Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Which states enacted new voter ID laws between 2020 and 2024?
Executive summary
Between 2020 and 2024, multiple organizations reported a wave of new or tightened voter ID laws: the University of Maryland and partners say 17 states enacted new or stricter voter-ID rules since 2020 (a figure repeated by Democracy Docket) [1] [2]. The Brennan Center and other trackers counted a broader set of restrictive voting changes across dozens of states and said at least nine states faced “stringent new” voter‑ID requirements for the 2024 presidential election [3]. Available sources do not list a single, identical state-by-state roster covering only 2020–2024; instead, data and counts vary by tracker and methodology [3] [2].
1. What the major trackers are actually saying
The University of Maryland–led study and partner groups reported that 17 states “created new voter ID laws, or made existing ones stricter, since the 2020 presidential elections,” a summary repeated in multiple outlets and briefs [1] [2]. The Brennan Center’s state-by-state guide highlights that “voters in at least nine states face stringent new voter ID requirements that were not in place for the 2020 election,” while also counting many other restrictive changes [3]. These differences reflect different thresholds for what counts as a “new” or “stringent” law: some trackers count any tightening; others flag only laws that move a state into a “strict photo‑ID” category [3] [2].
2. Why the counts differ: methodology and legal status matter
Trackers diverge because they apply different definitions (new vs. stricter vs. stringent) and because some enacted laws were delayed, litigated, or blocked by courts before or during 2024. The Brennan Center explicitly warns that some laws “will not be in effect” for an election because of effective‑date language or court orders [3]. Democracy Docket and the UMD analysis focused on legislative changes that alter how voters are identified, whereas other outlets limited counts to laws that convert a state into a “strict photo ID” jurisdiction [2] [1].
3. States mentioned repeatedly in reporting (examples, not an exhaustive list)
Multiple summaries and graphics singled out a handful of states where notable changes occurred between 2020 and 2024 — for example Nebraska, Arkansas, North Carolina and Ohio appear in move‑up lists and charts compiled by media and research organizations as states that passed new or stricter photo‑ID measures in the four years leading to 2024 [4] [5]. But available sources do not provide a single canonical list limited strictly to 2020–2024 that every tracker agrees on; instead, each source highlights overlapping but not identical sets of states [4] [5].
4. Who’s tracking this and what their perspective is
The Brennan Center, VoteRiders, Democracy Docket, the University of Maryland’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement and advocacy groups like Vote.org and the League of Women Voters are among those compiling counts and analyses; many of these groups frame changes as restrictions that could impede turnout for marginalized groups [3] [1] [6] [7]. Academic and policy outlets (e.g., Statista, Forbes) and nonpartisan trackers like the National Conference of State Legislatures are also cited — but each brings distinct emphases and classification rules that shape totals [4] [5] [8].
5. Evidence about the scale and potential impact
Researchers have quantified how many Americans lack current IDs and highlighted demographic disparities: the UMD‑led work estimated tens of millions lack a current government photo ID or one with up‑to‑date name/address information, with higher rates among Black, Hispanic and younger voters — a key reason advocates say new ID rules could affect turnout [1]. Other analyses estimate millions of voting‑age adults live in states where ID laws were tightened, raising the number exposed to stricter regimes from fewer than 30 million to more than 50 million in some graphics [4] [5].
6. How to interpret claims about “17 states” or “nine states”
When you see headlines citing “17 states” that passed new/stricter ID laws since 2020, that number reflects a specific aggregation by UMD/Democracy Docket/VoteRiders of legislative changes [1] [2]. When you see the Brennan Center’s “at least nine states face stringent new voter ID requirements,” that’s a narrower claim about laws that moved into a more stringent category and were likely to affect the 2024 ballot environment [3]. Both claims are supported in reporting; they are not mutually exclusive but answer slightly different questions [3] [2].
7. Bottom line and next steps for a precise state list
If you need a definitive, state-by-state roster limited to laws enacted and in effect strictly between 2020–2024, consult the primary trackers’ interactive databases (Brennan Center, NCSL, Ballotpedia, VoteRiders) and cross‑check whether each law was implemented, delayed, or enjoined — because counts and state lists differ by source and by legal status [3] [8] [2]. Available sources do not present a single reconciled list in this packet; assembling one requires reviewing those trackers’ state pages and litigation timelines [3] [8] [2].