Today, more Tennesseans have COVID-19 than ever before. Hospitalizations are on the rise. And while social distancing helped flatten the curve, it’s clear the pandemic is still with us and will continue to be in the months ahead. Knowing this, we must act to ensure all voters can safely cast ballots in our upcoming elections, including guaranteeing all voters are able to vote-by-mail from the safety of their own home. Otherwise, we could run into the same issues Georgia faced during their primary election this week: long and crowded lines, multi-hour wait times, and issues with voting machines.

I’ve teamed up with End Citizens United and Let America Vote to gather 100,000 signatures from grassroots activists demanding all voters be eligible to vote-by-mail before November.

There’s momentum to make vote-by-mail happen in Tennessee, but it’s not all good news. While a judge recently ruled all 4.1 million Tennessee voters be permitted to vote-by-mail this election, state officials are dragging their feet and wasting time needed to widely implement vote-by-mail for all voters by creating confusing forms and offering voters misleading information.

Any opposition to vote-by-mail efforts this year poses a serious threat to the health of Tennesseans and threatens the integrity of our elections.

Add your name to mine and tell Congress to institute a NATIONWIDE vote-by-mail option before the upcoming election.

Improving voter participation isn’t a new issue in Tennessee as our state ranks so low in turnout election after election. The need for change has been exacerbated by the pandemic and doing nothing will disenfranchise and silence Tennesseans.

Protecting voting rights isn’t about politics. It’s about our democracy.

I’ve defended the Constitution on the battlefield and in the courtroom, and we must act to defend our democracy during this pandemic.

We need 100,000 grassroots supporters to sign our petition and call on Congress to guarantee all voters be able to vote-by-mail before November to make sure no one has to risk their health to cast their ballot. Add your name today →

In service,

James