Voting rights organizations including Common Cause Massachusetts, MassVOTE, the League of Women Voters, and the ACLU of Massachusetts testified before the Joint Committee on Election Laws today in support of HD 5075, An Act Ensuring Safe and Participatory 2020 State Elections in Response to COVID-19. They called for the Committee to act quickly to support the bill.

HD 5075 – filed by Representatives Michael Moran and John Lawn – has been endorsed by over 100 organizations in Massachusetts, as of Thursday afternoon. More endorsements are pending.

During the hearing, supporters of HD.5075 testified that the bill will help ensure safe, participatory, and accessible elections during COVID-19, and also help protect the ability of local elections officials to manage a transition to a primarily vote-by-mail election. With the September elections only three months away and general elections, five, the advocates argued that in order for Massachusetts elections infrastructure to be able to handle the necessary changes, the committee and State House must act quickly.

“We support this bill because it is based on evidence and best practices from other states,” says Pam Wilmot of Common Cause Massachusetts. “It is comprehensive, and includes reforms that consider the needs of voters, but also of local elections officials who no matter what happens will be faced with a surge of absentee ballots and very different elections than in years past. One clear lesson learned from other states is that the necessary reforms will take all the time we have to implement, which is why we urge the Joint Committee on Election Laws to act quickly to move this critical bill.”

“Elections matter,” says Rahsaan Hall, racial justice program director at the ACLU of Massachusetts. “And this particular election will not only be impacted by COVID-19, but its results will determine the leaders who will govern as our country rebuilds. We need to take immediate, aggressive action to protect and facilitate the vote this fall – by mail, in person, and in safety – in order to safeguard the ballot for everyone and avoid exacerbating systemic inequalities that particularly impact communities of color.”

Says Cheryl Clyburn Crawford, Executive Director of MassVOTE, “Through our testimony, we strived to make one thing clear: HD.5075 is the best chance Massachusetts has to adequately brace our elections for COVID19. This includes vote-by-mail; this includes expanded early voting; this includes personal protective equipment for poll workers. We know what needs to be done, so let’s do it.”

“Every voter deserves to cast a vote safely. We will work hard to ensure that voters with limited English proficiency can access multilingual materials for voting from the safety of their homes, as required by this bill,” says Beth Huang, η Διευθύντρια του πίνακα ψηφοφόρων της Μασαχουσέτης, ένας συνασπισμός κοινοτικών οργανώσεων.

“It is critical that our fall elections are carried out in a way that assures voters and election workers can participate safely and that affirms the public’s trust in the outcome,” says Patricia Comfort, εκτελεστική διευθύντρια, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts. “There is going to be a large increase in absentee ballots. We must make sure they can be handled in a way that does not cause massive disruption. Sending voters a ballot before the November election without requiring an application will help tremendously.”

“As the saying goes, in crisis there is danger and there is opportunity. This bill seizes an opportunity to make our elections fairer and safer in 2020,” says Janet Domenitz, Εκτελεστική Διευθύντρια της MASSPIRG.

“HD5070 lays out a clear path forward to safely enable the voters of the Commonwealth, particularly those most disenfranchised by barriers to voting, to fully participate in our democracy despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 health crisis,” says Sophia Hall, Supervising Attorney at Lawyers for Civil Rights Boston.

Organizations endorsing HD 5075 include:
Κοινή αιτία Μασαχουσέτη
ACLU of Massachusetts
MASSPIRG
Μαζική ΨΗΦΟΣ
League of Women Voters of Massachusetts
Πίνακας ψηφοφόρων της Μασαχουσέτης
Δικηγόροι για τα Αστικά Δικαιώματα
1199SEIU Massachusetts
Δράση για Ίδια Κεφάλαια
Alternatives for Community and Environment
American Federation of Teachers-MA
Αμερικανική υπόσχεση
Ξύπνα για Κοινωνική Δικαιοσύνη
Berkshire Democratic Brigades
Black Directors’ Network
Black Economic Justistic Institute
Η Μαύρη Υπουργική Συμμαχία της Μεγάλης Βοστώνης, Inc.
Boston Democratic Socialists of America
Boston Ten Point Coalition
Boston Ujima Project
Burlington Democratic Town Committee
Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association of Greater Lowell, Inc.
Cambridge Area Stronger Together (CAST)
Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice
Chilmark Democratic Town Committee
City Life Vida Urbana
City Mission, Inc.
Clean Water Action MA
Coaltion for Social Justice
Codman Square NDC
Ίδρυμα Δικαίου Διατήρησης
Criminal Justice Reform Task Force of Congregation Dorshei Tzedek
Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative – DSNI
End Mass Incarceration Together
Environmental League of Massachusetts
Ίσοι Πολίτες
ForwardMA
Four Freedoms Coalition
Η Κομητεία Φράνκλιν Συνεχίζοντας την Πολιτική Επανάσταση
Σύλλογος γειτονιάς Garrison Trotter
Generation Citizen Massachusetts
Greater Boston Nazarene Compassionate Center Inc.
Greater Boston Section-National Council of Negro Women
Αδιαίρετο Martha's Vineyard
Αδιαίρετο Νορθάμπτον
Αδιαίρετο εξωτερικό ακρωτήριο
iVOTE
Jetpac
Εβραϊκή Συμμαχία για το Δίκαιο και την Κοινωνική Δράση
Συμβούλιο Σχέσεων της Εβραϊκής Κοινότητας της Μεγάλης Βοστώνης
La Comunidad, Inc
Lift+Every+Vote
MA Association of Community Development Corporations
ΧΑΡΤΕΣ-Συμμαχία των Πορτογάλων Ομιλητών της Μασαχουσέτης
March For Our Lives: Massachusetts
Μαζική Συμμαχία Ενοικιαστών HUD
Mass Communities Action Network
Ισότητα Μαζών
Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Ινστιτούτο Νομικής Μεταρρύθμισης της Μασαχουσέτης
Ειρηνευτική Δράση Μασαχουσέτης
Συνασπισμός Women of Color της Μασαχουσέτης
Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
Ψηφοφορία MIT
NAACP-Παράρτημα Βοστώνης
National Association of Social Workers, MA Chapter
Γείτονας με Γείτονα Μασαχουσέτη
New England United for Justice
Next Leadership Development Corporation
Ψηφοφορία μη κερδοσκοπικού χαρακτήρα
PHENOM
Planned Parenthood
Pleasant Hill Baptist Church
Prince Hall Grand Lodge της Μασαχουσέτης
Προοδευτικοί Δημοκρατικοί της Μασαχουσέτης
Progressive For Democracy in America
Προοδευτική Μασαχουσέτη
Έργο ΣΩΣΤΟ
Συμβούλιο Παρόχων- CareVote
Quincy Geneva New Vision CDC
Αναδύεται η φυλετική δικαιοσύνη
Διεκδικήστε ξανά τη Δημοκρατία μας
Right to the City Boston
Rosie's Place
Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter
Small Planet Institute
Somerville Democratic City Committee
Sunrise Movement Boston
The Equal Democracy Project at Harvard Law School
Έργο The Real Cost of Prisons
Ο αγωγός των γυναικών για την αλλαγή
Toxics Action Center
Project Transformative Culture
Ένωση Μειονοτικών Γειτονιών
Ενωτική Οικουμενική Μαζική Δράση
Voter Choice for Massachusetts 2020
Worcester Interfaith
Νέοι Δημοκρατικοί της Μασαχουσέτης
YWCA Cambridge
YWCA Malden
YWCA Νοτιοανατολική Μασαχουσέτη

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The Election Modernization Coalition is comprised of the ACLU of Massachusetts, Common Cause Massachusetts, the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, MASSPIRG, MassVOTE, and the Massachusetts Voter Table.

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