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Dear Friend,
New York has canceled its Democratic presidential primary, silencing the voices of millions of New Yorkers.
This sets a dangerous precedent for November. We cannot let any politician think they can cancel elections -- we need solutions that don’t force us to choose between public health and democracy.1
It’s never been clearer: the only way we can be assured of a free and fair election this fall is if Congress passes a national vote-by-mail program right now.
Will you donate to pass a national vote-by-mail program?
It’s essential to keep our democracy functioning, even in a crisis. We held elections during the Civil War and World War II. We can do it during the coronavirus pandemic—but we need to give every voter the option to vote by mail so they don’t have to choose between democracy and public health.
New York showed why cancellation is so damaging. Sixty-two counties in New York still need to hold primary elections, but they don’t have the state support to give their residents truly safe alternatives, like vote-by-mail. Now voters will be forced to choose between casting their ballots and risking their health, or staying home and being silenced.2
A national vote-by-mail program is the only way to prevent this from happening in November. Vote-by-mail is already working well in five states, where voter participation often exceeds that in other states.3 And it’s the only way to protect our democracy and our health this fall, when experts expect another spike in coronavirus cases.4
Despite evidence showing that vote-by-mail doesn’t benefit either party,5 Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell are determined to fight tooth and nail any attempt by Congress to set up vote-by-mail.6
But we have leverage: Vote-by-mail supporters in Congress can stop the next coronavirus aid package if it doesn't contain a vote-by-mail policy. We’re demanding that they do exactly that.
Thanks for standing with us.
Robert Cruickshank,
Demand Progress
Sources:
1. The New York Times, "New York Board of Elections Cancels Democratic Presidential Primary," April 27, 2020
2. Ibid
3. National Conference of State Legislatures, "All-Mail Elections (aka Vote-By-Mail)," March 24, 2020
4. Aljazeera, "'Strike again': US scientist predicts coronavirus return in fall," April 1, 2020
5. The Washington Post, "Universal vote-by-mail doesn’t benefit any political party, study finds," April 16, 2020
6. Politico, "Trump: GOP should fight mail-in voting because it ‘doesn’t work out well for Republicans’," April 8, 2020
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