FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Rachel Barnhart
National Media Strategist, RepresentUs
rbarnhart@represent.us
(413) 333-5656
- Ten states are not acting to keep voters safe in the pandemic and beyond.
- RepresentUs is waging a bipartisan national campaign to make voting at home available in all 50 states.
- Our interactive tool connects voters to an absentee ballot.
- RepresentUs is hosting a virtual roundtable series with experts to discuss voting at home.
FLORENCE, MASS. (March 30, 2020): RepresentUs has a message for “The Trailing 10” states that have so far refused to expand voting at home: hurry up!
Here is a list of those 10 states:
- Connecticut
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New Hampshire
- New York
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on primaries and threatens the integrity of the November general election. As a result, some states are moving quickly to provide vote at home options to keep us safe in a pandemic while protecting democracy — but too many have yet to act.
Voting at home is the default in five states. In the others, most voters have to request an absentee ballot. And in 17 states voters must provide an excuse to get an absentee ballot. (Check out our frequently updated interactive map and tool that connects voters to an absentee ballot in their state.)
Four states — Alabama, Delaware, Indiana, and West Virginia — have made temporary exceptions to increase vote at home options due to COVID, and three more have broadened absentee voting for some upcoming elections below the statewide level: Arkansas, Massachusetts, and Virginia (where a permanent expansion is expected to be signed into law soon.)
That leaves The Trailing 10 states that have yet to expand safe voting options in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.
“The Trailing 10 states need to get going. Expanding voting at home takes time and resources,” said Josh Silver, Co-Founder and Director of RepresentUs. “State should not make people choose between their health and exercising their right to vote.”
RepresentUs urges states to immediately put to use their portion of the $400 million approved by Congress to expand vote at home options and early voting, and improve safety measures. We recognize all states may need more funding, as The Brennan Center estimates we need $2 billion to run free and fair elections in the wake of the pandemic. Congress should provide more funding so that states can fully implement these solutions.
RepresentUs volunteers have made more than 6,000 calls to state and federal officials to ask for safe Vote at Home options. They also texted more than 38,000 voters. The RepresentUs petition calling for voting at home has more than 20,000 signatures.
Silver is available for phone or video interviews about RepresentUs’ campaign to expand voting at home.
Unrig Roundtable
Unrig Spotlight is proud to present a free, virtual, Unrig Roundtable series to engage Americans on these vital issues, while we’re all stuck at home. Unrig Roundtable will explore ways to support the movement throughout the coronavirus crisis, learn new tools and strategies to continue to defend our democracy, and most importantly, stay connected to one another and this important work. We’ll hear conversations from political experts and democracy reform leaders and end with an interactive Q&A session.
In light of the pressing need for expanded Vote at Home options — and the growing momentum behind it — Unrig Roundtable will kick off with Vote at Home experts Michael Steele, former Lt. Gov. of Maryland and Chairman of U.S. Vote Foundation, Jena Griswold, Colorado Secretary of State, and Kim Wyman, Washington Secretary of State. The discussion will be moderated by Josh Silver.
The first session is Thursday, April 2 at 1 pm ET / 10 am PT. Details on the series can be found 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.