John, voters will face unprecedented obstacles to the ballot box this year. I need your help to fight back.
Since we launched our Protect the Vote 2022 campaign – our urgent response to GOP-led voter suppression laws and anti-democracy disinformation – I’ve heard from thousands of Common Cause members asking what they can do to help.
I’m inspired to see how many committed individuals are willing to fight back against a worrying – and rising – tide of far-right authoritarianism.
Right now, we need to ramp up our volunteer training infrastructure – beyond even the scale of our historic mobilization in 2020. We’ve simply never seen this many people volunteer so early in the election cycle, and I want to make sure we find a place for each and every one of them.
But here’s the problem: training volunteers across many states, each with a different set of election rules, is a hugely complex undertaking. Then, as voting laws change, our work must also change – all while our team remains hyper-vigilant to oppose any last-minute efforts to suppress voters.
Altogether, our team has told me that each additional volunteer we field costs us $50 – between training, placement, infrastructure, and support during primaries, early voting, and Election Day.
Even though this is a midterm and not a presidential election, I’m growing increasingly convinced that we’ll need more volunteers than ever before to contend with the unprecedented threats that voters will face this year.
Don’t believe me? Just look at what happened during Texas’ primary election in March – where the impacts of the state’s newly passed voter suppression law were nothing short of stunning.
An Associated Press analysis found that tens of thousands of mail-in ballots were tossed out entirely as voters struggled to comply with new, needlessly strict, and confusing ID requirements.
In Harris County, the most populous in the state, a shocking 19% of mail ballots were discarded, compared to just 0.3% in 2018 – most of them, according to election officials, due to simple clerical errors. [1]
Think about what that means: thousands of Texans who tried their best to do their civic duty and have a voice in their government were told that their voices didn’t matter.
And unfortunately, that is precisely the goal for the extremist politicians behind laws like Texas’: stoke fear and division by pointing to conspiracy theories, then act on them by taking away voters’ real rights – all in a shameful effort to validate Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 election.
Our volunteers spent the weeks before Election Day reaching out to thousands of voters, making sure that they knew how to comply with a law that was designed to trip them up and rob them of their voice. But clearly, we need to do more – and quickly.
Cutbacks to mail-in voting also force more people to vote in person, which creates the risk of overwhelmed polling places. In that chaotic situation, one of our Protect the Vote volunteers is often the difference-maker between someone casting a ballot that counts – or going home in frustration.
John, we’ve all seen the long lines, machine breakdowns, and even direct attempts to intimidate voters. But I want you to know that our Protect the Vote 2022 volunteers make a huge difference for voters as they face these challenges.
That’s why I’m so glad that new volunteers are signing up by the day. Now, it’s time for you and me to match their dedication – and make sure they get the training, equipment, and support they need.
Remember, just $50 will allow us to place one additional volunteer this year – through the primaries, early voting, and Election Day. It’s one of the smartest investments you can make in defense of our democracy right now, and by doing so early, your action will go even further.
Our democracy is on the line – can I count on you? Please act now to sponsor a volunteer and help protect voters across the country >>
John, every day I am impressed and touched by how many ordinary folks like you and me are coming forward to recommit to our democracy – and donate their time and effort to protect their fellow voters.
I hope you will join me and sponsor a volunteer today to ensure that their efforts do not go to waste.
Thank you,
Sylvia Albert, Director of Voting and Elections
and the team at Common Cause
1) https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-elections-texas-voting-only-on-ap-45ba51fe9dd951a0f82015bd6bd9ff41
