At the National Level:

 

- ID REQ'S:

GA, IN, KS, MS, TN, VA & WI all require photo identification to vote & AZ ND & OH maintain a strict ID requirement (no-photo). 

 

-ID REQ'S:

Voters in AK, AL, FL, HI, ID, LA, MI, RI, SD, TX, AK, CO, CT, DE, IA, KY, MO, MT, NH, NC, OK, SC, UT, WA & WV require a form of ID to be presented at the polls.  

 

- ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION:

Despite 21 states and D.C., many states like MA have archaic registration cutoffs that disenfranchise thousands. 

 

- VOTER PURGES:

Between 2016 and 2018 both Georgia and North Carolina removed over 10 percent of registrations from their voter lists, and Florida removed more than 7 percent. Since 2015, Alabama election officials purged 658,000 voters, according to the state’s chief election official; this number is dramatic given that the state had only 3.3 million registered voters in 2016.

 

-STUDENTS:

Election officials in some states have made it difficult for a young voter to cast a ballot. Particularly, student voters in New Hampshire, Texas, Florida, and Michigan have been subject to suppressive policies leading up to the general election. 

 

 

(Source:  Brennan Center for Justice)

 

In Massachusetts:

 

- ELECTION DAY REGISTRATION:

Massachusetts has never passed laws permitting same-day voter registration or unrestricted absentee ballot voting.

 

- POTENTIAL ID REQ'S:

Several bills to require photo ID to vote have been introduced in previous sessions; none has passed.

 

-INACTIVE LIST: 

The inactive list has interrupted the democratic process. If an MA resident does not fill out their local town and or city census they will more often than not be placed on the inactive voter list which requires a form of ID to verify their registration status before voting. 

 

- FALSE ID REQ'S:

Numerous towns throughout the Commonwealth promote a "speedier" process to vote if a voter shows ID. 

 

-RE-PRECINCTING OF BOSTON:

Today's ward lines do not accurately represent the communities of today's Boston. Coupled with long line's such as in Chinatown, it is time for the city and state to re-precinct Boston and allow easier access to the polls.

 

-DOJ INVESTIGATION:

In 2018 Lowell and Malden were among 35 places in 19 states being monitored by the U.S. Justice Department. DOJ says staffers from the Civil Rights Division will be at the polls watching if voters are subjected to different voting qualifications based on race and accommodations for voters with disabilities.

 

-VOTING MACHINES:

Boston, Lawrence, and Lowell experienced breakdowns with voting machines in previous years. Most of these problems were fixed due to help from Election Protection hosted by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights & the ACLU. Yet many voters were turned away instead of allowing for provisional balloting.