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, directora de la Mesa Electoral de Massachusetts, a coalition of community organizations.

“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, directora ejecutiva de la Liga de Mujeres Votantes de 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, directora ejecutiva de 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:
Causa común Massachusetts
ACLU of Massachusetts
ASPIRACIÓN MASIVA
Voto masivo
League of Women Voters of Massachusetts
Mesa de votantes de Massachusetts
Abogados de derechos civiles
1199SEIU Massachusetts
Acción por la equidad
Alternatives for Community and Environment
American Federation of Teachers-MA
Promesa americana
Levántate por la justicia social
Berkshire Democratic Brigades
Black Directors’ Network
Black Economic Justistic Institute
Alianza Ministerial Negra del Gran Boston, Inc.
Boston Democratic Socialists of America
Coalición de diez puntos de Boston
Proyecto Ujima de Boston
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
Misión de la Ciudad, Inc.
Clean Water Action MA
Coaltion for Social Justice
Centro Nacional de Desarrollo de la Plaza Codman
Fundación para el Derecho de la Conservación
Criminal Justice Reform Task Force of Congregation Dorshei Tzedek
Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative – DSNI
End Mass Incarceration Together
Liga Ambiental de Massachusetts
Ciudadanos iguales
ForwardMA
Four Freedoms Coalition
El condado de Franklin continúa la revolución política
Asociación de vecinos de Garrison Trotter
Generation Citizen Massachusetts
Centro Compasivo Nazareno del Gran Boston Inc.
Sección del Gran Boston - Consejo Nacional de Mujeres Negras
La viña de Martha, indivisible
Northampton indivisible
Capa exterior indivisible
iVOTA
Jetpac
Alianza Judía para el Derecho y la Acción Social
Consejo de relaciones comunitarias judías del área metropolitana de Boston
La Comunidad, Inc
Lift+Every+Vote
MA Association of Community Development Corporations
MAPS-Alianza de hablantes de portugués de Massachusetts
March For Our Lives: Massachusetts
Alianza de Inquilinos de HUD
Mass Communities Action Network
Igualdad de masas
Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Instituto de Reforma Jurídica de Massachusetts
Acción por la paz en Massachusetts
Coalición de Mujeres de Color de Massachusetts
Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
Voto del MIT
Sucursal de Boston de la NAACP
National Association of Social Workers, MA Chapter
De vecino a vecino, Massachusetts
New England United for Justice
Corporación de Desarrollo de Liderazgo Next
Votación sin fines de lucro
PHENOM
Planned Parenthood
Iglesia Bautista Pleasant Hill
Gran Logia Prince Hall de Massachusetts
Demócratas progresistas de Massachusetts
Progressive For Democracy in America
Massachusetts progresista
Proyecto DERECHO
Consejo de proveedores - CareVote
Centro de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) de Nueva Visión de Quincy Ginebra
La justicia racial en ascenso
Recuperemos nuestra democracia
Right to the City Boston
El lugar de Rosie
Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter
Instituto Pequeño Planeta
Somerville Democratic City Committee
Sunrise Movement Boston
The Equal Democracy Project at Harvard Law School
Proyecto El Costo Real de las Prisiones
La vía de las mujeres hacia el cambio
Toxics Action Center
Proyecto de Cultura Transformadora
Unión de Barrios Minoritarios
Acción masiva unitaria universalista
Voter Choice for Massachusetts 2020
Interreligioso de Worcester
Jóvenes demócratas de Massachusetts
YWCA Cambridge
Asociación Cristiana Femenina de Malden
YWCA del sureste de Massachusetts

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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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