Dear Friend,
Firstly, I want to send you and your loved ones my best wishes during this uncertain time.
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended many of our expectations -- and Common Cause staff have shifted to work from home in compliance with public health guidelines.
But we haven’t slowed down one bit -- and we can’t, because even in the midst of this national crisis, our duty to remain vigilant against voter suppression has grown only more urgent.
Unfortunately, I must report that as I write, we're aware of new efforts by partisan, political operatives to exploit this pandemic in order to suppress our sacred right to vote.
We're closely tracking the situation in Wisconsin -- where lawmakers forced yesterday's election forward, after the Governor tried to postpone in-person voting to protect public health.
The result? Poll closures due to poll workers dropping out, people's absentee ballots invalidated, and far too many Wisconsin voters forced to choose between risking their health or giving up their right to vote. [1]
Meanwhile, President Trump is ramping up his attacks against our efforts to protect voters' rights during his pandemic. Just this morning, he tweeted that his party should "fight very hard" to stop reforms like vote-by-mail -- even while Trump himself plans to vote absentee this year (as any Americans who wants to should have the right to). [2]
Why try to stop this common-sense reform? Take it from Trump himself -- when he went on Fox & Friends last week to complain that if we properly funded reforms like vote-by-mail, we’d see “levels of voting that if you’d ever agreed to it, you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again.” [3] He should tell that to the multiple Republican officials who support, and red states that have successfully implemented, vote-by-mail. [4]
Make no mistake -- there are politicians in this country who see people like you and me voting as a threat. They’re trying to make this into a partisan issue -- and showing that there’s no level they won’t stoop to in order to obstruct and frustrate eligible Americans from showing up at the polls.
Now, Trump’s re-election campaign is launching an unprecedented effort to block our voting rights agenda -- hiring multiple full-time litigators who will surely sue to stop the reforms we need to protect voters’ rights during this pandemic.
That’s on top of the RNC’s $10 million legal fund -- which is already being deployed to protect vote-suppressing politicians, and obstruct our efforts to ensure every American, no matter their political party, can vote. [5]
Common Cause is ready to fight back. We don’t have $10 million to spend in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, or dozens of lawyers to fight it out in court.
But, we do have you -- and 1.2 million other concerned Americans nationwide -- willing to fight for what they believe in. And in just the past few weeks, we’ve seen Common Cause members like you find new ways to engage in civic life -- joining webinars and video meetings, contacting officials by phone or online, and maintaining the community bonds that are even more vital in this time of social isolation.
I’m writing to ask if you can chip in $3 or more to fight back against Trump’s vote suppression campaign -- and ensure every eligible voter can be heard in 2020. I know many of our members are facing difficult financial circumstances right now -- so please only give if you are able to. But if you can, you’ll be making an immediate impact for voters.
Or give another amount >>
That’s because right now, in state after state, we’re seeing political operatives act as a thorn in the side of election officials who are trying to do right by voters. Like in Georgia, where some GOP lawmakers are opposing the Secretary of State's (who’s also a Republican) plan to send a mail-in ballot application to every active voter in the state.
And elsewhere, we’re facing resistance as we push common-sense reforms: like expanding vote-by-mail options, online voter registration, no-fault absentee voting, and other necessary safeguards to protect voters’ rights and public health in this unprecedented situation.
Voting rights shouldn’t be a partisan issue. But instead of bringing people together to protect one of the cornerstones of society -- free and fair democratic elections -- Trump and too many others in his party are looking only at their own short-term political gain.
Common Cause won’t stand by and let that happen. We have decades of experience with protecting voters under difficult circumstances -- against natural disasters, computer failures, and everything in between.
So, while we’ve never seen anything like this pandemic, I’m confident we’ll be able to find the best solutions to stop Trump’s vote suppression schemes and protect every single voter’s right to be heard.
This means establishing or expanding vote-by-mail (or absentee voting) in every state where it’s viable for the November elections. It also means ensuring accessibility for people who can’t vote by mail -- like people with disabilities or living on Native reservations -- with reforms like early voting, online registration, and additional voting accommodations.
The truth is, Common Cause’s work to protect voters in 2020 has grown more necessary in the past few weeks. That’s why we’re counting on you, if you’re able, to step up with the resources to make it possible. Can you chip in $3 to help stop voter suppression in 2020?
We’ve fought for half a century to protect every American’s right to vote -- and that fight has taken on new importance now. I’m glad we can continue to count on your support.
Thanks for all you do,
Karen Hobert Flynn, President
and the team at Common Cause
[1] https://www.npr.org/2020/04/07/828835153/long-lines-masks-and-plexiglas-barriers-greet-wisconsin-voters-at-polls
[2] https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-mail-voting-corrupt-florida-primary-wisconsin-a9454081.html
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/30/trump-voting-republicans/
[4] https://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/all-mail-elections.aspx
[5] https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/20/michigan-voting-lawsuits-rnc-trump-116142
