John,

Six months from now, voters will elect their leaders for federal, state, and local levels of government, including the next president and several key Senate and House seats. Yet millions of Americans face a very real threat that their votes will not be properly counted. We face threats both here and from abroad in the form of vulnerable election technologies, foreign interference, and ongoing changes needed to ensure a safe and secure election in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Free Speech For People is working hard to ensure that all voters have the chance to make their voices heard this election season. Access to safe, secure, and verifiable elections is critical, but we need your help to make them possible. On this Giving Tuesday, can you chip in to help us secure elections across the nation?

Here are a few of the obstacles between us and freely practicing our right to vote this year:

• Faulty voting technology: The use of electronic voting machines in states like Pennsylvania and North Carolina is fraught with liabilities. Such touchscreen voting systems fail to provide a voter-verified, reliable, physical ballot necessary to conduct an effective post-election audit to ensure accurate election results. They are vulnerable to hacking and to malfunctions, leading to long lines that further disenfranchise voters. Though the U.S. intelligence community has warned that our election systems are actively being targeted by hackers and our adversaries, some election officials continue to resist common-sense reforms.
  

• Ongoing foreign interference: Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the Senate Intelligence Committee have already proven that Russian interference in the 2016 election took place in all fifty states. Efforts by foreign actors are already underway to try to undermine elections in 2020 in even more brazen ways, including weaponizing coronavirus disinformation and impersonating American candidates and organizations.
  

• Health risks: Dozens or hundreds of voters will touch each electronic voting machine in states where such machines are used, making them vectors for spreading the coronavirus. But the process of sanitizing each machine between uses will delay voting, creating lines and delays that will force people to remain in public and in crowds, where the virus may transmit between voters. Lack of access to no-excuse absentee ballots will also increase the risk of infection as voters are forced to vote in person in large public areas. As we saw in Wisconsin last month, this amounts to voter suppression as we force individuals to choose between their health and their right to vote.

Guaranteeing every American an equal voice and an equal vote is essential to maintain a healthy democracy, and that’s why Free Speech For People is working hard to ensure safe, secure, and reliable elections for all. But we couldn’t do it without you. Your continued support to Free Speech For People today will allow us to defend our democracy in 2020 and beyond.

Time is running out. Your gift today – at this critical moment – will help us to secure our elections before November 3rd.

Thank you for everything you do,

John Bonifaz (President, Free Speech For People)