This fall, millions of Americans will vote in a changing electoral landscape hampered by new barriers to voting. These voting access barriers primarily impact historically marginalized communities, threatening decades of progress in voting rights.
Redistricting can weaken minority voting power, while fears of ICE agents at polling places may discourage voters. Language barriers and limited access to voting resources, especially in rural communities, remain concerns.
In the 2024 presidential election, voter turnout was strong, with nearly two-thirds of Black voters casting ballots and similar participation among Asian and Latino voters.
Can this momentum continue in 2026 despite growing barriers?
At a September 25 American Community Media briefing, experts examined how minority voters who have historically faced systemic disenfranchisement and geographical isolation struggle against voter registration hurdles, restrictive voter ID laws, mail-in ballot limitations, and severe redistricting impacts.
Separating fact from fiction
John Yang of Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) addressed mail-in ballot administration and dispelled rumors of ICE at polling places.
Addressing widespread “fear and misinformation, disinformation going around in our community,” Yang highlighted the critical need to inform voters and separate fact from fiction. He emphasized that voting is a civic duty, saying, “Voting is going to be critical in these upcoming elections, and it’s a duty for all of us as citizens.
Voting has direct stakes in determining daily living costs, said Yang. “So many in our community are being affected by these policies whether it’s at the federal, state, or local levels—whether it is the cost of gasoline, whether it is the cost of groceries, whether it’s the cost of healthcare for our family members. We all have a stake in this election, and so it’s critical for all of us to participate.”
Yang noted that with 90% of the Asian American community being immigrants or children of immigrants, having a voice on federal immigration policies is vital. “Make sure that we have a voice in this process,” he said.
To address specific anxieties around mail-in ballots, Yang cited a recent Supreme Court decision re-establishing that state election officials, rather than the federal government, administer mail voting. Reassuring voters that “you can vote by mail” as a “trusted way” to participate, he advised that they check local rules for standard administrative updates.
Yang clarified that rumors of ICE or law enforcement presence at polling locations were “just rumors,” while urging voters to know their rights if approached. He advised that voters ask law enforcement questions like, “Am I being detained?” or “Am I free to go?” and to speak up so nearby poll monitors could step in. He also reminded voters that speaking or reading English “is not a requirement for participating in the election,” as the federal Voting Rights Act guarantees the right to bring an interpreter.
Yang emphasized the language rights protected under the Voting Rights Act and highlighted the 1-888-API-VOTE helpline
AAJC has deployed trained poll monitors to protect voters, prepared legal remedies, and provided a dedicated hotline (1-888-API-VOTE) operating in English and nine Asian languages.
Voter ID at the Polls
Across the country, millions of voters face severe barriers, as “38 states currently enforce some form of voter ID requirement at the polls,” said Monica Spencer, Georgia State Director at VoteRiders. She stated that “approximately 34 million voting-age Americans do not possess an updated driver’s license or state photo ID.”
Access to documentation remains uneven: “1 in 10 adult citizens (21 million eligible voters) lack ready access to documents proving citizenship,” while “citizens of color are nearly 4 times more likely than white citizens to lack government-issued photo ID.” Over half of Americans living in photo ID states are unaware of their state’s specific ID rules, warned Spencer.
In Georgia, for example, “over 760,000 eligible voters in Georgia do not possess the required photo ID to vote,” she said. Under SB 202, 7 out of 10 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in Georgia cannot use their student IDs to vote. Rural Georgians encounter long travel distances without public transit, and “over 400,000 formerly incarcerated Georgians who have completed their sentences are eligible to vote,” added Spencer, though many wrongly believe a felony record permanently disenfranchises them.
She explained that VoteRiders provides “free direct help to any US citizen who needs an ID to cast their ballot,” to ensure that “cost should never prevent an eligible citizen from voting.” Through on-the-ground organizing and 100% free direct assistance, the nonpartisan organization pays for state-issued IDs, underlying source documents like birth certificates, and local transportation to government offices. Beyond ballot access, “an ID is not just about voting—it restores human dignity, enabling people to access healthcare, housing, and employment, ” Spencer clarified.
Voter registration hurdles
Severe systemic hurdles around voter registration limit voter participation in Texas, said Jesús Zamora of Mi Familia Vota, which works to support voting rights for primarily Latino communities. “Texas is one of the few states without online voter registration,” requiring paper applications submitted by Volunteer Deputy Registrars or mailed to county offices.
Mail-in absentee voting is similarly restricted, he explained, “primarily to voters aged 65+, disabled individuals, or those out of the county for the entire voting window.” Strict rules also mean that minor clerical errors frequently lead to rejected ballots.
Physical transit presents another hurdle in some communities, where voters live 30–40 minutes away on foot from the nearest polling site without private or public transportation. Recent redistricting has altered congressional and state boundaries in Harris County and the Rio Grande Valley, splitting long-standing Latino neighborhoods and confusing voters about who represents them.
Mi Familia Vota works to empower Latino families through “nonpartisan voter registration, civic education, and leadership development,” said Zamora. To counter barriers, field teams conduct “365-day year-round civic engagement,” providing door-to-door canvassing, high school voter education programs, legislative advocacy trips to Austin, and direct transportation assistance to polling locations.
Geographic and Infrastructure barriers
Jacqueline De León, Senior Staff Attorney at the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), leads the Native American Voting Rights Coalition. She shared findings from the Obstacles Persist report, demonstrating how geographical and infrastructure challenges routinely lock Native voters out of the democratic process.
In addition to extreme travel distances to polling sites, homes often lack standard street addresses or direct residential mail delivery, forcing voters to pay out-of-pocket for distant P.O. Boxes and leading to higher rates of registration rejections and lost ballots. Supreme Court rulings have degraded the Voting Rights Act, stripping away key legal tools historically used to challenge gerrymandering and at-large voting schemes that dilute Native votes.
NARF is deploying nearly 300 trained poll watchers across rural Indian Country to observe polling sites, troubleshoot technical/administrative failures, and file emergency legal motions for extended polling hours where necessary, ” said De León
In a clear call to action, Yang urged voters not to let their voices be silenced. “Make a plan to vote. Decide how you want to vote, request your mail-in ballot early if needed, and submit it promptly. Don’t let fear or misinformation silence your voice.”
