# Nine States, Including Nebraska, Restrict Voting Ahead of Midterms  
**Published:** 2026-06-30T14:24:22.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/30/repub/more-states-tighten-voting-rules-ahead-of-midterm-elections/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/nine-states-including-nebraska-restrict-voting-ahead-of-midterms

A wave of voting restrictions is spreading across the nation ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections, with [at least nine states passing laws this year that will make it more difficult for some voters to cast their ballots](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/30/repub/more-states-tighten-voting-rules-ahead-of-midterm-elections/), according to research from the Brennan Center for Justice and the University of California at Berkeley.

Nebraska is among the states that tightened voting rules in 2026. Lawmakers in Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia all passed restrictive voting laws between January and May, most centered on citizenship verification and voter identification requirements. The laws are slated to take effect before November's elections, when all 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats will be contested nationally.

Proponents of the voting restrictions say they are necessary to protect election integrity and ensure only eligible U.S. citizens vote. But voting rights advocates warn the measures will likely disenfranchise eligible voters and create unnecessary burdens for older people, people with disabilities, and those whose surnames changed due to marriage or other legal name changes.

Several states are requiring documentation like passports or birth certificates for voter registration. Utah and South Dakota now require all citizens to provide such documents before registering. Florida, Kentucky and Mississippi have imposed similar requirements for some voters, while New Hampshire and Utah have narrowed the types of identification documents voters must submit.

Kansas enacted a law affecting voter identification indirectly: a measure requiring citizens to use their biological sex at birth on driver's licenses could invalidate previously issued identification documents, particularly affecting transgender voters.

Even some Republican election officials have questioned the necessity of these restrictions. A review of Utah's 2.3 million registered voters found just 27 confirmed noncitizens—a rate the state's Republican lieutenant governor called evidence of the rarity of the problem. "States and our county clerks, for the most part, do a very good job of making sure that our voter rolls are clean," said Deidre Henderson at a May press conference.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, examined elections from 2003 to 2024 nationally and found only 24 instances of noncitizens voting out of millions of votes cast.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Justice is suing Kentucky and Utah for refusing to provide voter registration data without court orders, citing privacy concerns about sharing personal information including birth dates and Social Security numbers.

According to the Brennan Center analysis, lawmakers in at least 41 states have considered more than 302 restrictive voting bills in 2026—far outpacing the 16 expansive voting laws enacted by six states so far this year.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/30/repub/more-states-tighten-voting-rules-ahead-of-midterm-elections/)
- [Brennan Center for Justice State Voting Laws Roundup May 2026](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/state-voting-laws-roundup-may-2026)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/30/repub/more-states-tighten-voting-rules-ahead-of-midterm-elections/.