There are various types of barriers facing voters including photo ID requirements, voting booth availability, the flexibility of poll hours, and the availability of time off from work with pay for voting. Some states even have financial penalties for the violation of deadlines or rules related to registration lists. Online voter registration, absentee voting, and early voting are some policies that clearly are shown to ease voting. One would think that there would be overwhelming disapproval of voting rights restrictions across the board. However, support for voting rights appears to be plunging among Republicans fueled by former President Donald Trump’s “big lie” on election fraud in the last election. Reid Wilson had this information in The Hill. Here is an excerpt:

The vast majority of Americans favor a broad swath of proposals that would markedly expand voter access to the ballot box each year, but a new study finds a growing partisan chasm as Republican voters begin voicing new skepticism about absentee and early voting after former President Trump blamed access to the ballot box for his electoral loss last year.

The poll, conducted by the Pew Research Center, found a substantial majority of Americans back reforms that would make accessing the ballot easier: More than three-quarters favor at least two weeks of early voting before Election Day. Seven in 10 back allowing convicted felons to win back their right to vote after they have served their sentences. Six in 10 support automatically registering every eligible citizen to vote.

But among partisans, the differences of opinion are substantial.

Continue reading here. Also, see related Democracy Chronicles articles like those on the Voter Access, Voter Turnout, or even seen our section on American Democracy.