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Hi John,
There’s been a lot going on in the world of vote-by-mail recently, so we thought it would be a great conclusion to the Fourth of July weekend if we sent around a quick recap of the biggest hits.
WINS IN STATE LEGISLATURES
In Massachusetts, the state legislature sent a new measure to the Governor's desk that would expand vote-by-mail and early voting by giving eligible voters access to cast their ballots before Election Day.
Similarly, Vermont and Delaware have also seen some great wins for vote-by-mail. Vermont will now be joining the elite club of states that will automatically send every voter an absentee ballot, while Delaware will allow every voter to request a ballot for the first time ever.
These are some truly exciting victories for the vote-by-mail movement, and it's important that we take advantage of this momentum to keep pressing for measures that will make voting easier and safer in 2020.
LOSSES IN THE COURTS
Unfortunately, these wins have been offset by some upsetting Court rulings. In a pair of Supreme Court rulings, efforts to make vote-by-mail easier in Texas and Alabama were hamstrung by the conservative bench; undercutting efforts to allow fear of contracting COVID-19 from being considered a legitimate reason for requesting an absentee ballot.
We’re seeing the results of 3.5 years of Trump and Mitch McConnell packing the federal courts with right-wing judges, and shows us the importance of building a grassroots movement to expand vote-by-mail this year; since clearly we can’t rely on the courts for protection!
MORE THREATS… FROM THE EXECUTIVE
And in the final, unfortunate, trend of our democracy, we have more lies and threats about vote-by-mail from our vote suppressor in chief, Donald Trump.
While many Republicans, including Trump and his top officials, all safely take advantage of vote-by-mail, Trump and Attorney General Barr are continuing their vocal press about non-existent dangers to absentee voting. Their real concern is that by letting more people vote safely, they will find it harder to win elections, but they are keeping up a steady stream of misinformation in order to feed their base and provide flimsy excuses for voter suppression.
Well we’re not about to let them get away with it. It can be overwhelming these days -- the flood of news and scandals and distractions -- which is another reason why we want to keep things simple:
Voting should be safe and easy. If you donate $25 to Vote From Home 2020, we’ll send mail-in ballot applications to targeted “dual-risk” voters in swing states, and then follow up with calls and texts to ensure that they are returned.
No matter what comes down the pipeline next, we are staying laser-focused on our mission and ensuring that we expand vote-by-mail this year so that we can vote Trump and his whole team of cronies out of office.
As always, thanks for being in this with us. Let’s make it happen.
Best,
Ben
Co-Founder, Vote From Home 2020
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