The Taubman Center's latest research on voting rights focuses on changes in election laws between the midterm elections of 2018 and 2022 and how those laws have affected voter turnout.
The right to vote has been perceived to be under assault 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.