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 Шерил Клайберн Кроуфорд, исполнительный директор 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 Бет Хуан, директор Массачусетского избирательного стола, 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 Патрисия Комфорт, исполнительный директор Лиги женщин-избирательниц Массачусетса. “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 Джанет Домениц, исполнительный директор 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:
Common Cause Массачусетс
ACLU of Massachusetts
МАССПИРГ
МассовоеГОЛОСОВАНИЕ
League of Women Voters of Massachusetts
Таблица избирателей Массачусетса
Юристы по гражданским правам
1199SEIU Massachusetts
Действия за справедливость
Alternatives for Community and Environment
American Federation of Teachers-MA
Американское обещание
Восстаньте за социальную справедливость
Berkshire Democratic Brigades
Black Directors’ Network
Black Economic Justistic Institute
Черный министерский альянс Большого Бостона, Inc.
Boston Democratic Socialists of America
Бостонская коалиция десяти пунктов
Проект Бостон Удзима
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
Городская миссия, Inc.
Clean Water Action MA
Coaltion for Social Justice
Площадь Кодмана NDC
Фонд Закона об охране природы
Criminal Justice Reform Task Force of Congregation Dorshei Tzedek
Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative – DSNI
End Mass Incarceration Together
Экологическая лига Массачусетса
Equal Citizens
ForwardMA
Four Freedoms Coalition
Округ Франклин продолжает политическую революцию
Ассоциация соседей Гаррисон Троттер
Generation Citizen Massachusetts
Большой Бостонский центр сострадания Назарянина.
Секция Большого Бостона — Национальный совет негритянских женщин
Неделимая Мартас-Винъярд
Неделимое Нортгемптон
Неделимая внешняя накидка
iVOTE
Jetpac
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action
Совет по связям с еврейской общиной Большого Бостона
La Comunidad, Inc
Lift+Every+Vote
MA Association of Community Development Corporations
MAPS-Massachusetts Alliance of Portugaspeakers
March For Our Lives: Massachusetts
Массовый альянс арендаторов HUD
Mass Communities Action Network
Равенство масс
Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance
Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition
Институт реформы законодательства Массачусетса
Движение за мир в Массачусетсе
Коалиция цветных женщин Массачусетса
Mental Health Legal Advisors Committee
MITголосование
NAACP-Бостонское отделение
National Association of Social Workers, MA Chapter
Сосед соседу Массачусетс
New England United for Justice
Следующая Корпорация Развития Лидерства
Голосование за некоммерческие организации
PHENOM
Planned Parenthood
Баптистская церковь Плезант-Хилл
Великая ложа Массачусетса «Принц Холл»
Прогрессивные демократы Массачусетса
Progressive For Democracy in America
Прогрессивный Массачусетс
Проект ПРАВИЛЬНЫЙ
Совет поставщиков услуг - CareVote
Куинси Женева New Vision CDC
Растет расовая справедливость
Верните нам демократию
Right to the City Boston
Рози Плейс
Sierra Club Massachusetts Chapter
Институт малых планет
Somerville Democratic City Committee
Sunrise Movement Boston
The Equal Democracy Project at Harvard Law School
Проект «Реальная стоимость тюрем»
Женский трубопровод для перемен
Toxics Action Center
Проект «Трансформирующая культура»
Союз районов проживания меньшинств
Массовое действие унитаристов-универсалистов
Voter Choice for Massachusetts 2020
Вустер Межконфессиональный
Молодые демократы Массачусетса
YWCA Cambridge
YWCA Молден
YWCA Юго-Восточный Массачусетс

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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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