1A Remaking America: Safeguarding free and fair elections ahead of 2024

WAMU 88.5 | By Avery Jessa Chapnick

Published April 5, 2023 at 11:10 AM CDT

A sign reading "This Way To Vote" is displayed outside the Old Wilson Schoolhouse Community Center in Wilson as Wyoming holds its Republican primary election.

While campaigning for the position of Alabama Secretary of State, Republican Wes Allen promised that if elected, he’d remove his state from a once-obscure partnership known as the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). On his first day in office, he delivered on that promise.

Alabama followed Louisiana in leaving ERIC. And in the months since, a number of other Republican-led states have done the same, including West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Ohio, and Iowa.

Editor Carrie Levine covered the story for Votebeat:

The recent decision by several Republican-led states to withdraw from a multistate coalition dedicated to cleaning and updating voter rolls shows how allegations of a tilted election playing field can still roil at least some voters. It’s clear that baseless allegations about the mechanics of elections are still circulating, and they’re powerful enough to shape events — and keep affecting our elections.

A bevy of other partisan-led efforts, including court cases and state-level legislation, are shifting election policy ahead of 2024.

In the midst of heightened scrutiny, how do states continue to ensure free and fair elections?

This conversation is part of ourRemaking America collaboration with six public radio stations around the country, including WBHM. Remaking America is funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.