Democracy Maps
Democracy Maps Updates: April 2026
Tracking more than 50 laws and policies related to voting and elections, the Democracy Maps, reveal the incredible differences in access to voting and election independence across the country. MAP updates the Democracy Maps in real time as legislatures across the country pass laws impacting voting, elections, and our democracy.
These are the Democracy Maps updates as of April 30, 2026.
▸▸ State Policy Updates
Documentary Proof of Citizenship Requirements for Voter Registration
See our Democracy Map here and our supporting citation sheet here.
This year has seen a dramatic surge in states enacting documentary proof of citizenship requirements for voter registration. Inspired by the president’s agenda and the related federal SAVE Act, Florida, Mississippi, South Dakota, and Utah have all enacted new laws this year requiring documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote, joining four other states with such requirements.
Florida’s new law does not take effect until 2027, but voters in at least seven states will face proof of citizenship requirements this November, barring any further enactments. These laws create significant barriers to voting, as many otherwise eligible voters lack access to documents to prove their citizenship. These requirements also disproportionately impact marginalized communities, create immense administrative and financial burdens on election officials, and disrupt current registration systems.
Membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)
See our Democracy Map here and our supporting citation sheet here.
Despite the recent exodus of states from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), one of the largest states in the country has officially joined the organization this year, with another poised to soon do so.
Following legislation enacted in 2025, New York officially joined ERIC in April of this year, and Virginia passed legislation in April which will result in the state joining the organization later this year. Once Virginia officially joins ERIC, more than half of all eligible voters will live in states that are members. In contrast to the rise of voter roll purges and the use of unreliable databases to conduct list maintenance in many states, ERIC is still recognized as the best tool for states to share data and maintain the accuracy of their voter rolls.
State Voting Rights Acts
See our Democracy Map here and our supporting citation sheet here.
As federal protections continue to weaken and the Supreme Court threatens to further limit the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA), states have increasingly pursued their own voting rights acts to preserve these protections.
This year, two states have passed laws to strengthen their existing state VRAs, and another state is positioned to enact a VRA for the first time. Legislation passed in Virginia in April adds to their existing VRA by clarifying legal standards for voter suppression and vote dilution, providing courts with guidance on factors to consider when determining violations, and expanding who can bring legal action to include organizations representing protected classes or whose missions are impacted by violations. Washington also updated their VRA in March to add a preclearance program and judicial standards similar to Virginia’s bill. Finally, Maryland became the 10th state to enact their own VRA in late April.
Voter ID Requirements
See our Democracy Map here and our supporting citation sheet here.
Continuing another restrictive policy trend from 2025, three states this year have already passed legislation limiting the types of identity documents (ID) that can be used to satisfy voter ID requirements.
A new Kentucky law, enacted in April over the governor’s veto, removes social security cards and state benefit program IDs from the list of acceptable identification, and Utah’s new law removes utility bills and bank statements as of March. New Hampshire also became the latest state to ban the use of student IDs in April, continuing a nationwide effort to enact barriers for young voters.
A new law passed in Kansas in February also threatens transgender people’s right to vote. Through SB244, Kansas became the first state in the country to require the rescinding of transgender people’s driver’s license, if those licenses reflected their gender identity. Kansas also has one of the strictest voter ID laws in the country. Kansas requires that voters present a government-issued, unexpired, photo ID to cast a ballot. If a voter is unable to provide an ID that meets these requirements, they must cast a provisional ballot, which will only be counted if the voter submits an accepted ID to their county elections office by the Monday following the election.
These two policies together mean that many transgender Kansans may have their IDs invalidated this year yet still be required to produce a valid ID to be allowed to vote. This combination means that at least some of an estimated 22,000 adult transgender Kansans will face serious obstacles to voting this fall and beyond.
Post-Election Audits
See our Democracy Map here and our supporting citation sheet here.
Alabama passed legislation in April to update their laws to require post-election audits for the first time.
Post-election audits are a nonpartisan process that allows states to verify the accuracy and performance of voting equipment and vote counting machines. Properly conducted, nonpartisan audits provide public confidence in election results and can also act as a safeguard against hacking and foreign interference.
With Alabama’s new law, only six remaining states do not require post-election audits, and 95% of eligible voters now live in states with audit requirements.
Automatic Voter Registration
See our Democracy Map here and our supporting citation sheet here.
In January, New Jersey became the latest state to implement Secure automatic voter registration (AVR), after previously having a Partial AVR system in place.
In Secure AVR systems–sometimes referred to as “back-end AVR” — designated agencies such as state DMVs systematically send information from relevant transactions to state election authorities. Once a voter’s eligibility is confirmed, the voter is then automatically registered (or registered in pending status) before being given an opportunity to opt-out at a later time, usually through the mail. Secure AVR systems are more efficient and effective at registering eligible voters, keeping registration records accurate, and registering only U.S. citizens to vote. With New Jersey’s new law, 11 states and D.C. now have implemented Secure AVR, representing almost 1 in 5 eligible voters.
Ballot Measure Updates
Three ballot measures have recently qualified to be sent to voters in 2026:
- Virginia’s General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment that, if approved by voters in November, would automatically restore voting rights to all formerly incarcerated Virginians upon release from prison — eliminating the current requirement to petition the governor for restoration. This amendment addresses a system that currently disenfranchises more than 260,000 citizens, with roughly one in ten Black voting-eligible Virginians impacted.
- A ballot measure referred by the legislature in Oklahoma would implement strict photo ID requirements for both in-person and mail voting if passed. This measure will be voted on in an August special election.
- Finally, a restrictive measure in California has collected enough signatures to qualify for the ballot this November. If passed, this measure would require voters to show a government-issued ID each time they go to the polls to vote in-person or provide the last-four digits of an ID, such as a driver’s license, to submit a mail-in ballot. The secretary of state and county election offices would also be required to verify voters’ citizenship status every time they vote.
▸▸ Changes in MAP’s Policy Score Categorizations
See our Democracy Map here, which summarizes the overall policy scores for states and accounts for the 50+ laws and policies MAP tracks.
- Utah’s new documentary proof of citizenship law lowered the state’s overall score from Medium to Fair.
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