Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy

Voting Rights Project

Voting Rights News & Updates

The Taubman Center wants to keep you up to date! Voting laws and legislation constantly change. Here are some resources for you to stay informed:

Voting Rights Project

Democracy's Price Tag: Analyzing Changes in Election Laws and their Effects on Voter Turnout in Midterm Elections

The Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy is conducting research on changes in election laws between the midterm elections of 2018 and 2022 and how those laws have effected voter turnout.

The right to vote has been under significant challenge in American politics after the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby v. Holder. After changes to election procedures during the 2020 election due to the COVID-19 pandemic states introduced more than 400 bills to make changes to their election laws in the 2021 legislative session. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting access to the ballot. With the generous support by our alumni, Taubman is studying the effects of changes in election laws in the states of Rhode Island, Arizona, Florida, Georgia and Texas. Learn more about our project with the content below.

Preliminary Reports

Democracy's Price Tag — The Taubman Center for American Politics & Policy unveils the preliminary findings of its study of the impacts of election laws and voter turnout in midterm elections. Taubman has chosen to study the states of Rhode Island, Texas, Florida, Arizona, and Georgia because of their comparative changes in election laws to expand or restrict access to the ballot box. The study uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the effects of changes in election laws on voter turnout in underrepresented groups in American politics.

Alexandra Mork ('25) shares her preliminary findings on how changes in Arizona's election laws effected voter turnout. The state of Arizona comprised of 10% of all new election reform legislation introduced in 2021.

Hannah Severyns ('23) shares her preliminary findings on how changes in Florida's election laws effected voter turnout. The state of Florida in recent history was seen as a crucial swing state in national politics. However, recently its laws around voting and election procedure have come under scrutiny.

Logan Danker ('24) shares his preliminary findings on how changes in Georgia's election laws effected voter turnout. Since 2018 the state of Georgia has been the hotbed of voting rights and has seen numerous close elections that both Democrats and Republicans have won.

Jason Barajas (MPA '23) shares his preliminary findings on how changes in Rhode Islands's election laws effected voter turnout. According to election law experts Rhode Island was one of the states that expanded access to the ballot after the 2021 legislative session.

Mia Hamilton ('25) shares her preliminary findings on how changes in Texas' election laws effected voter turnout. Texas has seen numerous pieces of election legislation pass which election law experts say have been the most restrictive.

Voting Rights News & Updates

The Taubman Center wants to keep you up to date! Voting laws and legislation constantly change. Here are some resources for you to stay informed: