Action Alert: Secure our Vote! 

Urge our Senators to provide $3.6 billion for free, fair, safe, and secure elections -- and support the United States Postal Service!

• Senators in AZ, CO, GA, IA, KY, ME, MO, MT, and NC need to hear from their constituents.

COVID-19 presents an unprecedented challenge to our elections and endangers our democracy. No citizen should have to make a choice between their health and their democratic right to vote. The Senate may consider another stimulus package within the next month or more. Low-income and people of color face the biggest barriers to voting. With increasing voter suppression, and the alarming rise of authoritarianism, we face many challenges to ensure democracy and a just society - we must be vigilant and vocal! 

We must urge our senators now to provide at least $3.6 billion in funding for the 2020 elections and protect the United States Postal Service (USPS). A functioning Postal Service is critical for safe vote-by-mail elections.

Description of the issue

In the stimulus package passed in March, Congress included $400 million towards state funding for this year’s elections. It was a start but it’s not enough to ensure that all states can run safe and fair elections. According to election experts, in order to ensure that COVID-19 doesn’t keep millions of people from voting, states and localities will need approximately $3.6 billion of federal funds to administer the elections. Congress needs to provide the funds for online registration, vote-by-mail, early voting and safe in-person voting. 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act (H.R.6800) on May 15 which includes $3.6 billion towards the much-needed funding and provisions to secure our vote -- and health. The HEROES Act also includes necessary funding for the USPS, now under severe threat. With the pandemic driving down mail volume by as much as 50 percent this year, the USPS is on track to run out of money by September 2020.

The Senate majority leader has not scheduled a vote on the HEROES Act. There is no stimulus package currently moving in the Senate that would include funding for states in support of the elections and similarly for the USPS.

Why it’s important

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the coronavirus will remain a threat during our November elections. Millions of Americans with a wide range of political views will avoid going to the polls because it is not safe. We need to make it as easy as we can for them to vote from the safety of their own homes. This is especially true for at-risk populations and those who have transportation difficulties. The $400 million for elections in the CARES Act was a welcome start but is woefully insufficient to cover the cost of preparing all of our states to put in place the needed solutions to keep us safe: voting by mail, early voting, and having easily accessible and safe polling places.

SUGGESTED TALKING POINTS 

• States and localities need adequate federal funds NOW to fund, prepare for and administer the November elections. Millions of citizens will want to protect their health and vote by mail. Funding should also support expanded early voting and online and same-day registration. Polling places will need to be modified to ensure they are safe for voters and poll-workers.

• Support the provisions for state funding for the elections and USPS in the HEROES Act in the next stimulus bill. (The bill includes $3.6 billion; we support $3.6 billion as recommended by election experts.) 

• We should not have to choose between our health and our right to vote. 

• Preserving the Postal Service isn’t a partisan issue. The USPS enjoys overwhelming public support in polling surveys, even in “normal” times. But the value of a strong Postal Service is even greater in this time of crisis. The Postal Service receives NO tax dollars for operating expenses. 

• A functioning Postal Service is critical for safe vote-by-mail elections. The Postal Service is the only organization in the country that has the resources, network infrastructure and logistical capability to regularly deliver to every residential and business address in the nation - and in rural areas!