tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/social-security-administration-108514/articlesSocial Security Administration – The Conversation2023-04-14T12:16:52Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2001582023-04-14T12:16:52Z2023-04-14T12:16:52ZSocial Security may be failing well over a million people with disabilities – and COVID-19 is making the problem worse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520945/original/file-20230413-367-pgvlmu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=46%2C124%2C3410%2C2192&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social Security has two programs aimed at helping those with disabilities. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/social-security-royalty-free-image/1214329962?phrase=social%20security%20disability">Kameleon007/iStock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>More than half of U.S. adults over the age of 50 with work-limiting disabilities – likely over 1.3 million people – do not receive the Social Security disability benefits they may need, according to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279422000745">new peer-reviewed research I conducted</a>. In addition, those who do receive benefits are unlikely getting enough to make ends meet. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/disability">Social Security Administration operates two programs</a> intended to provide benefits to people with disabilities: Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income, the latter of which hinges on financial need. Their shared goal is to ensure that people with work-limiting disabilities are able to maintain a decent standard of living.</p>
<p>I think it’s fair to say that if a disability benefit is truly available to those who need it, then a large portion of people with work-limiting disabilities should actually receive the aid. </p>
<p>To learn if that is true for the disability programs, I analyzed data over time from a long-running survey of adults older than age 50 called the <a href="https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/about">Health and Retirement Study</a>. The survey included information on disabilities and finances for tens of thousands of people from across the country and was linked to disability benefit records from the Social Security Administration. As the disability programs primarily serve those in their working years, I only looked at people who hadn’t yet hit <a href="https://www.nasi.org/learn/social-security/retirement-age/">the full retirement age</a>.</p>
<p>The data showed that the share of people with substantial work-limiting disabilities who received Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income benefits or both rose from 32% in 1998 to 47% in 2016, which was the last year the data was available. This is just a little above the average among <a href="https://share-eric.eu">27 high-income countries</a> I compared the data with. </p>
<p>Using the most recent <a href="https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-national-detail.html">Census data</a>, I estimate that more than half of those with work-limiting disabilities between the ages of 50-64 — about 1.35 million people — likely need these benefits but aren’t getting them.</p>
<p>I also examined the generosity of disability benefits in the U.S. by using <a href="https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/data-science/regression-analysis/">regression analysis</a>, a statistical tool that allowed me to compare the relationship between multiple variables. This helped me identify whether disability benefit recipients experience greater difficulty achieving financial security compared with adults who are not on benefits but have similar social and demographic backgrounds. </p>
<p>I found that those receiving benefits, and particularly Supplemental Security Income, struggled more and experienced less financial security than their peers. </p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dhjo.2013.12.001">Nearly a quarter of U.S. adults</a> who head a household will report a severe disability that limits their ability to work at some point in their lives. </p>
<p>Many will look for financial support from Social Security’s disability programs, which <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/">together provide benefits</a> to more than 12 million people in 2023. </p>
<p>The Disability Insurance program, established in 1956, provides benefits to those who meet a specific <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-1505.htm">definition of disability</a> and have paid Social Security payroll taxes. The <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/STATS/dib-g3.html">average payment as of February 2023</a> was $1,686 per month. </p>
<p>The Supplemental Security Income program, established in 1972, pays cash benefits to adults and children who also meet the definition of disability and who have financial need. The <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/SSI.html">maximum payment as of 2023</a> was $914, though <a href="https://eligibility.com/state-disability-insurance">some states supplement this</a> with their own programs. </p>
<p>My research suggests that well over 1 million people with disabilities who face substantial barriers to employment are not getting the assistance they need. But what’s more, even those who receive benefits are likely not getting enough. <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/rsnotes/rsn2022-01.html">Past research</a> shows that more than 20% of Disability Insurance recipients and 52% of Supplemental Security Income recipients live in poverty despite receiving these benefits.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>This research looked at data from 2016 and earlier, but a lot has changed since then. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/05/social-security-disability-benefit-offices-backlog-breaking-point/">Chronic understaffing</a> at benefit offices — long-running but worse since the COVID-19 pandemic began — are making benefits harder to get at a time of growing need. An <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w30435">estimated 500,000 people</a> are experiencing disabilities as a result of long COVID. And those experiencing it report having <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/25/business/long-covid-workforce-issues-disability-claims/index.html">even more trouble receiving benefits</a>. </p>
<p>So the problem is probably worse today.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/200158/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zachary Morris received funding for this research from the Steven H. Sandell Grant Program for Retirement and Disability Research funded by the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) through the Retirement and Disability Research Consortium. </span></em></p>More than half of working-age adults over 50 with a work-limiting disability didn’t receive any benefits from Social Security in 2016.Zachary Morris, Assistant Professor of Social Welfare, Stony Brook University (The State University of New York)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1923712022-10-13T18:57:37Z2022-10-13T18:57:37ZSoaring inflation prompts biggest Social Security cost-of-living boost since 1981 – 6 questions answered <figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489641/original/file-20221013-11-56zp8r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=159%2C199%2C6243%2C4178&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Social Security benefits have lost their purchasing power as inflation has soared in 2022.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/senior-man-with-face-mask-buying-vegetables-in-royalty-free-image/1257463364?phrase=retiree%20shopping">Luis Alvarez/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Social Security is set to <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/news/press/releases/2022/#10-2022-2">boost the benefits it provides retirees</a> by 8.7%, the biggest cost-of-living adjustment since 1981. It comes as sky-high inflation continues to eat into incomes and savings.</em></p>
<p><em>The changes are set to take effect in January 2023 and were announced following the release of the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">September 2022 consumer price index report</a>, which showed inflation <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-consumer-prices-increase-more-than-expected-september-weekly-jobless-claims-2022-10-13/">climbing more than expected</a> during the month, by 0.4%.</em></p>
<p><em>The automatic adjustment will surely come as a relief to tens of millions of retirees and those who receive <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/">supplemental security income</a> who may be struggling to afford basic necessities as inflation has accelerated throughout 2022. But an annual adjustment wasn’t always the case – and other government benefits and programs deal with inflation differently.</em></p>
<p><em>John Diamond, who <a href="https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/john-w-diamond">directs the Center for Public Finance at Rice’s Baker Institute</a>, explains the history of the Social Security cost-of-living, or COLA, increase, what other benefits are adjusted for inflation and why the government makes these changes.</em></p>
<h2>1. How fast is the cost of living rising?</h2>
<p>The latest data, for September, shows <a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm">average consumer prices are up 8.2%</a> from a year earlier. The monthly gain of 0.4% was double what economists <a href="https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/us-consumer-prices-increase-more-than-expected-september-weekly-jobless-claims-2022-10-13/">surveyed by Reuters had expected</a>. </p>
<p>More troubling, so-called <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPILFESL">core inflation</a> – which excludes volatile food and energy prices – gained even more in September, ticking up by 0.6%. Core inflation is a measure that’s <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/29/inflation-figure-that-the-fed-follows-closely-hits-highest-level-since-january-1982.html">closely watched by the Federal Reserve</a>, as it helps show how pervasive and persistent inflation has become in the economy. </p>
<h2>2. How are Social Security benefits adjusted for inflation?</h2>
<p>Automatic adjustments to Social Security benefits began in 1975 after President Richard Nixon signed the 1972 <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/history/1972amend.html">Social Security amendments</a> into law.</p>
<p>Before 1975, Congress had to act each year to increase benefits to offset the effects of inflation. But this was an inefficient system, as politics would often be injected into a simple economic decision. Under this system, an increase in benefits <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/history/50mm2.html">could be too small</a> or too large, or could fail to happen at all if one party blocked the change entirely.</p>
<p>Not to mention that with the baby boomers – those born from 1946 to 1964 – entering the labor force it was already clear that Social Security would face long-term funding issues in the future, and so <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/history/tally1972b.html">putting the program on autopilot</a> reduced the political risk faced by politicians. </p>
<p>Since then, benefits have climbed automatically by the average increase in consumer prices during the third quarter of a given year from the same period 12 months earlier. This is based on a <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CWUR0000SA0#0">version of the consumer price index</a> meant to estimate price changes for working people and has been rising slightly faster than the overall pace of inflation.</p>
<p>While helpful, these inflation adjustments are backward-looking and imperfect. For example, 2022 Social Security benefits <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/cola/">increased by 5.9%</a> from the previous year, even though inflation throughout this year <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIAUCSL#0">has been significantly higher</a> – which means the higher benefits weren’t covering the higher cost of living. Thus, the 2023 increase in benefits primarily offsets what was lost over the previous year. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A white hand holds a card reading social security" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489656/original/file-20221013-23-gha634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/489656/original/file-20221013-23-gha634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489656/original/file-20221013-23-gha634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489656/original/file-20221013-23-gha634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489656/original/file-20221013-23-gha634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489656/original/file-20221013-23-gha634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/489656/original/file-20221013-23-gha634.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Millions of retirees and other will soon see a big jump in their Social Security benefits.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SocialSecurity/6a2e67a3cc6849b8857dee55fa6005ae/photo?Query=inflation&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=8106&currentItemNo=4">AP Photo/Jenny Kane</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. Are the benefits taxable?</h2>
<p>A growing portion of Social Security benefits are taxed in the same way as ordinary income, except at different threshold with various caps and percentages. <a href="https://www.socialsecurityintelligence.com/inflation-social-security/">Only 8% of benefits were subject to taxation</a> in 1984, but that’s climbed to almost 50% in recent years. That percentage will likely continue to increase as the taxable thresholds are not adjusted for inflation. </p>
<p>For example, if an individual filer’s income, including benefits, is below US$25,000, <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/dont-forget-social-security-benefits-may-be-taxable">none of that is taxed</a>. But up to 50% of a person’s benefits may be taxed at incomes of $25,000 to $34,000. After that, up to 85% of their benefits may be taxed. </p>
<p>Such a big increase in Social Security benefits likely means some people who paid no tax will now have to pay some, while others will see larger increases in their tax liability. </p>
<h2>4. Why does the government adjust benefits for inflation?</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-30/soaring-inflation-to-hit-britain-harder-than-any-other-major-economy-boe-warns">Rapid gains of inflation</a>, like the kind the U.S. and many other countries are currently experiencing, can have significant impacts on the finances of households and businesses. </p>
<p>For example, it might mean seniors cutting back on heating or food. Government policies generally try to account for this to reduce the negative impacts that rising prices can have on those with limited or fixed resources.</p>
<p>In addition, reducing the impacts of price changes creates a more efficient and fair allocation of resources and reduces the arbitrary outcomes that would otherwise occur.</p>
<h2>5. What other government programs typically get a COLA?</h2>
<p>Other government programs and benefits also increase to account for inflation. </p>
<p>The U.S. Department of Agriculture <a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/allotment/COLA">estimates the cost of its Thrifty Food Plan</a> each June and adjusts Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP benefits – formerly known as food stamps – in October of each year. Beginning in October 2022, food stamp benefits <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/30/politics/snap-food-stamps-benefits-inflation-increase/index.html">rose by 12.5%</a>, which helps make up for the <a href="https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CPIUFDSL#0">largest increases in food prices since the 1970s</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, the federal <a href="https://aspe.hhs.gov/topics/poverty-economic-mobility/poverty-guidelines">poverty level is adjusted</a> for changes in the consumer price index annually by the Department of Health and Human Services, an adjustment that affects a number of government-provided benefits, such as housing benefits, health insurance and others, including SNAP benefits.</p>
<h2>6. Does the tax system also adjust for inflation?</h2>
<p>While some aspects of the tax code adjust for inflation, others do not. </p>
<p>For example, income tax bracket thresholds, the size of the standard deduction, alternative minimum tax parameters and estate tax provisions <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-provides-tax-inflation-adjustments-for-tax-year-2022">all increase annually for inflation</a>. That means come tax filing season next year, U.S. tax filers will likely see big changes in all these items. </p>
<p>But examples of provisions that are not adjusted for inflation include the maximum value of the child tax credit and the $10,000 cap on the deduction of state and local taxes. In addition, the threshold that determines who is liable for the net investment income tax – the additional 3.8% tax on investment and passive income for taxpayers above a certain income level – doesn’t adjust, which means each year more individuals are subject to it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John W. Diamond does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Social Security is increasing benefits by 8.7%, beginning in January 2023, to offset the surging cost of living in the US.John W. Diamond, Director of the Center for Public Finance at the Baker Institute, Rice UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1754242022-03-10T13:25:56Z2022-03-10T13:25:56ZLong COVID leaves newly disabled people facing old barriers – a sociologist explains<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450779/original/file-20220308-19-f03qhr.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C4918%2C3266&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Some COVID-19 patients experience months of debilitating symptoms.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/desert-road-thunderstorm-royalty-free-image/157713818">sharply_done/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Up to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.0830">one-third of COVID-19 survivors</a> will acquire the condition known as <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/long-term-effects/index.html">long or long-haul COVID-19</a>. The American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation estimates that long COVID will add as many as <a href="https://pascdashboard.aapmr.org/">22 million individuals</a> to the U.S. population of disabled people. </p>
<p>I am a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=U8wbfDgAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">sociologist and researcher</a> focusing on disability. I am aware of the challenges awaiting newly disabled people living with what scientists call post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, a condition in which someone with COVID-19 continues to have symptoms for weeks or months after infection. One of those challenges is qualifying for <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/ssi/">Social Security Supplemental Income</a>, the program that provides financial support to disabled people with limited resources. </p>
<p>To receive support, applicants generally must show that they have a condition that greatly limits their ability to work. The program routinely denied the majority of applicants before the pandemic. Between 2009 and 2018, the program denied <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2019/di_asr19.pdf">66% of applicants</a>. </p>
<p>But the impact of long COVID, a newly discovered condition, is difficult to measure. Its symptoms are difficult to prove, varying in type, intensity and duration, between individuals or over time in the same person.</p>
<h2>Survival at a price</h2>
<p>While most people recover from their initial acute infection, some survivors experience continued or newly developed symptoms. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-95565-8">Long COVID symptoms</a> can include shortness of breath, fatigue and brain problems, such as difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions.</p>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines disability as “any <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/disability.html">condition of the body or mind</a> that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities and interact with the world around them.”</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450541/original/file-20220307-85251-hbfhgf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Man at table, face partially obscured by laptop, leaning his forehead into his hand." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450541/original/file-20220307-85251-hbfhgf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/450541/original/file-20220307-85251-hbfhgf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450541/original/file-20220307-85251-hbfhgf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450541/original/file-20220307-85251-hbfhgf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450541/original/file-20220307-85251-hbfhgf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450541/original/file-20220307-85251-hbfhgf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/450541/original/file-20220307-85251-hbfhgf.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Long COVID patients report that fatigue and thinking difficulties limit their ability to work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/middle-aged-man-sitting-in-the-kitchen-at-the-glass-royalty-free-image/1218624911">Fiordaliso/Moment via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Long COVID sufferers report lingering symptoms that are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-02598-6">seriously debilitating</a>. They tell researchers that the condition makes it <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.21.22269671">hard to live their lives</a> as they had before the illness. Some patients describe needing hours of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-06001-y">extra sleep after standing</a> or walking a short distance. One study showed <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.30645">cognitive deficits</a>, or “brain fog,” in patients with long COVID. They had poor recall ability or were slow in processing information. These problems, they told researchers, limited their capacity to work. </p>
<p>A 2021 study of long COVID patients in the UK found that <a href="https://www.tuc.org.uk/research-analysis/reports/workers-experiences-long-covid">28% were out of work</a> because of their condition. Another study showed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101019">46% reduced their work hours</a> because of long COVID symptoms. </p>
<h2>Undefined and indeterminate</h2>
<p>Although the World Health Organization has issued a <a href="https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/WHO-2019-nCoV-Post_COVID-19_condition-Clinical_case_definition-2021.1">definition of long COVID</a>, the U.S. medical community has not defined it, especially the “long” part. In fact, in a study that has not yet been peer-reviewed, researchers estimated that approximately <a href="https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.15.21266377">43% of COVID-19 survivors</a> may experience long COVID, which the study defined as having symptoms lasting 28 days or more. In another study, half of COVID-19 survivors reported <a href="https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.28568">symptoms beyond six months</a>.</p>
<p>But since long COVID symptoms involve different systems in the body, and there is no simple way to test for it, getting a diagnosis <a href="https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-105666">can be difficult</a>. This adds an extra challenge to qualifying for Social Security. </p>
<p>The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research and policy institute, previously noted <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/ssa-needs-more-funding-to-support-essential-services">decades of underinvestment</a> in the Social Security Administration before the pandemic. The institute is now <a href="https://www.cbpp.org/blog/ssa-needs-large-funding-boosts-following-pandemic-years-of-underinvestment">calling for renewed investment</a> to cope with rising numbers of disabled people.</p>
<p>It is also hard to predict which COVID-19 patients will develop long COVID, or predict the long-term outcomes for those who do. Greater likelihood of severe disease has been found to correlate with a higher risk of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003773">long COVID</a>. Complicating matters, however, is the fact that long COVID can emerge from <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2022.01.014">relatively mild cases</a> as well.</p>
<h2>Unpredictable and uncertain</h2>
<p>Symptoms seen in patients with long COVID look a lot like symptoms of other <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.06.018">hard-to-diagnose</a>
and disabling conditions. One reason may be the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/bor.0000000000000776">molecular and physiological similarities</a> researchers recently found between long COVID and diseases like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1007%2Fs10067-020-05376-x">lupus</a>.</p>
<p>Long COVID appears to be the newest in a long line of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054074">“invisible” or episodic conditions</a> not immediately
diagnosed as disabilities. They include fibromyalgia, Lyme disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. </p>
<p>People with fibromyalgia, for example, often struggle with <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/me-cfs/symptoms-diagnosis/symptoms.html">symptoms similar</a> to long COVID, including fatigue or thinking difficulties. Despite a history dating back to the 19th century, the criteria for diagnosing fibromyalgia have existed only since 1990. It remains a controversial illness with few accepted treatments, but that began to change as patients <a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/sp.2002.49.3.279">shared their experiences</a> with the condition. Nevertheless, people with conditions like these cope with doctors, social workers and others who might assume that their <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1742395317718035">illness isn’t real</a>, and they <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/27/us/long-covid-disability-benefits.html">face obstacles</a> obtaining financial support, housing and responsive health care. </p>
<h2>Disbelief and denial</h2>
<p>Currently, <a href="https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2021/fast_facts21.pdf">approximately 8 million</a> people receive Social Security Supplemental Income. But surveys show the Social Security Administration <a href="https://www.disabilitysecrets.com/resources/survey-statistics-who-is-most-likely-to-get-approved-for-social-security-disability-benefits.html">still denies</a> many applicants, which studies have linked to stereotypes about disabled people as “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12437">conning the system</a>.” </p>
<p>A February 2021 study showed that negative attitudes toward people with significant disabilities are common <a href="https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01452">among health care providers</a>, affecting the ability of those with long COVID to get the care they need.
Speaking of care, research on long COVID has led to proposed <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fijerph18084350">treatment guidelines</a>, which promise to help people live better with the condition. </p>
<p>In another promising development, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/for-providers/civil-rights-covid19/guidance-long-covid-disability/index.html">recently announced</a> that long COVID can qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.</p>
<p>This means that those with long COVID can qualify for <a href="https://acl.gov/covid19/resources-people-experiencing-long-covid">community resources</a>. Those still in the workforce can get employment-related <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/wysk/what-you-should-know-about-covid-19-and-ada-rehabilitation-act-and-other-eeo-laws">reasonable accommodations</a>, such as flexible work times and remote work. For now, that’s all they can count on. </p>
<p>[<em>Get fascinating science, health and technology news.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?nl=science&source=inline-science-fascinating">Sign up for The Conversation’s weekly science newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175424/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Mauldin received a Rapid Response to Covid-19 grant from the Social Science Research Council to support research on the pandemic's effects on spousal caregivers and their disabled partners.</span></em></p>As COVID-19 survivors join the ranks of people with disabilities, they could have a long wait to get the support they need.Laura Mauldin, Associate Professor of Women's Gender & Sexuality Studies and Human Development & Family Sciences, University of ConnecticutLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1758172022-02-01T13:16:12Z2022-02-01T13:16:12ZGovernment agencies are tapping a facial recognition company to prove you’re you – here’s why that raises concerns about privacy, accuracy and fairness<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443239/original/file-20220128-19-ghy893.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8000%2C5317&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beginning this summer, you might need to upload a selfie and a photo ID to a private company, ID.me, if you want to file your taxes online.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-woman-using-smartphone-while-working-with-royalty-free-image/1224140562">Oscar Wong/Moment via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is planning to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-unveils-new-online-identity-verification-process-for-accessing-self-help-tools">require citizens to create accounts</a> with a private facial recognition company in order to file taxes online. The IRS is joining a growing number of federal and state agencies that have contracted with <a href="https://www.id.me/">ID.me</a> to authenticate the identities of people accessing services.</p>
<p>The IRS’s move is aimed at cutting down on identity theft, a crime that <a href="https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/consumer-sentinel-network-data-book-2020/csn_annual_data_book_2020.pdf">affects millions of Americans</a>. The IRS, in particular, has reported a number of tax filings from people claiming to be others, and <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/21/criminals-have-stolen-nearly-100-billion-in-covid-relief-funds-secret-service.html">fraud in many of the programs</a> that were administered as part of the <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/american-rescue-plan/">American Relief Plan</a> has been a major concern to the government.</p>
<p>The IRS decision has prompted a backlash, in part over concerns about requiring citizens to use facial recognition technology and in part over difficulties some people have had in using the system, particularly with some state agencies that provide unemployment benefits. The reaction has prompted the IRS to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-01-28/treasury-weighing-id-me-alternatives-over-privacy-concerns?sref=Hjm5biAW">revisit its decision</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443053/original/file-20220127-9782-2f0nex.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="a webpage with the IRS logo in the top left corner and buttons for creating or logging into an account" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443053/original/file-20220127-9782-2f0nex.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/443053/original/file-20220127-9782-2f0nex.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443053/original/file-20220127-9782-2f0nex.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443053/original/file-20220127-9782-2f0nex.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=309&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443053/original/file-20220127-9782-2f0nex.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443053/original/file-20220127-9782-2f0nex.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/443053/original/file-20220127-9782-2f0nex.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=388&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Here’s what greets you when you click the link to sign into your IRS account. If current plans remain in place, the blue button will go away in the summer of 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://sa.www4.irs.gov/secureaccess/ui/?TYPE=33554433&REALMOID=06-0006b18e-628e-1187-a229-7c2b0ad00000&GUID=&SMAUTHREASON=0&METHOD=GET&SMAGENTNAME=-SM-u0ktItgVFneUJDzkQ7tjvLYXyclDooCJJ7%2bjXGjg3YC5id2x9riHE98hoVgd1BBv&TARGET=-SM-http%3a%2f%2fsa%2ewww4%2eirs%2egov%2fola%2f">Screenshot, IRS sign-in webpage</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=JNPbTdIAAAAJ&hl=en">computer science researcher</a> and the chair of the <a href="https://www.acm.org/public-policy/tpc">Global Technology Policy Council of the Association for Computing Machinery</a>, I have been involved in exploring some of the issues with government use of facial recognition technology, both its use and its potential flaws. There have been a great number of concerns raised over the general <a href="https://theconversation.com/feds-are-increasing-use-of-facial-recognition-systems-despite-calls-for-a-moratorium-145913">use of this technology in policing and other government functions</a>, often focused on whether the accuracy of these algorithms can have discriminatory affects. In the case of ID.me, there are other issues involved as well.</p>
<h2>ID dot who?</h2>
<p>ID.me is a private company that <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-01-20/cybersecurity-company-id-me-is-becoming-government-s-digital-gatekeeper?sref=Hjm5biAW">formed as TroopSwap</a>, a site that offered retail discounts to members of the armed forces. As part of that effort, the company created an ID service so that military staff who qualified for discounts at various companies could prove they were, indeed, service members. In 2013, the company renamed itself ID.me and started to market its ID service more broadly. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs began using the technology in 2016, the company’s first government use.</p>
<p>To use ID.me, a user loads a mobile phone app and takes a selfie – a photo of their own face. ID.me then compares that image to various IDs that it obtains either through open records or through information that applicants provide through the app. If it finds a match, it creates an account and uses image recognition for ID. If it cannot perform a match, users can contact a “trusted referee” and have a video call to fix the problem.</p>
<p>A number of companies and <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/technology/articles/2021-07-22/factbox-states-using-idme-rival-identity-check-tools-for-jobless-claims">states</a> have been using ID.me for several years. News reports have documented <a href="https://www.cpr.org/2021/05/10/unemployment-payouts-have-dropped-40-percent-is-id-me-stopping-scams-or-blocking-benefits/">problems people have had with ID.me</a> failing to authenticate them, and with the company’s customer support in resolving those problems. Also, the system’s technology requirements <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/colorado/articles/2021-05-02/system-for-unemployment-benefits-exposes-digital-divide">could widen the digital divide</a>, making it harder for many of the people who need government services the most to access them. </p>
<p>But much of the concern about the IRS and other federal agencies using ID.me revolves around its use of facial recognition technology and collection of biometric data.</p>
<h2>Accuracy and bias</h2>
<p>To start with, there are a number of general concerns about the accuracy of facial recognition technologies and whether there are <a href="https://theconversation.com/ai-technologies-like-police-facial-recognition-discriminate-against-people-of-colour-143227">discriminatory biases</a> in their accuracy. These have led the Association for Computing Machinery, among other organizations, to <a href="https://theconversation.com/feds-are-increasing-use-of-facial-recognition-systems-despite-calls-for-a-moratorium-145913">call for a moratorium on government use</a> of facial recognition technology. </p>
<p>A study of commercial and academic facial recognition algorithms by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that U.S. facial-matching algorithms generally have <a href="https://www.nist.gov/news-events/news/2019/12/nist-study-evaluates-effects-race-age-sex-face-recognition-software">higher false positive rates for Asian and Black faces</a> than for white faces, although recent results have improved. ID.me claims that there is <a href="https://insights.id.me/viewpoint/no-identity-left-behind-american-increased-access-online-services/">no racial bias</a> in its face-matching verification process. </p>
<p>There are many other conditions that can also cause inaccuracy – physical changes caused by illness or an accident, hair loss due to chemotherapy, color change due to aging, gender conversions and others. How any company, including ID.me, handles such situations is unclear, and this is one issue that has raised concerns. Imagine having a disfiguring accident and not being able to log into your medical insurance company’s website because of damage to your face.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BqQT4sIOYA0?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Facial recognition technology is spreading fast. Is the technology – and society – ready?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Data privacy</h2>
<p>There are other issues that go beyond the question of just how well the algorithm works. As part of its process, ID.me collects a very large amount of personal information. It has a very long and difficult-to-read privacy policy, but essentially while ID.me doesn’t share most of the personal information, it does share various information about internet use and website visits with other partners. The nature of these exchanges is not immediately apparent. </p>
<p>So one question that arises is what level of information the company shares with the government, and whether the information can be used in tracking U.S. citizens between regulated boundaries that apply to government agencies. Privacy advocates on both the left and right have long opposed any form of a mandatory uniform government identification card. Does handing off the identification to a private company allow the government to essentially achieve this through subterfuge? It’s not difficult to imagine that some states – and maybe eventually the federal government – could insist on an identification from ID.me or one of its competitors to access government services, get medical coverage and even to vote. </p>
<p>As Joy Buolamwini, an MIT AI researcher and founder of the <a href="https://www.ajl.org/">Algorithmic Justice League</a>, argued, beyond accuracy and bias issues is the question of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/01/irs-should-stop-using-facial-recognition/621386/">the right not to use biometric technology</a>. “Government pressure on citizens to share their biometric data with the government affects all of us — no matter your race, gender, or political affiliations,” she wrote.</p>
<h2>Too many unknowns for comfort</h2>
<p>Another issue is who audits ID.me for the security of its applications? While no one is accusing ID.me of bad practices, security researchers are worried about how the company may protect the incredible level of personal information it will end up with. Imagine a security breach that released the IRS information for millions of taxpayers. In the fast-changing world of cybersecurity, with threats ranging from individual hacking to international criminal activities, experts would like assurance that a company provided with so much personal information is using state-of-the-art security and keeping it up to date. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>Much of the questioning of the IRS decision comes because these are early days for government use of private companies to provide biometric security, and some of the details are still not fully explained. Even if you grant that the IRS use of the technology is appropriately limited, this is potentially the start of what could quickly snowball to many government agencies using commercial facial recognition companies to get around regulations that were put in place specifically to rein in government powers. </p>
<p>The U.S. stands at the edge of a slippery slope, and while that doesn’t mean facial recognition technology shouldn’t be used at all, I believe it does mean that the government should put a lot more care and due diligence into exploring the terrain ahead before taking those critical first steps.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175817/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Hendler receives funding from IBM, DARPA, and the NSF. He is a Professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, affiliated with the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and consults or has consulted for a number of government agencies. The opinions expressed in this piece are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the ACM or any of the other organizations with which he is affiliated.</span></em></p>Federal and state governments are turning to a facial recognition company to ensure that people accessing services are who they say they are. The move promises to cut down on fraud, but at what cost?James Hendler, Professor of Computer, Web and Cognitive Sciences, Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1654142021-08-10T12:26:04Z2021-08-10T12:26:04ZClaims of voter suppression in newly enacted state laws don’t all hold up under closer review<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415283/original/file-20210809-17-ekmidn.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C8197%2C5456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Activists at a voting rights rally near the U.S. Capitol on Aug. 3, 2021. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/activists-attend-a-rally-about-voting-rights-and-ending-the-news-photo/1234432343?adppopup=true">Drew Angerer/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As states across the U.S. enact new laws relating to elections, there have been efforts to capture, in aggregate, the effects of those laws. Reports, found in both journalism and advocacy group statements, that new election laws will “restrict” voting or have an “anti-voter” effect misrepresent what many of the laws will do.</p>
<p>On July 14, 2021, a story in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/06/02/state-voting-restrictions/">The Washington Post described what it called</a> “voting restrictions,” citing figures from a website called the “<a href="https://votingrightslab.org/">Voting Rights Lab</a>,” and noted that “17 states had enacted 32 laws with provisions that tighten rules for voting and election administration.” The Voting Rights Lab describes itself as working to “build winning state legislative campaigns that secure, protect, and defend the voting rights of all Americans.”</p>
<p>The Brennan Center for Justice, <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/about/mission-impact">a nonprofit with a goal</a> “to reform, revitalize, and when necessary, defend our country’s systems of democracy and justice,” offered a <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-july-2021">July 2021 “roundup”</a> to assess “the full impact of efforts to suppress the vote in 2021.” The roundup concluded that “at least 18 states enacted 30 laws that restrict access to the vote,” a figure <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/08/06/statement-by-vice-president-kamala-harris-on-the-anniversary-of-the-voting-rights-act-of-1965/">cited by Vice President Kamala Harris</a> in comments on the anniversary of the Voting Rights Act.</p>
<p>Classifying a law as a voter suppression, as a voting restriction or as a tightening of a rule for voting involves judgment. It anticipates the future effect of a law, and it concludes that the law will have a negative effect. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PSynZNoAAAAJ&hl=en">a scholar of election law</a> who has examined the statutes that have been lumped together as “voting restrictions,” I have found that while some could fairly be given that label, many are ordinary rules of election administration that simply don’t merit those labels. Many bills will likely have no discernible effect, much less a negative effect, on the right to vote.</p>
<h2>Routine procedure</h2>
<p><a href="https://custom.statenet.com/public/resources.cgi?id=ID:bill:UT2021000H12&cuiq=cebcefa4-252a-5dcb-aeb1-7fc87d570de0&client_md=51c25c48e64cb1636a693f59602e6ee7&mode=current_text">Utah’s House Bill 12</a>, for instance, was enacted unanimously by both houses of the Utah Legislature. </p>
<p>Utah’s bill updates a law about how to remove dead people from the list of registered voters. It increases the communication surrounding death certificates to election officials, and it requires the state election administrator to submit Social Security Administration data about those who have died to county clerks so that clerks may remove them from the list of registered voters. </p>
<p>The Brennan Center lists this as a law that restricts the right to vote; the Voting Rights Lab describes its effect as “unclear.” But this is not a voter purge statute, which can remove living voters from the voter roster. It only removes dead people from the list. It is a routine update to election administration.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415287/original/file-20210809-25-uhugze.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A sign that says " src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415287/original/file-20210809-25-uhugze.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/415287/original/file-20210809-25-uhugze.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415287/original/file-20210809-25-uhugze.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415287/original/file-20210809-25-uhugze.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415287/original/file-20210809-25-uhugze.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415287/original/file-20210809-25-uhugze.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/415287/original/file-20210809-25-uhugze.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 2020, increased numbers of voters cast absentee or early ballots.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/long-lines-of-voters-wait-to-cast-early-voting-ballots-at-news-photo/1229129007?adppopup=true">Mark Makela/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Voting trends reflected</h2>
<p>States also updated laws about the size of polling places. The trend <a href="https://electionlab.mit.edu/research/voting-mail-and-absentee-voting">toward increased absentee voting and early voting</a> means fewer voters visit the polls on Election Day. Some states have moved toward <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/vote-centers.aspx">“vote center” models</a>, in which voters are no longer assigned to a single polling place and instead have more geographic flexibility in choosing where they vote. As these other forms of voting increase, the traditional precinct model no longer needs to be as small as it is. Slightly larger precincts allow states to shift money to these other forms of voting opportunities.</p>
<p>The Nevada Legislature unanimously agreed, after hearing only support from county election officials, to <a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Session/81st2021/Bills/SB/SB84_EN.pdf">increase the potential maximum size of a precinct from 3,000 voters to 5,000</a>. County officials <a href="https://www.leg.state.nv.us/App/NELIS/REL/81st2021/ExhibitDocument/OpenExhibitDocument?exhibitId=49844&fileDownloadName=SB%2084_Remarks_Senator%20Nicole%20J.%20Cannizzaro_District%206.pdf">can keep</a> smaller precincts as appropriate. The bill closes no precincts. Counties in Nevada have moved toward vote centers, which allow voters to go to any polling place within the county. But this law, Senate Bill 84, was labeled “<a href="https://tracker.votingrightslab.org/pending/search/NV2021S84">anti-voter</a>” by the Voting Rights Lab and a “<a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/voting-laws-roundup-july-2021">restriction</a>” by the Brennan Center.</p>
<p>New York’s <a href="https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2021/A7478">Assembly Bill 7478</a> is similar, increasing the potential maximum size of a precinct from 1,150 voters to 2,000. The old rule had been built around the <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-signs-sweeping-package-voting-reforms-law">physical limitations of lever-operated voting machines</a>, as these voting machines could accommodate only 1,000 voters. The machines have been phased out in favor of optical scan ballots, and polling places can now accommodate more voters. The bill passed the Assembly by a vote of 148-0, and the Senate 55-8. The Voting Rights Lab called it “<a href="https://tracker.votingrightslab.org/pending/search/NY2021A7478">anti-voter</a>.”</p>
<h2>‘Much less dramatic’</h2>
<p>Other bills target how elections are funded. The coronavirus pandemic brought <a href="https://theconversation.com/mail-in-votings-potential-problems-only-begin-at-the-post-office-an-underfunded-underprepared-decentralized-system-could-be-trouble-143798">increased costs for mailing ballots and administering a safe election</a>. Grants, including <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/01/business/zuckerberg-300-million-voting/index.html">US$300 million from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan</a>, were distributed to states and localities to help with the new administrative burdens. </p>
<p>But the decision of a private grantor to give money to some jurisdictions raised questions about whether such efforts were politically motivated and would affect voter behavior and election results. Before the election, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/25/us/politics/elections-private-grants-zuckerberg.html">reporter Ken Vogel at The New York Times</a> wrote about concerns that private subsidizing of elections “raises new legal and political questions.”</p>
<p><a href="https://apnews.com/article/elections-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-d034c4c1f5a9fa3fb02aa9898493c708">State legislatures have responded</a>. <a href="https://custom.statenet.com/public/resources.cgi?id=ID:bill:AR2021000H1866&cuiq=cebcefa4-252a-5dcb-aeb1-7fc87d570de0&client_md=5c4190274f966a7d3ea86fa57987bdf7&mode=current_text">Arkansas</a>, <a href="https://custom.statenet.com/public/resources.cgi?id=ID:bill:AZ2021000H2569&cuiq=cebcefa4-252a-5dcb-aeb1-7fc87d570de0&client_md=5a73171008c20372f8ffba99b9f7e8ce&mode=current_text">Arizona</a>, <a href="https://custom.statenet.com/public/resources.cgi?id=ID:bill:ID2021000S1168&cuiq=cebcefa4-252a-5dcb-aeb1-7fc87d570de0&client_md=39319cd1043f6839b2971a8f798c8ba1&mode=current_text">Idaho</a>, <a href="https://custom.statenet.com/public/resources.cgi?id=ID:bill:ND2021000H1256&cuiq=cebcefa4-252a-5dcb-aeb1-7fc87d570de0&client_md=3da6fbe5258c835d20b1d592a2727feb&mode=current_text">North Dakota</a>, <a href="https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/legislation-summary?id=GA134-HB-110">Ohio</a>, <a href="https://custom.statenet.com/public/resources.cgi?id=ID:bill:TN2021000S1534&cuiq=cebcefa4-252a-5dcb-aeb1-7fc87d570de0&client_md=067c4b2a7b62feb11c70352f377ec5db&mode=current_text">Tennessee</a> and <a href="https://custom.statenet.com/public/resources.cgi?id=ID:bill:TX2021000H2283&cuiq=cebcefa4-252a-5dcb-aeb1-7fc87d570de0&client_md=f8f6ef3450cb77a75b211375fffb89d5&mode=current_text">Texas</a> all enacted new laws regulating or prohibiting private funds for election administration, such as buying equipment or paying personnel. Ohio included the rule as a small part of an appropriations bill that passed with wide bipartisan support. The Voting Rights Lab labels all seven laws “anti-voter.”</p>
<p>These efforts to label a law as pro-voter or anti-voter, then to lump those votes into a round number of “voter suppression” efforts, miss important details and context.</p>
<p>Too often, the label is inaccurate. Certainly, with some laws, the effect on voters is going to be more significant. <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-to-sue-georgia-over-its-new-voting-law-11624632808">Litigation in Georgia</a> over Senate Bill 202, for instance, reveals <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/us/politics/georgia-voting-law-annotated.html">strong differences in opinion</a> about the bill’s effects.</p>
<p>But it is important to detail what a new law does and not simply offer a conclusion that is really an allegation about it. </p>
<p>When they are examined closely, the effect of many of these new election laws is much less dramatic. A label like “restriction” or “anti-voter” should be used when it’s likely that a voter’s experience is materially altered to make voting more difficult. My examination of these bills suggests that none of them rise to that level.</p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Derek T. Muller does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Not all new laws labeled “voter suppression laws” are, in fact, voter suppression laws. An election law expert takes a closer look.Derek T. Muller, Bouma Fellow in Law & Professor of Law, University of IowaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.