WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEK

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I hope you all are keeping cool as this summer heat amps up! For me, this hot Texas weather is a reminder that election season is upon us. The primaries are winding down, and we are about to be fully engaged in preparing for the general election of a presidential year. Buckle up!

At True the Vote HQ, we are keeping busy, working on some exciting things that I hope to share with you in the coming weeks, specifically with regard to our efforts to be as engaged as possible in protecting our election security at the polls in November.

I had the pleasure this week of talking with Newsmax’s Chris Salcedo about the unique times we find ourselves in and what it means for our election process this fall. I hope you’ll take a minute to watch the whole interview HERE >>

Don’t forget to find your county’s election contact on our Call your County page
and help us gather the information that will help voters like yourself learn how they can help with the election process in their own communities. Your work is so appreciated, we could not do this without you!

Onward,
Catherine

NEWS TO KNOW

1. Biden super PAC launches $24 million vote-by-mail effort in battleground states
The largest Democratic super PAC is investing $24 million in a new campaign to encourage Black and Latino voters in key battleground states to vote by mail in November. Priorities USA Chairman Guy Cecil said the advertising campaign aims to drive people to the appropriate websites so that people can request and fill out their absentee ballot forms. The super PAC, which is spending heavily to elect presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, will invest the $24 million in six core battleground states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/507449-biden-super-pac-launches-24-million-vote-by-mail-effort-in-battleground

2. Election Day could turn into "Election Week" with rise in mail ballots
More officials are conceding that Americans likely won’t know the result of the election on Election Day. The latest is former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge who this week said: "We need to be talking about "Election Week," not Election Day. We’ve seen an unprecedented request for absentee ballots and it may take a little longer." Ridge is the co-chair of the new bipartisan group, VoteSafe. This is why True the Vote highly encourages people to vote in person, on Election Day, it is by far the most secure way to vote and ensure your vote is counted rather than lost in the mail!
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/election-day-mail-in-voting-ballots-election-week/

3. Runoff elections show Texas not quite ready for November's main event
Even in Texas where Attorney General Ken Paxton has stood firm against expanding absentee voting, there were problems with the vote by mail process in this week’s primary. According to the Texas Tribune, "some Texans who sought to vote by mail — and submitted their applications on time — indicated they never received their ballots. Some opted instead to vote in person. Others went uncounted. It’s unknown how many were affected. Other voters sent in their mail-in ballots only to have them returned unopened. Some of those reached county elections offices after a second attempt, while others still appeared lost on election night. It’s also unknown how many were affected."
https://www.texastribune.org/2020/07/15/texas-primary-runoff-elections-november/