According to Election Protection’s report, voters in 2018 faced widespread attempts at voter suppression and disenfranchisement across the country – obstacles that made voting more difficult or impossible. Election Protection kept track of the top barriers to the vote in 2018, which included: long lines due to poor staffing, insufficient materials, and faulty voting machines problems; aggressive voter registration purges or failure to process applications; poor poll-worker training; restrictive voting identification requirements; and failure to receive or count absentee ballots. The root causes of these barriers are burdensome and arbitrary voting laws and policies, lack of planning and investment by election administration, and racism and xenophobia.
As the 2018 elections process winds down and run-offs are completed, Election Protection will issue a final report that includes state-specific reports on the 2018 midterms. Election Protection partners will continue to engage with election officials and lawmakers to advocate for policies and practices that remove barriers to voting and ensure that all voters can exercise their right to vote without undue burden.
View the full report here.