Demand Congress Provide $4B in Election Assistance Funding
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Over 50 progressive organizations are calling on Congress to appropriate $4 billion to states and territories to boost mail-in voting efforts in the midst of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The letter is below or can be found here.
In the midst of our ongoing national crisis, in addition to providing the American people with continued economic and health care support, it is now critical that Congress take swift action to ensure that every American can exercise their right to vote this November.
While Congress has already allocated $400 million in election assistance funding to the states, that sum is simply not enough to ensure that our elections are secure and that voting is accessible to all who are eligible. Additional funding is needed now so that election officials across the country have time to make critical adjustments before Election Day.
For that reason, we demand that Congress immediately pass legislation to provide states and territories with $4 billion to:
- Expand vote-by-mail options, including no-excuse absentee voting, so that states can offer every registered voter the ability to vote by mail if they choose to do so;
- Extend in-person early voting to reduce long lines and to ensure that Americans have multiple weeks to cast their ballots;
- Ensure safe, accessible polling places, especially for voters without easy access to mail-in voting;
- Expand online and same-day voter registration in all states and to all voters; and
- Educate voters about their voting options this November.
While these reforms can and must be implemented by the states, Congress has an obligation to safeguard the integrity of our elections by setting national voting rights standards and providing state officials with urgent financial support so that they can institute these common-sense reforms while there is still time.
None of us know how long this pandemic will last. Failing to provide states with this necessary funding puts the November election and the rights of every voter at risk.
We implore you to immediately come together to ensure that every eligible American has access to the ballot and our democracy does not become another casualty of this crisis.
