Republican states impose new voting rules mirroring Donald Trump proposals

President Donald Trump saw his federal election proposals stall in Washington before this year’s midterm elections. More than three dozen state voting laws took effect instead across the country. The new measures alter registration rules and tighten identification requirements in Republican-controlled state legislatures.

President Trump pushed Congress for a proof-of-citizenship law. He also signed an executive order for a national voter ID mandate. His efforts to limit mail voting through Postal Service changes failed to take effect in time.

State lawmakers passed measures containing elements of those stalled federal proposals. The changes restrict what identification cards people can use to register. Some states now demand proof of citizenship before people can sign up.

“Trump’s attacks on our elections are deeply damaging, but they are not happening in isolation,” said Sophia Lin Lakin, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Voting Rights Project. “Across the country, states are also advancing restrictions that make it harder for eligible voters to cast a ballot.”

Some fresh statutes make ballot access easier. Many continue a restrictive trend that began in 2021. That trend followed false claims of widespread fraud after the 2020 election defeat to Democrat Joe Biden.

Trump lost dozens of court challenges. His own attorney general found no evidence of widespread fraud. Audits, recounts and reviews in battleground states affirmed the victory of Biden.

A majority of Republican voters still believe Biden did not win legitimately. The new state requirements confront voters during early voting.

New Hampshire banned student IDs at the polls. Utah voters must write extra information on mail ballot envelopes. Some Mississippi voters might need birth certificates or passports to confirm identity.

ID Rules Bring Court Challenges

Supporters describe these voter ID rules as common sense steps. New Hampshire state Rep. Donald McFarlane sponsored the bill banning student IDs. Colleges lack the same security controls as government agencies, McFarlane said.

“The change removes a special exception and applies the same government-issued ID standard to all voters,” McFarlane said. He noted his bill received bipartisan support. Students can still receive state ID cards without paying a fee.

Legal challenges quickly followed these new statutes. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in South Dakota to block a fresh rule. South Dakota requires first-time registrants to present standard IDs in person.

Those cards include driver’s licenses, Tribal IDs and non-driver state IDs. They must appear before staff at registration sites. League of Women Voters of South Dakota President Kathryn Johnson questioned the in-person mandate.

“Proof of citizenship in itself is not terrible,” Johnson said. “We’re kind of a remote state, so sometimes it takes a drive, and you have to coordinate, you have to take off work, and all of these kinds of things.”

Ohio started enforcing a proof of citizenship rule this year. It applies at Bureau of Motor Vehicles offices during voter registration. Ohio also ended its four-day grace period for mail ballots.

Mail ballots must arrive at local election offices by Election Day. Voting rights groups also worry about Ohio purging voter rolls. Databases used to check citizenship can carry outdated facts, ACLU of Ohio legal director Freda Levenson said.

“Vast numbers of perfectly eligible voters are vulnerable to being disenfranchised,” Levenson said. The organization filed a lawsuit to overturn the statute.

Republican state Sen. Theresa Gavarone sponsored the bill and defended the law. Hundreds of noncitizens were removed from Ohio rolls over the past two years, Gavarone said in an email. Every ballot from a noncitizen disenfranchises a lawful state voter, Gavarone said.

Voters outside a Wayne County, Ohio, early voting center shared mixed opinions. Retired steel worker Dan Walter said he opposes documentary proof of citizenship. It exists to keep people from voting, Walter said.

His wife, Jody Walter, is a retired aerospace executive. She said a driver’s license does not prove citizenship. Millersburg resident Genia Fortune supported the proof requirement.

“I just feel like you need to be a citizen and show proof of ID,” Fortune said. She voted for Barack Obama and later backed Trump.

State Laws Target Access

Voting Rights Lab legislative tracking director Chris Diaz said state allies passed several administration ideas. A group report highlighted key legislative focus areas:

• Mail balloting rules
• Voter ID mandates
• Noncitizen voter roll searches

Noncitizen voting remains rare across the nation. The U.S. had 227 million registered voters for the 2024 presidential election. The U.S. Department of Justice charged roughly 90 people for election misconduct, including 50 alleged noncitizen voters.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law studied the rules. The group found nearly 40 laws in 21 states that restrict registration, voting or roll maintenance. Many laws target distinct subsets of voters, the center reported.

“What I want voters to take away from this is that elections are still run by the states and there are still people in many states who are trying to make it harder for you to vote,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, senior director of the center’s Voting Rights and Elections Program. “But that’s all the more reason to go make a plan to vote and participate.”

State legislatures hold broad authority to set voting procedures under state and federal constitutions. Election boards administer those statutes through local county offices and municipal polling locations. Courts review contested election measures to ensure compliance with existing civil rights laws.

Voters across Wooster face the revised registration standards this fall.