Angela Caputo

We dug into the laws, which are accepted part of American elections, and found that they disenfranchised a surprising number of voters in 2018. In Georgia alone, 87,000 people  were shut out of voting last fall because they missed the deadline.

We discovered a national trend that suggests these laws aren't as innocuous as folks might believe. Florida, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Texas, Georgia and Ohio, have some of the earliest deadlines & account for 132 of the 270 total votes needed to win the Electoral College in 2020.

The deadline presented a particular barrier for younger voters and people of color in Georgia last fall.

Registration deadlines could have an outsized impact on close, smaller races. Take Georgia's 7th Congressional District. If voters who missed the deadline had voted, that race between @RepRobWoodall @Carolyn4GA7 would have been a virtual tie, an analysis by @geoghing found.

However, even if everyone who registered after the deadline voted, it's likely @BrianKempGA still would have defeated @staceyabrams in the race for Georgia governor. The registration deadline affects Republicans AND Democrats.

One voter, Michelle Cofer, who registered on Election Day after problems at the polls still feels burned.  "I stood in line and waited diligently. I cast the vote as I was instructed. I did a follow-up as I was instructed. So, I'm not taking ownership for [my vote] not counting."

For my fellow journos on the voting rights beat, check out our piece, the first in a series also running at @WABE this week @srl, @AriBerman, @brettneely, @NPRElections, @PostOpinions, @nytopinion. Next up, how Georgia's big voter purge played out. Stay tuned...