Hey Indivisibles,
It’s Meagan Hatcher-Mays, Director of Democracy Policy at Indivisible. I’m
horrified, and frankly pissed, about what’s going on with our elections in
Wisconsin and across the country right now -- and you should be too.
This is a long email, so real quick: if you want to know what happened
last night in Wisconsin, read on. If you’re already up to date and want to
hear about the COVID-19 bill that Senator Schumer and Representative
Pelosi released today, and how it relates to democracy, skip down to the
“What next” section, below.
What Happened in Wisconsin
Republicans took their voter suppression scheme to the next level this
week. Late Monday night, [ [link removed] ]the conservatives on the Supreme Court issued
a disastrous 5-4 ruling that disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters,
disproportionately affecting people of color. Its impacts were felt in
Wisconsin yesterday, and soon they’ll be rippling all over the country.
Here’s what happened: late Monday night, the Supreme Court halted
Wisconsin’s plan to extend absentee voting before yesterday’s primary,
resulting in thousands of late absentee ballots being thrown away. Voters
in the state who requested absentee ballots weeks or even months ago
didn’t receive their ballots until after the election due to disruptions
caused by the coronavirus. Now they’ve been disenfranchised -- not because
they did anything wrong, but because the United States Supreme Court
wanted to help out their Republican friends in Wisconsin by making it even
more difficult for progressives and people of color to vote.
On top of that, thousands of poll workers across Wisconsin,
understandably, declined to work yesterday in fear for their health, and
hundreds of polling stations closed as a result, leaving folks across the
state to decide between risking their health or not voting in a pivotal
election. You’ve probably seen the photos: enormous lines of people,
trying to maintain social distance while also stay in line to vote. It was
horrifying.
What’s next?
The GOP’s voter suppression efforts have ramifications far beyond the
primary election in Wisconsin -- they’ll impact participation in the
November presidential election, too. Here’s what’s at stake: without
substantial funding and policies in place to protect our election,
millions of voters, especially in brown and Black communities, will lose
their chance to vote. The GOP doesn’t want to expand vote-by-mail to all
states because it means they’ll lose -- Trump said so himself on national
television.
Yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren released a plan (of course) that
builds on Senators Wyden and Klobuchar’s bill, and includes some
non-negotiable policies:
* Expanding early in-person voting days and no-excuse absentee
vote-by-mail to all states.
* Banning oppressive requirements, like strict voter ID laws, that
prevent people from voting.
* Banning voter roll purges.
* Offering hazard pay for poll workers.
* Requiring that all states provide envelopes with prepaid postage to
all voters.
* Requiring absentee ballots to be counted if postmarked or signed
before the close of the polls on election day.
* Providing at least $2 billion in funding to states to implement these
reforms.
Here’s the bad part: this morning, Democrats released their latest
COVID-19 bill, and while we’re glad that party leaders acknowledge the
flaws in the last package, this package doesn’t remedy them. The last bill
was a $2 trillion free-for-all for corporations and elites, and this bill
doesn't even pretend to address that by strengthening oversight over the
bailout money. And even worse, even after the chaos we all witnessed in
Wisconsin yesterday, the new bill doesn’t include any additional money for
election reforms or vote by mail.
Put simply, Democrats’ new bill is not enough and we have to press for
more.
Our ask is simple: call your members of Congress -- including Democrats --
today and demand that they fight to include these emergency protections
for our election in the next coronavirus bill. [ [link removed] ]Click here to make the
call now, and then keep calling.
And if you want to do more, here are a few more asks:
* Record a video to demand your senators include Elizabeth Warren's
election protection plan in the next coronavirus bill. [ [link removed] ]Click here
to make a video.
* Email your member of Congress and ask that prioritize a people-first
stimulus bill that puts people over profits. [ [link removed] ]Click here to draft
and send an email.
* Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and explain to
your neighbors and Congress why they should support a people’s bailout
in response to COVID-19. [ [link removed] ]Click here to draft your letter.
* Share our election security resource far and wide. [ [link removed] ]Click here to
view.
* [ [link removed] ]Donate to Indivisible Project to help us keep producing resources,
supporting advocacy, and providing the tools and support you need to
push forward an agenda that prioritizes people over profits.
You’ll hear more from us about this in the coming days. Mark your calendar
now for next Friday, April 17th, which is our Vote By Mail day of action.
Now, more than ever, it’s clear that the only way to save democracy is
more democracy -- and that includes making sure every eligible vote is
counted in November.
In solidarity,
Meagan
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