Friend, I don’t want to alarm you -- but we saw multiple major problems with our election systems yesterday. [1] I need your immediate help to make sure this can’t happen in November.
6 hour-plus waits to cast ballots. Critical infrastructure going down. Lines stretching around blocks, even outside of peak hours. Online disinformation targeting vulnerable voters. Many eligible voters were left wondering if they’d even be able to vote -- or if doing so was worth the wait.
The truth is -- our systems were completely overwhelmed, during a primary election, in only a quarter of states. If we don’t have a plan to fix that before November, we could see a large-scale failure -- disenfranchising millions of our fellow Americans.
And that’s not all -- we’re up against a deliberate strategy of vote suppression. Texas, which had some of the worst problems last night, has closed 750 polling places since 2012 -- primarily in black and brown communities. [2] Worse, the GOP has just announced a $10 million legal strategy to block voting rights lawsuits and protect discriminatory moves like this. [3]
America deserves better, and Common Cause is leading the fight for it. Last night was a wake-up call that we absolutely must heed. And if we don’t immediately step up our work for fair, secure, and accessible elections this November, we’ll quickly fall behind.
With your help, we’ll sound the alarm to the media and election officials about what went wrong… identify the underlying issues and implement a strategy to fix them… and mobilize our nationwide Election Protection volunteer team to protect every voter’s rights.
I’m writing to personally ask for your help. Will you rush a contribution to our emergency Protect The Vote 2020 fund?
Or give another amount >>
We were monitoring all 14 state primaries yesterday -- with Election Protection field teams on the ground in California, Texas, and North Carolina, answering calls on the national 866-OUR-VOTE hotline, and tracking voters' social media posts -- all to identify and respond to problems in real time.
Here’s some of what we saw: late poll openings, last-minute location changes, and machine malfunctions in Texas… serious voter registration database crashes forcing millions to vote provisionally in California… targeted cyber suppression on sites like Facebook and Twitter -- maliciously spreading false information intended to stop voters from showing up at all.
And this just a preview of what’s to come in November if we don’t get serious about protecting voters -- right now.
Common Cause knows the solutions -- our nationwide network of state voting experts has identified what works, and we have the relationships with local officials it’ll take to implement them.
Plus, we’re preparing an unprecedented field program for the 2020 general election, placing thousands of trained, nonpartisan poll monitors to fix problems, keep voters motivated, and protect everyone’s right to be heard.
Friend, millions of voters' rights are on the line -- and I’m counting on you to step up with the resources it’ll take to meet this challenge. Please chip in what you can today.
Every American deserves a say in our shared future -- and it’s up to each of us to fight for fair elections that live up to that promise. Common Cause can get this done -- with your help.
Thanks for all you do,
Marilyn Carpinteyro, VP for Programs and Strategy
and the team at Common Cause
1) https://www.commoncause.org/press-release/common-cause-documents-and-responds-to-voting-issues-across-the-country/
2) https://theweek.com/speedreads/899798/texas-where-750-polling-places-have-closed-since-2012-voters-wait-line-hours
3) https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/20/michigan-voting-lawsuits-rnc-trump-116142
