Election Reform Efforts in State Legislative Sessions
In the aftermath of 2020, state legislators drafted an unprecedented number of bills to reform elections. However, due to the polarizing politics of several of these issues, many major election reform bills did not become law. This panel of state legislators and state election experts discusses how the politics around election reform have and have not changed since 2020 and what issues are top-of-mind for 2023 sessions.
Key Quotes:
“I think the rhetoric is still here... While maybe some of the most active actors are slowing down a little bit, I think the long-term damage has been done.” - Kathryne Harper
“When a Colorado county creates a ballot, they work with their city, their school board, their special district, and their county to build that ballot and there are spaces on the ballot for each one of those jurisdictions and they have to buy that space... I think the federal government has the best real estate on the ballot... and they don’t pay a dime for it.” - Judd Choate
Speakers:
Senator David G. Argall - Chairman, Pennsylvania State Government Committee
Judd Choate – Colorado’s State Election Director
Kathryne Harper - Executive Director, Missouri Association of County Clerks & Election Authorities
Senator Natalie Murdock - North Carolina, District 20
Miles Parks - Voting Correspondent, NPR