John,

Last week, former President Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. While many felons aren’t able to exercise their right to vote, Trump will be able to vote in Florida in the presidential election, according to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.¹

In the 2022 midterm election, more than 4 million people convicted of felonies weren’t able to cast a ballot―even if they were released from prison.² Felony disenfranchisement laws are rooted in our country’s long history of anti-Black racism, so it isn’t surprising that in 2020, more than 6% of Black people in the United States were disenfranchised for felony convictions. That’s close to three times the rate for the population as a whole.³

These figures, when added in with numerous voter suppression laws that disproportionately target Black and brown communities, get even more dire. Just in the last year, 14 states have enacted voter suppression laws including banning student IDs from state universities as a valid form of voter identification, shortening early voting windows, banning ballot drop boxes, and criminalizing the act of returning a mail ballot on behalf of someone else.⁴ Just in Tennessee alone, voter disenfranchisement laws have resulted in 1 in 5 Black voters being barred from voting.⁵

This is why the work we’re doing to empower voters is so critical. Last week, we held our first letter-writing party of 2024 to infrequent voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to ensure that they have all the information they need to cast their ballots this November.

With your help, advocates nationwide can make sure that people who are eligible to vote can overcome barriers to voting.

Will you chip in $5 today to power our “Vote for Human Needs” campaign and help turn out as many voters as possible?

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:

Thank you for all you do,

Dominique Espinoza
Policy and Strategic Partnerships Manager, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ DeSantis says Trump can still vote in Florida despite felony conviction
² Locked Out 2022: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights
³] Sentencing Project: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction
⁴ Voting Laws Roundup: October 2023
⁵ In Tennessee, 1 in 5 Black residents are barred from voting

-- DEBORAH'S EMAIL --

John,

There is so much at stake in November. The Presidency, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, and 33 Senate seats will be up for grabs. This election may very well determine whether the right to vote is sacrosanct in this country, whether we continue to give tax handouts to the ultra-wealthy at the expense of vulnerable families and communities, and whether or not we will finally have a path to citizenship for DACA recipients.

We had our first voter engagement letter-writing party of the year last week and we had a record number of people sign up.

Your neighbors, co-workers, and family members are fired up about this year’s election because they understand what’s at stake. At the Coalition on Human Needs we’re doing everything we can to register voters and turn out infrequent voters because this election is too critical for us to sit out.

Power our “Vote for Human Needs” voter outreach campaign with a donation today to ensure that everyone can make their voice heard in this critical presidential election.

Last year, 16 states enacted 29 voter suppression laws―including 11 that make vote-by-mail less accessible by enacting stricter voter ID requirements, shortening the period for requesting or casting a mail ballot, banning the use of drop boxes, and criminalizing the act of returning a mail ballot on behalf of someone else.¹

These laws disproportionately impact people with disabilities, people living in rural areas, and Black and Native populations.

Our democracy can only work when we all have equal access to the ballot box to make our voices heard. Chip in $5 today so that we can expand the reach of our “Vote for Human Needs” campaign and make sure more voices are heard between now and Election Day.

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your secure donation will go through immediately:

Thank you for all you do,

Deborah Weinstein
Executive Director, Coalition on Human Needs

¹ Voting Laws Roundup: October 2023