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WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK

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These recent months have been uncertain, stressful, frustrating in many aspects. Yet you persevere. Through pandemic, through civil unrest, through an unprecedented assault on our election system, you persevere. THANK YOU. Because of your commitment, your work, your action, True the Vote stands strong. Yes we face a challenge unlike any other ahead of Election Day. But we are going to meet that challenge. I firmly believe that each of you will stand up, you will get your friends, family, and neighbors involved, and you will help fill the gap at our polling places and in our mail in ballot verification committees. We can’t do this without you. So please, if you haven’t already, I urge you to visit our CALL YOUR COUNTY web page, and help us build the information that our volunteer network needs to know where they can best serve. Your help is critical. I cannot thank you enough for your support, your service, and your patriotism. I look forward to continuing to partner with you all in our worthy effort to keep our elections free, fair, and secure.

Onward,
Catherine

NEWS TO KNOW

1. Election Experts Warn of November Disaster. Millions of voters turned to mail-in ballots as a safe alternative to voting in person during the pandemic-riddled primary. But in states such as Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and in the District of Columbia, thousands of voters requested absentee ballots from local election officials and never received them. States were unprepared for the record numbers of absentee ballot requests, said Hannah Fried, national campaign director of All Voting is Local, a project of the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Leadership Conference Education Fund that helps register people of color and young people. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2020/07/08/election-experts-warn-of-november-disaster

2. Vermont Governor Allows Vote-By-Mail Bill to Become Law. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said Thursday he's allowing a bill to allow mail in voting during the November presidential to become law without his signature. Under the new law all voters will receive ballots in the mail and they can return them by mail, take them to their local town or city clerk or bring the ballot to their polling place on Election Day. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/vermont/articles/2020-07-02/4-burlington-bars-warned-for-not-following-covid-rules

3. High-stakes lawsuits could shape who votes and how ballots are counted in November. The latest salvo landed this week when the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee filed a federal lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania’s use of mail ballot drop boxes, its procedures for counting mail ballots, and restrictions on poll watchers. It marked a shift, with the GOP on offense in the state for the first time this election cycle instead of defending against Democratic and progressive groups’ legal challenges. https://www.inquirer.com/politics/election/pennsylvania-2020-election-voting-lawsuits-20200704.html