John,

In the midst of the public health crisis now facing the nation, our dedicated team at Free Speech For People is continuing the fight for free and fair elections and a democracy that works for everyone.

On March 17, we joined, with a coalition of over 100 voting rights organizations and led by the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights, in issuing a letter calling on Congress and state election officials to implement new policies to protect voting rights and public safety during the primary elections and in response to COVID-19. The policy recommendations noted in the March 17 letter include: increasing access to voter registration, by providing online registration and same-day registration; expanding early in-person voting; allowing voting by mail; implementing protective measures at polling locations to keep the public safe while voting; and providing voter education and combating misinformation. You can read the entire letter here.

Meanwhile, Free Speech For People applauds Senators Amy Klobuchar and Ron Wyden and their colleagues for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by proposing reasonable, appropriate, and commonsense provisions to ensure the United States will be able to hold free and fair elections while protecting voters, poll workers, and election officials during this crisis. The U.S. election structure is facing unprecedented challenges and extraordinary difficulties. While Free Speech For People shares concerns with other civil rights organizations and election security experts that vote-by-mail introduces new equal access issues, security vulnerabilities, and election administration challenges, under these extraordinary circumstances, the provisions in the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020 (NDEBA) offer a reasonable and effective path to ensure the United States can continue to carry out our constitutional and fundamental democratic commitment to government by the people, determined by free and fair elections. These provisions include requiring that all states also implement early voting to help ensure that voters who seek to or need to vote in person can do so in a safe and accessible way. We support the passage of the National Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020 and call on Congress to pass this bill without delay so that our state and local election officials can immediately begin plans to implement its vital provisions for the November 2020 general election.

Join us today in urging that Congress pass this important legislation to protect our elections. Call your Representative and your Senators today at (202) 224-3121 and urge their support of the Natural Disaster and Emergency Ballot Act of 2020!

Thank you for your continued support. We hope you and your families stay safe and healthy during these difficult times.

In solidarity,

John Bonifaz (President, Free Speech For People)