NASW Chapters Work to Combat Voter Intimidation and Restriction Efforts

By Paul R. Pace

Voting intimidation and restrictions by state and local leaders made the news this election season. In heavily conservative states like Texas, lawmakers’ efforts to intimidate and/or restrict voting were on display, says Will Francis, executive director of the NASW Texas and Louisiana chapters.

For example, more than 1 million people have been taken off Texas voter rolls since 2021, when Senate Bill 1 was signed into law. The legislation added several new restrictions and criminal penalties related to voting, including new identification requirements for people voting by mail.

Ken Paxton, the Texas state attorney general, filed numerous lawsuits in the state’s urban cities based on their voter registration drives, Francis explained. Officials in San Antonio, Dallas and other large cities in the state sent voter registration cards to large parts of their populations, allowing residents to sign them and turn them in. Paxton sued these cities, saying this practice would potentially bring in illegal voters.

“It’s an intimidation tactic he is using,” Francis said. “We have had a couple of other cities where officials question the voter rolls, removing people from the rolls who have not updated their addresses. It’s a wide-scale attack on voter eligibility since SB 1 has been put in place.”

“I am so disappointed,” he added. “It’s folks afraid of democracy attempting to attack the fundamental principles of inclusivity and the process that allows people to participate in electing our leaders. It’s antithetical to social work values and its antithetical to what I believe are the principles of this country.”

To combat these attempts, the chapter has partnered with Vot-ER (vot-er.org), “a national organization that has collaborated with many NASW chapters, including ours, to talk about voter registration, and have conversations with folks,” Francis said. “It’s about getting people to understand the voting process and get them inspired by the process.”

“We have also been working with another group that works to get health care providers to vote,” Francis added. “Their data shows health care providers, including social workers, vote like 20% below the (average) population. We actually vote less. Their big goal is to get those folks to vote.”

He noted it is paramount that social workers fight against voting restrictions and intimidation tactics. “It comes back to our core values, which supports self-determination. To have that right you have to participate to help elect those who make big determinations about you and for you.”

Francis added that these tactics by lawmakers seem to center on issues related to inequity. “There has historically been oppression against certain communities, folks of color, folks from other countries that are here legally and have citizenship, folks who have maybe been marginalized in other ways and by not being part of the process, that marginalization and discrimination continues,” he said. “So much of it connects back to what’s important to social workers and that to me inspires us to lean heavily into the issue.”

Identification Restrictions

At NASW-Wisconsin, the chapter is working to overcome voter ID restrictions in the state.

“Requiring IDs to vote has had a negative impact on both communities of color—where people may not have a driver’s license and they may not easily get a birth certificate—and (college) students, said Marc Herstand, executive director of the chapter.

In the state, a person needs a driver’s license or a state ID card to vote, he said.

The chapter is working with a group called VoteRiders. The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization has a mission to ensure that all citizens are able to exercise their freedom to vote. VoteRiders informs and helps citizens secure their voter ID, as well as inspires and supports organizations, local volunteers, and communities to sustain voter ID education and assistance efforts.

“They are helping communities around the state (with those) who don’t have a driver’s license or a state ID to help them get this identification because it can be very difficult for some people,” Herstand explained. “We have been particularly focused on helping students.”

Lawmakers have made it difficult for most students to vote. Laws are in place so that most student IDs don’t qualify, and you need an additional form of identification, Herstand said. Students in Wisconsin with an out-of-state driver’s license or a student ID are told it’s not enough information to register to vote, Herstand said. “Each college is different, but some require an additional verification procedure.”

It is important that social workers fight against voting restrictions—not just in this election cycle, but in all elections.

“It’s in our Code of Ethics to encourage civic participation,” Herstand said. “A social worker’s role is to fight for social justice. Who is in the elected office determines if we are going to have public policies that are supportive of our profession and our clients.”

Reduced Ballot Boxes

In 2023, the battleground state of Ohio implemented new voter laws.

“I have heard they are the strictest voting restrictions in the country,” said Danielle Smith, executive director of the Ohio Chapter. “We have mandatory photo ID requirements that didn’t exist before. We have limited deadlines for absentee voting. (Officials have) reduced the number of county drop-off boxes for ballots and have restricted who can drop those off. They have made provisional ballot voting more difficult.”

In addition, the secretary of state has purged hundreds of thousands of people on the voter rolls, saying they are inactive voters, even those who say they are very much active, Smith said. “I have known people (affected by this) who have voted in every election, so it’s not accurate.”

There has been a concerted effort by state, county, and local leaders to restrict voting access, she said. Not everyone is doing this, but there are a lot of attempts. “We have been trying to educate social workers on the changes with webinars—about three or four times in the past year,” Smith said. “We are partnered with VoteRiders, that helps give access to people to vote. They will help people with the cost of obtaining the necessary documents, such as birth certificates. We are trying to make sure social workers are knowledgeable for themselves and the clients they are working with.”

The chapter also encourages social workers to talk with clients about the importance of voting. “Voting is a key part of how our democracy functions,” Smith said. “It’s essential to social justice. Social justice is a core value of social work practice. It’s a moral and ethical duty for social workers that people have access to voting in a fair way. Helping clients access that is important.”