Voting & Elections

“With this still being a new method of registration, it will take a few years to see a statistical impact that can be analyzed,” said Mario Jimenez, campaign director at Common Cause New Mexico. “During the 2022 primary election, New Mexico saw over 10,000 residents utilize same-day voter registration. A number that is sure to grow during the 2024 presidential election year.”

“In the past, some cities have had multiple locations and tried to engage voters where they’re at, while other towns have smaller staff and differing capacity,” said Geoff Foster, executive director at Common Cause Massachusetts. “Because these things vary across the state, voters need to check in with their local city clerks.” Left out of the VOTES Act was something advocates say could remove a major barrier for lower-income people in Massachusetts: same-day voter registration. “Lower-income voters and voters of color are oftentimes in areas with higher rates of renters, and folks might live in the same municipality but move from one precinct to another without knowing they have to update that when they move,” Foster said. These voters may arrive to cast their ballots on Election Day, only to be turned away. “They might find they’re inactive voters or they went to the wrong location,” Foster said. “We consider same-day registration unfinished business.”

“I don’t think we’re immune to these attempts to degrade our really great system and to make voting more difficult,” said Cameron Hill, associate director of Common Cause Colorado. ... Hill said a goal of Colorado Common Cause, criminal justice reform organizations and other voting rights groups in the next year or two is legislative action or a ballot initiative to fully restore the voting rights of people serving prison sentences for felonies. If successful, Colorado would join only Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C., in allowing any resident citizen over age 18 to vote regardless of criminal convictions or incarceration. “It’s possible. There’s an appetite,” Hill said. “We have some pretty progressive lawmakers and we’re on track to get several more.” 

The lawsuit’s plaintiffs, which include the N.C. League of Conservation Voters and Common Cause, won in February a landmark state Supreme Court ruling. The legislative seat boundaries also keep discriminating against Black voters, said Hillary Klein, a lawyer representing Common Cause. Klein and another attorney said legislative maps remained skewed toward Republicans and fail to give Democrats the same chance as the GOP to win governing majorities should they receive similar statewide voter support as Republicans -- a standard the state Supreme Court in February.

"Outside groups are making up the difference," said Aaron Scherb, a lobbyist on campaign finance and election issues for Common Cause, a watchdog group that advocates for increasing transparency in campaign finance.

Pennsylvania since 2019 doesn’t require an excuse for voting by mail. But the state is unable to provide results instantly because it doesn’t have enough people and other resources to handle the process, said Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause in Pennsylvania, a group supporting voting rights.