ACLU Supporter –

As an ACLU supporter, you know just how hard we've been working to make sure that voter suppression doesn't influence the outcome of the most critical elections in our lifetime.

But now, we are facing a dramatic new challenge that none of us could have foreseen. The COVID-19 pandemic is having a serious impact on our elections – posing a threat to voter turnout, access to the polls, and ballot processing.

It is essential that we make it as easy as possible for eligible voters to vote by mail in 2020, and prepare for a likely surge in absentee ballots.

That's why, along with all of our other voting rights work, the ACLU's voting rights team is working across the country to encourage universal access to voting by mail. This is a massive undertaking and we can't make it a reality without having you with us in the fight.

Recognizing the urgency of this moment, a generous donor is matching every donation we receive dollar-for-dollar, up to $100,000, through March 31. Your gift today will stretch twice as far to protect our elections – and our democracy – at this unprecedented time.

Broadening access to voting by mail to all eligible voters is just one action that the ACLU is advocating for to preserve our democracy and protect the right to vote during the pandemic.

We are also calling on election officials to eliminate unnecessary restrictions on when and how voters can request and return absentee ballots – and that all ballots include a pre-paid and self-sealing return envelope. We're pushing for states to begin processing absentee ballots before Election Day so that states are able to report accurate results as early as possible. And we're fighting to protect the rights of absentee voters, to make sure their ballots aren't needlessly rejected.

And because in-person voting remains necessary for large segments of the population to be able to vote at all, we are pressing for at least 14 days of early in-person voting to minimize crowding and reduce long wait times at polling locations.

There's not much time left to act. But these fixes could mitigate disruptions to our democracy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and help ensure that every eligible voter can participate in November.

So please, if you can, make a matching gift to the ACLU now and help us put these critical actions in place.

In the face of so much uncertainty and personal anxiety, we're grateful for supporters like you staying vigilant – for both our public health and the future of our democracy. Thanks so much for all you do.

In solidarity,

Dale Ho
Director, ACLU Voting Rights Project

P.S. We want to be mindful of our members who have been personally impacted by the pandemic. If you would like to be removed from this specific campaign, please enter your email address here.