Dear John,
Everything feels topsy-turvy right now. Day after day, we hear about the devastating impacts of President Trump's policies on Maine people and our communities. Sometimes, those decisions are reversed; other times, they are not. It's hard to keep track of what's happening and where to pay attention. Of course, that's the goal: flood the zone to distract and divide us.
As MCV's lead democracy advocate, I wanted to take a few minutes to bring you up to speed on the most important voting and elections policies we're working on—and what you can do to help.
In Washington, MCV is paying close attention to a bill that could disqualify—and I'm not exaggerating—hundreds of millions of Americans from voting. A bill called the SAVE Act is rapidly moving towards a vote on the floors of the House and Senate, and it is a major attack on voting rights, election integrity, and trust in our voting system. Despite its name, the "SAVE" Act would do nothing to make our elections safer. Instead, it would put up barriers for millions of eligible voters to cast their ballot.
Maine already has a secure, robust process to confirm voter eligibility, and this bill would make it particularly difficult to vote for: (1) Americans without a passport, (2) women whose last names don't match their birth certificate (usually because of marriage), and (3) U.S. citizens who happen to have been born in a foreign country.
Please join us in speaking out against this harmful federal legislation that threatens voting rights and election integrity—tell your representatives and senators to vote NO on the SAVE Act.
