Blog

From January – August 2023, state legislatures nationwide passed various bills into law. While following these developments, the League noticed several important trends around voting rights and election administration.

There is only one way we can ensure that the promise of democracy is kept: by fervently participating in our nation’s political processes, ensuring our voices are heard. 

For the second year in a row, the League has declared August 26 to be Women’s Inequality Day because of the historic challenges women and our allies currently face. 

Share your message for #WID23 by creating a video!

While Congress is home on the August recess, negotiations are continuing on the final budget for the fiscal year. Oftentimes, negotiators use riders on the budget to appease either side to move forward on the main bill. This blog will dive into the threat these riders pose and what they mean for DC’s future. 

In my time training as a communications intern at the League of Women Voters, I was posed with two daunting questions. What change would you like to see in the world? How can you embody that change?

Reflecting on the Voting Rights Act of 1965, it is crucial to acknowledge the hard work of diverse coalitions and dedicated activists who fought tirelessly for its passage. Their unwavering commitment to fairness and justice moved our country towards a more inclusive and democratic society.

In June 2022, the US Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, ending the federal constitutional right to abortion. This ruling eliminated a fundamental right that women and people who may become pregnant held for nearly fifty years and left the right to abortion up to federal and state legislation. 

One year after Dobbs, 20 states are enforcing more limited abortion bans than before the ruling, including 14 states that have banned abortion at conception. Additionally, many have implemented other restrictions that make abortion less accessible.

Last year’s SCOTUS decision repealing the right to abortion continues to affect millions of people nationwide. Yet while most of us are familiar with its impact on family planning, I wonder if we all understand the full repercussions on every aspect of our lives? 

In 2023, at least 322 bills restricting voting access were introduced in state legislatures nationwide.

Though many of these restrictions may appear simple and easy to comply with, they often have a huge impact on voters with disabilities, people of color, indigenous communities, students, young voters, and older adults. Four common voting restrictions — third-party ballot drop-off restrictions, early voting restrictions, ballot drop-box restrictions, and strict absentee ballot requirements — are particularly devastating.  

Throughout 2023, we have seen an unprecedented number of legislative attacks on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQIA+) individuals, particularly transgender (trans) and non-binary youth. These attacks, accompanied and “justified” by false and pathologizing narratives about LGBTQIA+ people, have devastating consequences for the community’s physical and psychological well-being.