TIME: Democracy Defender Lauren Kunis, Executive Director of VoteRiders
BY NIK POPLI, TIME — SEPTEMBER 19, 2024
More Americans voted in the 2020 election than in any other in U.S. history. In the four years since, 18 states have enacted new or stricter voter ID requirements to cast a ballot, warns Lauren Kunis, the executive director and CEO of VoteRiders. “The history of our country is one of expanding access to the ballot box over time,” says Kunis. “Sadly we are seeing the reversal of that trend right now on the voter ID front in particular.”
VoteRiders is a non-partisan organization dedicated to ensuring that every eligible voter can navigate such regulations and access the ballot box. The group has its work cut out for it in 2024, as an unprecedented 38 states now have voter ID laws in place. Republican-led states, in particular, have adopted increasingly stringent regulations as lawmakers have argued, with little evidence, that voter fraud is a widespread problem.
Nearly 50 million Americans do not have an active ID that reflects their current name and address. For those living in states with stringent voter ID laws, the result is a confusing patchwork of regulations that can leave even the most determined voter at a loss. “We’re in a place of really unprecedented challenge when it comes to voting rights and voting access,” says Kunis, who has led the organization since 2021.
