FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rachel Barnhart: National Media Strategist
rbarnhart@represent.us / (413) 333-5656
- Demand for absentee ballots is high because of the pandemic.
- The interactive tool walks voters through applying, sending, and tracking their absentee ballots.
- Some states still require an excuse to vote by mail.
- Find out which states won’t accept ballots after Election Day.
FLORENCE, MASS. (August 12, 2020): With so much confusion and disinformation, RepresentUs has launched a nonpartisan resource for all Americans to know how to cast their ballots by mail. The interactive online tool walks voters in every state through voting by absentee ballot, including application and mail-in deadlines.
“Demand for absentee ballots is high during the pandemic. This resource gives voters the unbiased information they need to vote safely,” said RepresentUs Co-founder and CEO Josh Silver.
The state-by-state scorecard reveals the following about the status of Vote by Mail in the U.S.:
Eight states still require an excuse to vote by mail.
RepresentUs is leading a campaign encouraging states to expand vote-by-mail options to all voters this November, so voters do not have to choose between their health and exercising the right to vote.
Yet there are eight states - Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas - that still require voters to provide an excuse to obtain an absentee ballot.
“These eight states should quickly allow voters to get an absentee ballot for any reason, so they can vote in the safety and security of their homes if they so choose,” said Silver.
Thirty-two states require absentee ballots to be received by Election Day.
A majority of states require absentee ballots to be received by Election Day. Some states permit them to be dropped off in person or in dropboxes. Most voters, however, will mail their ballots using the United States Postal Service (USPS).
RepresentUs members across the country are concerned about alarming changes to the USPS that could slow down mail delivery, such as banning employees from working overtime and making extra trips. Already this year, tens of thousands of primary ballots were rejected because they arrived too late to be counted. That’s why it’s so important that every voter has the tools and information they need to have their ballot counted on time this November.
The Vote By Mail Resource launched today shares deadlines and suggests voters mail their ballots early.
“The USPS and the right to vote are sacred institutions,” said Silver. “We need the Postmaster General to stop undermining the agency and threatening the right of Americans’ votes to be counted.”
Eleven states require a witness, photo ID, or notary for absentee ballot submission.
Eleven states require absentee ballots to be witnessed or notarized or require voters to enclose a copy of their identification. The states with one or more of these requirements are Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
This can be onerous for voters, especially during a pandemic when contact with other people is supposed to be limited. Voters may also not have access to printers or copiers. This resource is being released to ensure all voters know the requirements well in advance so they can plan ahead and make sure their vote is counted. The safety of our elections is paramount.
RepresentUs is working to protect our elections.
RepresentUs, a nonpartisan organization, is working to protect November’s election by urging Congress to fund safe and secure elections, demanding that states expand no-excuse mail-in voting, and working to ensure safe and accessible polling places.
RepresentUs is also supporting at least seven anti-corruption and pro-democracy reform campaigns across the country in 2020 in states including Massachusetts, Alaska, Virginia, and Missouri. RepresentUs and its ally organizations have won more than 120 political reform victories across the nation over the past three and a half years.
View the Vote by Mail Resource here.
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RepresentUs is the nation’s largest grassroots anti-corruption campaign, bringing together conservatives, progressives, and everyone in between to pass anti-corruption laws in cities and states to stop political bribery, end secret money, and fix our broken elections.