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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Are New York voting laws less restrictive than Georgia’s?

Friday, April 9, 2021

By Jacob Alabab-Moser

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YES

According to various state rankings and reports, it is more difficult to vote in Georgia than in New York due to more restrictive voting laws. In a 2020 “cost of voting” index—in which academics assessed laws in the 50 states across nine issue areas—Georgia was ranked as the second most difficult state for voting, while New York was ranked as the 17th-easiest.

Georgia has an “exact match” system for voter registration, as well as some of the nation‘s most aggressive methods for purging voters from registration rolls. While New York has less restrictive laws in these areas, it has other barriers like early registration deadlines.

Georgia’s latest voting law changes give the legislature greater influence over local voting administration and altered some other requirements. New York’s legislature is considering the largest number of new “expansive” measures of any state as of March 2021.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Election Law Journal: Rules, Politics, and Policy Cost of voting in the American states: 2020

Center for Public Integrity Georgia: Hotbed for voter suppression tactics

Center for Public Integrity New York: Early voter-registration deadline can trip up New Yorkers, but voting gets easier

The Guardian Which US states make it hardest to vote?

Brennan Center for Justice Voting laws roundup: March 2021

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR

Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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About fact briefs published on Gigafact

Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.