I turned 18 a couple months ago. Like a lot of people my age, I filled out the voter registration card the second I could, took the goofy “Future Voter → Actual Voter” selfie, and felt that little rush of finally mattering. Then I started paying attention. And honestly? What I found scared me more than any horror movie ever could.
Since 2020, hundreds of new voting laws have swept across the country. Some make it easier to vote; a lot more make it harder sometimes a lot harder. The people pushing the tough ones say they’re protecting elections. The people fighting them say they’re protecting power. I’m not here to scream at one side or the other I’m just a kid from suburbia trying to figure out why something that’s supposed to be my right suddenly feels like an obstacle course.
So I dug in. I read the actual bills, the Brennan Center reports, the state election websites, the angry Reddit threads, all of it. Here’s what I learned about five of the biggest roadblocks that popped up after 2020 in plain English, from someone who’s about to face them head-on.
1. They’re Making It Harder to Even Ask for a Mail-In Ballot
You’d think requesting an absentee ballot would be as chill as ordering something off Amazon. Nope. Ten states have slashed the window when you’re allowed to apply sometimes cutting weeks off the old deadline. Miss that new cutoff because life got crazy and you didn’t realize the rules changed? Too bad. No ballot for you.
Why This One Hits Different
- Shift workers, college kids, and anyone with a chaotic schedule now have to play calendar detective months early.
- A lot of people only start paying attention when the ads hit which is usually way after the new, earlier deadline.
- Swing states like Georgia and Iowa did this, meaning tiny turnout swings could decide everything.
- Rural voters who rely on mail (because the nearest polling place is an hour away) get screwed the hardest.
- Election offices say it helps them “stay organized,” but it basically punishes anyone who isn’t glued to election calendars all year.
2. They Shortened the Deadline for Your Ballot to Actually Get Back
Okay, you jumped through the hoops and got your mail-in ballot. Cool. Now you’ve got even less time to send it back. Five states shrunk the return window, so even if you mail it on time, slow postal service can disqualify you. In North Carolina alone, over a thousand ballots got tossed last cycle because they showed up a day or two late even though they were postmarked correctly.
Real-Life Ways This Screws People
- Military members overseas mail from bases can take forever.
- Rural routes that only get picked up twice a week suddenly become a gamble.
- Anyone who likes to wait and research the down-ballot races until the last minute just lost that option.
- Elderly voters who need help filling out the ballot now have a ticking clock.
- It’s basically “get it perfect or lose your voice” and the Post Office isn’t exactly known for speed these days.
3. Showing ID Just Got a Lot Stricter Pretty Much Everywhere
Fifteen states tightened voter ID rules after 2020, and twelve of them made the in-person requirements way tougher. Some threw out perfectly good IDs people have used for years. Georgia made you show ID for absentee ballots too so now even voting from your couch needs paperwork.
Groups That Get Hit the Hardest
- College students whose campus IDs suddenly don’t count anymore.
- Senior citizens who stopped driving years ago and let their licenses expire.
- Low-income folks who never needed a state ID because they take the bus.
- Native Americans on reservations whose tribal IDs got rejected in some states.
- Anyone who moved recently and hasn’t updated their ID yet hello, first-time voters like me.
4. They’re Purging Voter Rolls Faster And Letting Random People Help
Thirteen states made it easier to kick people off the voter lists. Some even let any citizen file unlimited challenges against other voters’ registrations. Georgia passed a law that basically green-lit voter-roll vigilantes. One typo, one missed mailing, one angry neighbor, and boom you’re off the list until you fight your way back on.
Why “Cleaning the Rolls” Can Go Very Wrong
- People get purged for moving without updating their address right away (super common for renters and students).
- Newlyweds who changed their name and haven’t updated everything yet gone.
- Someone with the same name as a felon (yes, this happens) can get caught in the net.
- Minority and low-income neighborhoods get targeted way more often with mass challenges.
- You often don’t find out you’ve been purged until you show up to vote and get turned away.
5. Ballot Drop Boxes Are Disappearing or Getting Locked Down
Remember 2020 when drop boxes were everywhere and people felt safe using them? Yeah, eight states decided that was too easy. Now there are fewer boxes, they’re only open banker’s hours, or they’re stuck inside government buildings that close at 5 p.m. exactly when working people could actually use them.
How This One Sneaks Up on You
- Parents who work second shift can’t swing by during “business hours.”
- People without reliable mail service (looking at you, rural areas) just lost their safest option.
- Disabled voters who can’t stand in line now have to figure out mail or nothing.
- Cities with millions of people might have only a handful of 24/7 boxes good luck finding parking.
- In some places the boxes are monitored by armed “poll watchers” now, which feels… intimidating, to put it mildly.
6. They’re Basically Outlawing “Ballot Harvesting” Even When Grandma Needs Help
“Ballot harvesting” sounds shady, right? That’s what lawmakers want you to think. In reality, it just means letting someone you trust (a neighbor, a caregiver, a grandson) pick up your completed ballot and drop it off for you. States like Mississippi, Texas, and others have now made it a crime unless that person is an immediate family member or official mail carrier. Break the rule? Felony charges.
Who Actually Gets Hurt by This
- Disabled veterans who can’t drive anymore and have no family nearby.
- Nursing home residents staff used to help collect ballots; now they can face jail time.
- Rural areas where one volunteer used to drive around picking up ballots from elderly folks on bad roads.
- Low-income apartment buildings where a trusted community organizer made sure everyone’s vote got in.
- Anyone who thinks “I’ll just ask my neighbor” and suddenly realizes that neighbor could get arrested.
7. Some Perfectly Normal IDs Just Got Banned
You show up with the same ID you’ve used since high school and suddenly… “Sorry, we don’t accept that anymore.” Ohio threw out every non-photo ID. Idaho said student IDs from in-state colleges no longer count. We’re talking about IDs that have your name, photo, address, and were issued by the government just not the exact flavor they want now.
Real People Who Got Turned Away Last Election
- Thousands of Ohio State students who only carry their BuckID card.
- Seniors who have a expired driver’s license but still use it as their main photo ID.
- Veterans with VA cards that got rejected at the polls.
- People who recently moved and are waiting on their new license provisional ballot only, if you’re lucky.
- Anyone who thought “I’ve voted with this for 20 years” and learned the hard way that rules changed while they weren’t looking.
8. Now You Need ID Just to ASK for a Mail Ballot
It used to be: fill out a simple form, mail it in, get your ballot. Now states like Indiana say you have to include your driver’s license number or the last four of your Social Security just to request the ballot. Forget that number or lose the paper it’s written on? Start over. Oh, and they also banned anyone from mailing you an application unless you specifically asked first goodbye helpful reminders from the county.
Why This Feels Like Death by Paper Cut
- Old people who never memorized their license number (or never had one).
- Anyone who just moved and hasn’t memorized the new ID yet.
- Domestic violence survivors who ditched their old ID for safety reasons.
- College kids who don’t have a printer or scanner at 2 a.m. when they finally remember to request their ballot.
- It’s not one big wall it’s a hundred little walls that add up to “maybe I just won’t vote.”
9. The States That Take Forever to Count Ballots (And Love Drama)
Some states are built for speed: they open mail ballots early, verify signatures ahead of time, and can call races on election night. Others… not so much. Alabama, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and South Carolina scored dead last on ballot-counting efficiency. That means days sometimes weeks of watching lawyers argue while the entire country holds its breath.
Why Slow Counting Is Its Own Kind of Problem
- Conspiracy theories explode when results trickle in instead of pouring.
- Candidates can claim fraud while votes are still being counted (sound familiar?).
- Swing states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania being on this list is… not ideal.
- Voters start wondering if their ballot even got opened.
- The longer the wait, the more pressure there is to “stop the count” or “keep counting” depending on who’s ahead at midnight.
10. The Five States Where Mail Voting Is Basically a Part-Time Job
If you want to know what “hostile to mail voting” looks like, visit Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Maine (yes, really), or Oklahoma. Some require a notarized signature. Some demand an excuse plus a witness. Some won’t accept your ballot if it arrives even one day late postmark doesn’t matter. Combine a couple of those and you’ve got the electoral equivalent of climbing a mountain in flip-flops.
What You Have to Do in the Hardest States
- Find a notary who’s open when you’re not at work (good luck).
- Track down a witness who isn’t related to you and is willing to sign a legal document.
- Pray the mail is fast enough to hit a deadline that’s sometimes a week before Election Day.
- Hope you don’t get sick, lose your job, or have a kid in the month before November.
- Basically treat voting like filing your taxes except the penalty for a mistake is losing your voice.
11. The Five States Where Voting Feels Like Running a Gauntlet
When you stack everything together (ID rules, mail-in restrictions, drop-box limits, purge laws, slow counting), a clear picture emerges: some states have built a maze around the ballot box. Mississippi, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin consistently score at the bottom when researchers add up every barrier. We’re not talking one annoying rule; we’re talking ten or twelve that all hit at once.
What It Actually Feels Like in the Hardest States
- You need a photo ID that half the population doesn’t carry daily.
- Mail voting requires excuses, witnesses, or notarization most people can’t get easily.
- Drop boxes are either gone or open 9-to-5 on weekdays only.
- Your name could get purged because someone with a similar name moved.
- Even when you do everything right, it might take two weeks for anyone to count your vote.
It’s not impossible to vote in those states; it’s just exhausting. And exhaustion is a feature, not a bug, for the people who wrote these laws.
12. The Scariest New Trend: Laws That Let Politicians Mess with the Count
This is the one that keeps me up at night. At least eight brand-new laws (passed just this year in seven states) don’t touch voters directly; they go after the people who run elections. Texas got rid of the professional election administrator job in its biggest (Democratic-leaning) county and gave the Republican secretary of state the power to step in whenever he smells “problems.” Other states are making it easier for partisan legislatures to overturn results they don’t like or to send fake electors if things get messy.
The Quiet Power Grabs Nobody’s Talking About Loud Enough
- Politicians can now fire or override local election officials who won’t play ball.
- Some states created new crimes for election workers who “violate” vague rules; jail time is on the table.
- Partisan “poll watchers” are being given more power to intimidate workers and challenge ballots on the spot.
- Losing candidates are being handed legal tools to delay certification until courts step in.
- Death threats and harassment have already driven hundreds of election officials to quit; these laws pour gas on that fire.
This isn’t about long lines or ID anymore. This is about who gets the final say when the vote is close. And right now, a bunch of lawmakers are writing themselves into that job description. I still plan to vote; no question. I’ll jump through whatever hoops they put in front of me this year, next year, and every year after. But it makes me mad that my generation is walking into a system that’s already trying to push us out before we even start.
Democracy isn’t supposed to be easy, but it’s not supposed to be this hard either. It’s supposed to be hard for the people who want to break it, not for the people who just want to use it. See you at the polls. I’ll be the kid with the “First Time Voter” sticker and a backpack full of every possible form of ID, just in case.
