Which states passed new election laws in 2024? Check to see if your state made changes

A slate of new voting laws across the nation could serve as a preview for how changes to ballot access may offset the outcome of the 2024 general election, voting rights experts say.

According to the Voting Rights Lab, these laws ? some expanding rights for voters and others making it more difficult to participate in the election process ? are taking place in key battleground states across the U.S. that Democrats and Republicans are targeting in an effort to turn the tide in their favor.

A look at the latest election laws that will be in effect for the upcoming general election.

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Alabama

Alabama passed legislation that bans ballot harvesting, the act of collecting individual ballots by an organization or individual person and delivering them to a polling place or election office. The new law also provides criminal penalties for this act, ranging from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class B felony for receiving payment for assisting in the distribution, filling out, delivering, and ordering of absentee ballot applications.

The state's Attorney General, secretary of state, and 42 district attorneys are all currently being sued over the law. The lawsuit was filed by the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, Greater Birmingham Ministries, League of Women Voters of Alabama, and Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program.

Arizona

Arizona law now requires county recorders to notify voters via text or email after making a change to their registration records. They are also required to notify voters not subscribed to the electronic alert system by mail within 10 days of making any changes.

The state also extended its early voting period by two hours and created an ID-based ballot verification process as an alternative to signature verification.

Florida

The Sunshine State now prohibits an election supervisor from changing a voter's party affiliation while updating their registration record without the voter providing written consent. The state also requires the DMV to provide voters with a printed receipt upon a voter making changes to their registration record of party affiliation.

Georgia

The Peach State passed new laws creating a new process for how counties can remove their citizens' voter registrations from the rolls. This includes if a voter has a tax exemption that suggest their primary address is in another district, or a nonresidential address in a different district.

Georgia also now requires those experiencing homelessness to register at their county elections office if they wish to vote. All voters are now eligible to be removed from voter registration lists up to 45 days before an election.

More: Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signs election law overhauls. Here’s what has changed since 2020

Idaho

Idaho now allows residents 18 and up to apply for a free state ID that works as a voter ID. Under prior law, only residents without a current driver's license for the last six months could apply for a free voter ID.

More: Electoral College votes are different for 13 states in 2024. Here's where and why

The Gem State also restricts third-party returns for mail ballots, making it a misdemeanor to knowingly collect or convey another person's voted or unvoted ballot. Another new law created a felony offense for tampering with a voting machine or vote tally system.

Indiana

A new Indiana law now allows voters to return signature verification affidavits to cure missing or mismatched mail ballot signatures to early voting locations. Previously, this could only be returned on Election Day to the election board directly by hand, email, or fax, or to an official at a precinct or vote center.

Citizens may also now face a felony charge for threatening an election worker with intent to cause them to engage in conduct against their will or imply a threat of retaliation for a lawful act relating to an election.

Kentucky

The state of Kentucky passed a law expanding eligibility for excuse-required in-person early voting, making it easier for its citizens to vote before election day. The law also allows for mail ballots to be sent to alternate addresses and facilitates mail voting for incarcerated individuals.

Maryland

The governor of Maryland must now declare the winner of congressional and presidential elections "consistent with the returns received" via the certified voter canvass. In addition, the deadline for beginning the statewide canvass for all elections, excluding special congressional primaries, is from 35 days of an election to 30 days.

The Old Line State has created a new misdemeanor offense for knowingly and willfully threatening to harm an election official or their immediate family.

Mississippi

In Mississippi, voters with specific disabilities may now receive ballot assistance from anyone they choose, with exceptions. Anyone other than a caregiver, family member, or household member of a voter collecting and transmitting a ballot mailed to another person was previously a misdemeanor in the state.

The Magnolia State also adjusted its voter ID laws, making any form of ID must only be "valid" rather than "current." Citizens must still present a form of photo ID before being allowed to vote.

More: Unpacking Biden vs. Trump polls in swing states: Less than 6 months out, where do they stand?

Nebraska

Last month, Nebraska removed its two-year waiting period for felons' voting rights to be restored. Upon completion of their sentence, including parole terms, their voting rights will be immediately restored.

New Jersey

17-year-olds in New Jersey can vote in primary elections as long as they turn 18 before the general election they wish to vote in. This law will not take effect until Jan. 1, 2026. Current law allows 17-year-old citizens to pre-register for the next election but doesn't provide for primary voting.

Oklahoma

The Sooner State now permits employers who grant paid leave to employees to serve as poll workers to receive an exemption from taxable income. The exemption is $100 per day of leave granted.

Tennessee

Tennessee recently changed its requirement for when residential care facilities may begin conducting absentee voting. It lowered the requirement from 29 days before Election Day to 27 days. Schools used as polling places must now also close for instruction for presidential primaries, not just on a regular November Election Day.

The deadline to apply to be placed on the permit mail voter list was increased from seven days before an election to ten days.

More: Tennessee lawmakers pass bill allowing teachers, school staff to carry concealed handguns

South Dakota

South Dakota enacted two new misdemeanors for violating observation rules at a polling place by a poll watcher, observer, poll worker, or at a meeting of the recount board. The law also allows candidates, parties, or ballot question committees to have a poll watcher present at any polling place to observe the voting and counting process.

The Mount Rushmore State's secretary of state is to share information from the statewide voter registration file with any other state, territory, or local subdivision of a state or territory to identify duplicate registrations.

Virginia

The Old Dominion State removed the requirement that a disability be "physical" for a voter to qualify to vote outside. Officials must also now post notices of changes in polling place locations. Requirements to provide election information laws, regulations, and information on how and where to vote were also expanded.

Voters in the state must now be notified via mail of changes to their voting district or polling place within 30 days. Incarcerated Virginians who are awaiting trial or have been convicted of a misdemeanor are also now entitled to the right to vote.

Felonies for attempting to prevent an election, interfering with electors carrying out their duties, and including election officials and their staff as a protected category of the definition of a hate crime.

Washington

Washington created a new felony offense for harassing election officials and expanded eligibility for the state's address confidentiality program to include election officials and members of their households. The felony law of destroying, defacing or removing materials intended to be used at a voting center now also includes acts against materials used for an election office, ballot counting area, ballot storage area, or election system.

County auditors who receive address change information from voters who have moved to a different county in the state must now notify the auditor in the new county of the voter's relocation.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin enacted a law in March prohibiting the closure of a polling place unless in emergencies or with the approval of the majority and municipal clerk. The law also prohibits discontinuing a polling location after an election and 30 days before the next election. Upon closure, the public must receive notice posted on the municipality website or at least three other locations, and an individual must be designated to direct voters to a new polling place. If an area closes, the only polling place in a municipal area must also be established.

West Virginia

The Mountain State now requires the Department of Motor Vehicles to provide the secretary of state with all documentation in relation to an applicant's United States citizenship status. Within 90 days of the law's effect, it must create a regular process for the secretary of state to confirm the citizenship status of those registered through the DMV and ensure that non-citizens "have not and cannot" register to vote in the state.

Victor Hagan is the Alabama Election Reporting Fellow for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X @TheVictorHagan. To support his work, subscribe to the Advertiser.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: States with new election laws in 2024