democratic governors, secretaries of state and legislators across the country who say the need for federal action is the best remedy to stiff arm a Republican onslaught aimed at the ballot box.

But while voting rights activists say the pressure remains in Washington, there is a need to remind state leaders to do whatever is within their power to either defend or expand voting access.

“There's no question sending a message from the federal side that indeed voting is the most important act you can do to make sure we have a strong democracy in our country is needed — absolutely,” said Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin.

“But I will tell you, in my position, I cannot wait for that to happen.”

Many progressive grassroots advocates bemoan the slow pace of Congress and the White House, and the looming redistricting process in those Republican-leaning legislatures presents another concern as new census data has arrived.

State level Democrats, meanwhile, have been very active with varying strategies depending largely on their backyards' political landscape. Some are out of power but have joined direct-action protests and demonstrations; others have used executive authority to block restrictive laws; and others are using their legislative majorities to expand voting rights.

"The only silver lining is that the movement for voting rights is more focused and more determined as ever, and we are in a very direct way getting clarity about who our friends are, and who is simply not on our side in this fight," said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, a racial justice group.

Robinson, who was among a group of activists and lawmakers arrested for protesting over voting rights legislation this year, said he doesn't want to take away pressure off the Biden administration or congressional Democrats, but that their counterparts at the state level need to be equally aggressive as Republicans have been about making changes to the country's election rules.

"Democrats have not taken this work as seriously," he added, "and unfortunately, have suffered because of it, and will continue to suffer because of it."

Veto defense in divided government

Republicans are in the governor's seat in 27 states, including 23 where their party has total legislative control, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

What troubles progressives, however, is where the GOP runs things. They have dominance in important and competitive 2020 presidential battleground states, that were decided by less than roughly 5%, such as Florida, Georgia and Arizona.

In those states, restrictive election laws have taken center stage nationally and are where left-leaning organizations often are the loudest about Congress needing to take action. It has been almost impossible for Democrats to advance voting rights legislation there.

But Republicans also have state legislative majorities in seven states with Democratic governors — Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Of those states, the debate over voting rights has more importance in places President Joe Biden won.

Biden, for instance, carried Wisconsin by around 20,600 votes in 2020. Republicans there have since argued voting security measures are needed to improve election confidence. As a result, the Badger State saw a series of bills come out of its 2021 legislative session that progressive critics slammed as trying to influence future election results.

Among the proposed changes were a requirement voters fill out two forms instead of one to vote absentee; further restrictions on who can return absentee ballots; and requiring elderly and disabled voters provide IDs to vote absentee

"Each one of those made it more difficult for somebody," said Evers, who vetoed all six bills. "It was all about suppression, and so it was easy for me to do that."

Evers's office engaged in a "save the veto" campaign during Wisconsin's legislative races last year and targeted Republican candidates in order to stiff arm a possible GOP supermajority.

Evers said that initiative was important for two reasons: It established for voters that his office was serious about blocking voter suppression measures, and it worked to give Democratic voters a powerful pen for future electoral fights.

"Now we're in the middle of a redistricting, and I'll be able to veto their gerrymandered maps," Evers said. "It's all connected."

Democratic governors in four battleground states — Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — where Republicans run the legislative branch have stressed their veto pens are the only line of defense to protect voters.

"Without federal action, the job of protecting democracy and the most fundamental right has fallen to the states, and Democratic governors are standing in the breach against Republican attacks on voting rights," said David Turner, spokesman for the Democratic Governor's Association.

In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, blocked a Republican proposal that would have mandated voter ID in all elections along with a host of other election-related changes. Biden won the Keystone State by about 80,500 votes last year.

"Getting my veto pen ready," Wolf said in a June 25 tweet. "The bill passed by Republican legislators is a retaliation against Pennsylvania voters. It was pushed by the same people who begged Congress to throw out (Pennsylvania's) votes last year. I will not allow this conspiracy theory-driven bill to silence voters."

But Republican legislators and their allies are already looking for ways to get around Democratic governors' veto power.

In Michigan, where Biden won by approximately 154,000 votes, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's authority to stop Republican election legislation could fall. Under the state Constitution, the legislature can adopt new laws that can sidestep the governor's veto if a petition initiative gathers enough signatures.

Conservative activists are expected to start a new petition drive that observers say would propose a strict photo ID requirement at polling locations and a new ID requirement for absentee voters.

More statehouses dominated by one party

Part of the reason Democrats and their allies look to Washington for answers on voting rights isn’t just that Republicans control more state legislatures, but that overall statehouses have become more partisan.

Out of power in Washington, D.C., the GOP agenda — whether on election security, COVID-19 rules and abortion rights — has flourished at the state level.

In 1992, for instance, 16 of the 50 state legislatures had divided chambers controlled by one party or the other. But today only Minnesota has such a split.

Democrat Steve Simon, who serves as Minnesota’s secretary of state, said sharing power forces cooperation in a way that benefits both parties and their voters because officials must look for policies that have broad support.

“I hate to be a Minnesota chauvinist, but there are aspects of what we do in Minnesota that I think are exportable, such as same-day registration, which is an enormous success that we've had since 1974,” he said.

Ironically, Democrats leading states with divided government where Trump won have in some cases been able to do more than just play defense.

Leading up to the 2020 election, Louisiana Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards signed a bipartisan bill allowing any individual who has been out of prison for five years to have their right to vote restored, even if they remain on parole or probation.

Trump won the Bayou State by roughly 20% after the law change.

In Kentucky, another state where Trump defeated Biden decisively, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bipartisan bill that was passed by the GOP-dominated legislatures after the 2020 president election.

The new law expands early voting, creates ballot drop boxes in every county and allows online registration for absentee voting.

And maybe the brightest win for voting rights advocates thus far comes from another divided government state where Trump defeated Biden in 2020.

In late August, a judicial panel in North Carolina gave voting rights back to an estimated 55,000 people who had been barred due to a past felony conviction.

Daryl Atkinson, co-director of Forward Justice, was one of the attorneys involved in the suit to restore the voting rights for those Tar Heel State voters. He said the decision represents the largest expansion of voting rights in the state since the 1960s.

“We put in evidence that electoral outcomes are being shifted because of this practice,” Atkinson said.

North Carolina Republicans, who control the legislature, have repeatedly passed laws aimed at tightening election procedures that have been blocked by Democratic Gov Roy Cooper.

The state GOP is vowing to appeal the panel's decision on voters with a past felony conviction, but if the decision stands, the case could have major ramifications on future state and national elections.

In the 2020 presidential contest, for instance, Trump won North Carolina over Biden by about 71,500 votes, or less than 1.5%. The state’s recent Supreme Court race where the Democratic incumbent lost was decided by 401 votes out of 5.4 million ballots cast.

“Now imagine the 55,000 people we re-enfranchised had been allowed to vote who are predominantly African American, I dare say that we would have a different outcome,” Atkinson said. About 92% of Black voters nationwide chose Biden over Trump, according to the Pew Research Center's detailed analysis of the 2020 contest.

Atkinson told USA TODAY the partisan lenses have to be removed from the voting rights battles taking place in statehouses and courthouses across the country. He said both parties, for instance, are guilty of fueling mass incarceration that has stripped millions of Americans, and disproportionately Black people, of their right to vote.

“This victory isn’t about Ds and Rs, this victory is about expanding the we in ‘we, the people’ and enlarging the franchise to people who cannot participate,” Atkinson said. “How that spans as far as partisan outcomes, let the chips fall where they may.”

Dems going on offense

If the ease or difficulty of voting is based on the state Americans live in then Democrats are doing more than playing defense where they have a legislative majority or total state government control.

The National Conference of State Legislatures shows there are 15 fully Democratic-controlled states and 18 majority-Democratic legislatures, meaning three — Maryland, Massachusetts and Vermont — where they have a GOP governor.

Democratic officials in states such as New York, Oregon and Virginia are doing all they can to increase participation and turnout ahead of next year’s mid-term races.

“Make no mistake about it the election in 2022 is literally an existential fight for our democracy,” Oregon Gov. Kate Brown told USA TODAY.

"The future of our democracy is on the line, and frankly, our ability to conduct presidential elections depends on this election in 2022."

For starters, the DGA has launched “Every State, Every Vote” a partnership with Fair Fight, founded by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams that has been a playbook for Democratic governors across the country.

Brown, who serves as chair of the initiative, said it has two thrusts: Driving public attention to what stricter election laws mean and the critical role her Democratic gubernatorial colleagues play in combating those efforts. And creating a collaborative resource for Democrats to promote best practices in their states.

“Obviously the best option is for Congress to take bold action," she said. "But in the absence of congressional action Democratic governors that have the ability to move forward are doing exactly that."

In Virginia, Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam signed a law in April that prohibits localities from changing the location of a polling place without getting clearance in advance or from enacting any policy that restricts access to voting based on someone’s race or language.

He also restored the voting rights of 69,000 people convicted of felonies.

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this year received high marks for signing legislation that increased ballot drop boxes and early in-person for more than a week.

Other Democratic governors in New York, Nevada and Washington have made similar sweeping reforms that tilt towards access, such as permanently allowing expanded vote-by-mail and automatically restoring voting rights for those who served prison time.

Part of the reason liberal-minded governors are able make these gains are partners in the legislative branch. Democrats have made some strides since 2018, gaining control of six separate chambers during that period.

Jessica Post, president of the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, said the voting rights battles being waged in statehouses has also put an early and more intense fire under party officials and donors to focus on redistricting.

"There were a lot of missed opportunities in 2011 to challenge state legislative maps — there wasn't adequate funding," Post said.

Post knows the outcome of when Democrats get too sleepy on voting rights and electoral maps. She was the DLCC field director in 2010 when the party was heavily outspent and thumped at the polls losing roughly 700 state legislative seats during those mid-terms.

The DLCC, she noted, raised a historic $51 million for Democratic legislative races and she is committed to doing the same for both voting rights and redistricting efforts in 2022.

Experts predict the fight over redrawing political maps will be intensified as both parties prepare for major court showdowns. Democratic groups began filing preemptive lawsuits as early as April, which was well before the latest census data was released.

Democrats believe the courts have become more conservative in the past decade but leaders such as Post are optimistic in places like Michigan, where for the first time in decades an independent redistricting commission will draw new maps after being installed by a voter referendum.

"I will do everything in my power to make sure we have the funding, and then make sure that we have the strategy working with the nation's best attorneys, best data experts to challenge these state legislative maps," Post said.

"There will not be gerrymandered legislative maps un-challenged on my watch."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: State level Democrats seek strategies to defend, expand voting rights