With visits from JD Vance and invitations to Indiana Republicans to the White House, the pressure has been mounting for the Indiana legislature to join Texas in pursuing extreme partisan gerrymandering to give Republicans the edge they so desperately need to maintain control of the U.S. House. Indiana Conservation Voters (ICV) so far has taken a leading role with partners in the state to conduct polling, educate the public, and deliver over 10,000 petition signatures in opposition to the unfair map drawing effort. ICV also hosted a rally on August 26 to show that Hoosiers wouldn’t stand for partisan manipulation at the expense of voter choice. Moving through the end of the year, ICV will continue to oppose Trump-backed mid-decade redistricting.

As extreme attacks rise across the country on vote-by-mail, Maine was not spared. Earlier this year, the Maine Legislature heard public testimony on a LD 1149, a citizen-initiative that aimed to set unfair, unpopular, and draconian limits on absentee voting. This bill reduces the time period for early absentee voting, eliminates ongoing registration for absentee voting, limits the number of ballot drop boxes, and more. With advocacy from Maine Conservation Voters (MCV) as a leader of the Mainers for Modern Elections coalition, the Legislature declined to adopt this bill. However, it is now being sent to the voters on the ballot this November. MCV is helping to lead the Save Maine Absentee Voting coalition to mobilize voters against the measure through election day.

Since 2023, New Jersey League of Conservation Voters (New Jersey LCV) has been a leading voice in the coalition to pass a state-level Voting Rights Act. And in the last several months, the coalition has made huge strides in moving the bill, known as the New Jersey Voter Empowerment Act, through various procedural hurdles, sponsorship additions, and critical negotiations with stakeholders. New Jersey LCV is now awaiting the lame duck session for the next opportunity to move this essential voter protection legislation to final passage. At the same time, New Jersey LCV has also secured support from high priority legislators and leadership to pass Secure Automatic Voter Registration out of the Senate. As with its state VRA, New Jersey LCV will be working from now until the lame duck session to gather more support to pass both bills this year.

A redraw of Ohio’s U.S. Congressional district maps will happen this year under a politician-controlled process. These maps were passed in 2022 without bipartisan support, ruled unconstitutionally partisan, and have since been entangled in a litigation battle between the Republican legislature and the courts. Ohio’s redistricting laws require these maps to be redrawn after four years due to the lack of bipartisan support. The new maps passed this year will remain in place until 2031. The Ohio Environmental Council (OEC) will help drive the fight for fair maps and fight gerrymandering. They are actively educating and informing Ohioans about the redistricting process while providing tools and training to create maps, deliver testimony, and advocate for fair representation. Along with this, they will continue to pressure and influence key decision makers in the redistricting process through the end of the year, with a goal of securing a 10-5 congressional map, thereby defying the national rhetoric of seat stealing through hyper-partisan map-drawing.

The Pennsylvania legislature is still in session and has several active bills concerning democracy and voting rights circling the legislature this year. Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania (CVPA) has primarily been working to mitigate and prevent restrictive voter ID legislation from moving and will continue monitoring through the end of session. After helping pass through the House, CVPA is also hoping to pass through the Senate the omnibus voting rights bill, HB 1396, which would expand voting access, including: in-person early voting, notice and curing for mail ballots, requiring dropboxes, pre-processing early voting ballots, and codifying automatic voter registration.

The Alaska Center (AKC) has worked hard over the years to build strong relationships in the bipartisan governing majority, creating the necessary environment to pass legislation that makes voting simpler and more accessible to Alaskans spanning the enormous geography of the state. This year’s vote-by-mail improvement bill, SB 64, would speed up ballot counting, create ballot tracking and curing processes, make a permanent absentee ballot list, and eliminate the burdensome witness requirements. SB 64 battled it out with half a dozen other similar bills that proposed significantly more regressive policies. AKC worked to ensure that SB 64 would pass over the other bills by showing strong opposition to those by Alaskans. As a result of AKC’s negotiations with the governor’s team and leadership with coalition partners, AKC feels confident heading into the second part of the two-year legislative cycle that SB 64 will ultimately be the bill to beat out the rest. Not only that, but AKC blocked the recurring attacks on nonpartisan courts, early voting, and the successful use of ranked choice voting.

Chispa Arizona (ChispaAZ) has worked year-after-year to ensure the voices of Latine communities and communities of color are heard at the state capitol, and the people who lend those voices are safe and respected amongst escalating attacks from extremists across the country. Along with partners, ChispaAZ also signed onto veto-request letters and supported Governor Katie Hobbs in her veto of 30 voting and elections bills that would have attacked early voting, dropboxes, and voter registration. For ChispaAZ, democracy goes beyond policy. It is a fundamental principle of the mission to connect the people, especially those who have been historically excluded, with our elected leaders. With the anti-democracy composition of the state legislature, ChispaAZ focused its attention not only on stopping bad legislation but also creating safe pipelines for communities to express themselves. ChispaAZ organizers recruited and trained community members to be part of the “request to speak” system, resulting in dozens  of comments for and against priority legislation during session.

California Environmental Voters (EnviroVoters) worked this session on several good governance reforms, including repealing the call for an Article V constitutional convention and passing a bill that would permit all California cities to adopt public campaign finance reforms like democracy dollars. EnviroVoters staff are frequently tapped by legislators to be expert witnesses on democracy bills, and this year was no exception. EnviroVoters played a significant role in providing testimony and gathering support from inside and outside the legislature, including from the U.S. Congressional delegation for California. With California redistricting heading the ballot this year, EnviroVoters is also keeping a close eye on the potential impact on California voters, particularly for historically disenfranchised communities.

After helping to pass the CT Voting Rights Act (CTVRA) in 2023 and the No-Excuse Absentee Ballot Measure in 2024, Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV) hasn’t slowed down at all (possibly seeking a “most improved voting rights” trophy?). CTLCV worked this year to ensure these two policy reforms will be implemented with sufficient resources and support. CTLCV is celebrating this year the full funding of the secretary of state’s budget for implementing the CTVRA (nearly $1M!) and overall election administration. This outcome would not have been possible without relentless advocacy from CTLCV and the coalition, including participating in a strong showing of support at the VRA lobby day.  Looking ahead, CTLCV is working with their allies to ensure both the VRA and no excuse absentee voting measures are fully implemented ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial race.

Trending with the last several years, Georgia Conservation Voters (GCV) saw continued attacks on their democracy, including a recurring attack on the ability for municipalities to adopt ranked choice voting, a takeover of the already controversial Georgia Elections Board by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, and a departure from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC)—which helps improve the security and accuracy of voter rolls. Fortunately, GCV stepped up with partners to oppose and ultimately block these anti-voter bills and more. Not satisfied with defense alone, GCV also made significant progress on establishing a Consumer Utility Counsel to represent the people during Public Service Commission meetings and decisions. GCV demonstrated that the bill, SB 94, had strong bipartisan support and public support. GCV will strive with all their collective might to get it passed in future sessions.

Conservation Voters for Idaho (CVI) successfully blocked a number of targeted attacks on voting rights through savvy accountability work, including three different attacks on ballot measures (60% pass threshold, governor’s veto, higher signature gathering requirement), a bill to undermine early voting, and a repeal of absentee voting and voter affidavit in lieu of voter ID. CVI was a key voice in defeating all these bills and more, including one that was all but certain to pass—HB 471, which would have forced partisan elections for a governing body responsible for local infrastructure. In previous hearings, some legislators cast conflicting votes on a city council redistricting bill, so CVI presented them with direct quotes, holding them accountable for their positions only weeks earlier. Thanks to CVI’s advocacy, HB 471 was delayed day after day and was the last bill heard during session. In the last vote on the bill, one senator voting against the bill mentioned that they were going to vote for it until CVI pointed out their voting inconsistencies.

A provision expanding language access for voters passed as part of Maryland’s Voting Rights Act—a bright spot in a tense legislative year. While Maryland League of Conservation Voters (Maryland LCV) was active in high-stakes fights on their climate and energy work, they provided testimony, coalition support, signed on to joint testimony, and flagged VRA bills on their hotlist. While the full VRA will have to pass in a future session, MLCV helped pass the language access portion of the VRA, ensuring non-English speakers have full and fair access to voting information and their ballot. Democracy doesn’t stop at voting rights for Maryland LCV—the Next Gen Energy Act turned into a democracy fight when Big Oil worked to strip public notification, comment, and participation from key gas permitting processes. The Act aimed to fast-track gas projects and included a troubling site presumption clause that would have greenlit fossil fuel infrastructure without public input, especially in communities with existing pollution. Maryland LCV raised the alarm, bringing in democracy and environmental allies to the fight. As a result, lawmakers removed the presumption clause, reinstated public notice, and even extended public comment periods. One legislator quipped they hadn’t expected to hear from democracy groups on an energy bill, displaying Maryland LCV’s effective cross-issue organizing.

Maine was not spared the litany of attacks on pro-democracy policies this year. Maine Conservation Voters (MCV) swatted down multiple attempts to regress voting rights and power of the people by stopping bills that would have instituted voter ID, repealed ranked choice voting, and eliminated same-day voter registration. MCV was a force at the legislature, delivering compelling testimony and being leaders in the unified state coalition, Mainers for Modern Elections. They also defended last year’s passage of National Popular Vote—which passed by a narrow margin—by defeating a repeal bill this year. While Maine still has another battle ahead of them this year in the form of a voter ID ballot measure, their legislative session was a success in its defense of good policy.

With the shift of the Minnesota state house to a partisan tie, there were fears of rolling back the major democracy wins of the last few years. Conservation Minnesota (CM) focused on tracking the most serious threats like HF 67, a bill that would have repealed automatic voter registration (AVR). Fortunately the bill failed to receive a hearing, but as session progressed, an omnibus bill emerged as a vehicle for attacks on absentee voting. Early drafts of SF 3045 would have reduced the absentee ballot drop-off deadline from 8 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Election Day. Following the lead of the coalition, CM signed on to letters in opposition to and jointly advocated against the measure. Through this advocacy the coalition along with CM mitigated the damage and secured a later 5 p.m. deadline.

With the Montana legislature only meeting every two years, extreme legislators take every opportunity to change the rules of the game to tip the scales in favor of anti-democracy policies. Fortunately Montana Conservation Voters (MCV) was around to stop it and protect voters. Bill after bill designed to force partisanship into the courts was defeated thanks to MCV’s pushback. Thanks to the relationships MCV has built with moderate Republicans, the worst of the partisan judiciary bills were stopped in their tracks—including in the last days of session when the House minority leader threatened to move to sine die if the governor attempted to propose additional attacks on the courts. Even the New York Times took note of the unusual bipartisanship in Helena, which MCV helped to create grassroots cover and the political environment for those votes to happen. The MCV team killed over a dozen bills attacking Montana’s independent judiciary, using savvy lobbying, petitions, and direct testimony, as well as public-facing “pushback” lobby days, op-eds, and social media.

In Nebraska, legislators revived the Trump-backed push to end the state’s unique electoral college system and move to the more widely used winner-take-all system. After a strong public hearing with more than 75 people testifying, Nebraska Conservation Voters (NCV) and partners successfully stalled the bill for the second year in a row. NCV worked with coalition partners to mobilize community members from across the state to support legislators holding the line to ensure the bill failed to advance.

With the last unpaid legislature in the country and only 60 days of session, Conservation Voters New Mexico (CVNM) was still able to advance important progress for climate and democracy. CVNM supported the passage of SB 16, the semi-open primaries bill. The bill had bipartisan support and will give a voice to the nearly one-third of voters registered as independents—particularly critical in western New Mexico, including Gallup and the southern Navajo Nation, where closed primaries have left large swaths of voters on the sidelines. CVNM played a key role in whipping votes and providing testimony. This was CVNM’s largest-ever policy agenda, part of a strategy to build deeper, intersectional relationships across movements.

In South Carolina, democracy partners including Conservation South Carolina (CVSC) celebrated the defeat of a bill that would have made both registration and voting more difficult and would have added onerous requirements for organizations that conduct voter registration efforts and drives. Advocates like CVSC worked behind the scenes to ensure the measure failed through lobbying and coalition support. While also fighting anti-democratic efforts, specifically as it pertains to energy democracy, CVSC worked to ensure members of electric cooperatives were informed of clean energy policies within their cooperatives, had their voices heard and respected with their Public Service Commission, and were trained to serve on boards and commissions to ensure a more reflective representation of their state.

This year’s legislative session in Utah was challenging for democracy and voting rights advocates. The biggest threat came in the form of HB 300, a sweeping anti-voter bill that, when first introduced, would have drastically restricted vote-by-mail, requiring voters to return ballots in person and with photo ID, along with other onerous restrictions that would have hurt Utahns—particularly rural, elderly, and Indigenous voters. Thanks to the leadership of Stewardship Utah (SU) and its partners in the Let Utah Vote Coalition, the final version of the bill removed some of these provisions and pushed the effective date of others to 2029. While not exactly good news, the impact on voters could have been worse—SU has time to build a campaign to revise or overturn the law. During session, SU’s digital organizing resulted in over 1,481 constituents contacting legislators, not including phone calls. SU was also responsible for more than 100 people attending rallies and committee hearings, dozens of coalition letters, op-eds, and significant press coverage. The Let Utah Vote rally brought out diverse Utahns with a unified message, while SU’s Nat Williams emceed the final rally, hoping for a gubernatorial veto. With all these efforts underway, HB 300 was the most-commented-on bill this session, according to lawmakers. SU still was able to celebrate other defensive victories, halting passage of bills attacking the independent judiciary and repealing same-day registration.

After going back and forth over H 474, a sweeping pro-democracy elections bill, the Vermont legislature frustratingly failed to pass it during the regular session. Surprisingly, after drumming up media attention, Vermont Conservation Voters (VCV) saw H 474 return to debate during the veto session, where it passed out of committee with bipartisan support. While the final version secured stronger campaign finance transparency provisions, it was stripped of several pro-voter measures, including studies on ranked choice voting. The bill ultimately passed on a voice vote following behind-the-scenes negotiations, leaving VCV unable to track individual lawmaker positions for accountability work, but with an eye for legislation in the future to increase transparency and accountability for legislators.

While last year saw some gains in pro-democracy state legislators, Wisconsin is still a state where anti-voter bills can pass—making it more important than ever to fight back against attacks on our electoral process. Wisconsin currently has one of the most stringent voting rights restoration policies in the country, only allowing people to vote after probation, parole, and extended supervision. The legislature passed AB 87 this year, which would have made this problem worse by adding additional requirements before rights are restored. Fortunately, Wisconsin Conservation Voters (WCV) joined partner organizations to successfully push for a veto from Governor Tony Evers. WCV used their existing relationship with the governor’s office to defeat the bill, as well as registering against the bill as it moved through the legislature and signing onto coalition letters against it.