Cohasset Democratic Town Committee Endorses Universal Vote-By-Mail
In a letter dated May 28, 2020 and sent to Senator Barry Finegold (Senate Chair of the Joint Committee on Election Laws) and Representative John J. Lawn, Jr. (House Chair of the Joint Committee on Election Laws), the Cohasset Democratic Town Committee endorsed universal vote-by-mail and called for election reforms in the wake of COVID-19.
The letter reads as follows:
Dear Senator Finegold and Representative Lawn:
We are reaching out today to ask you to support legislation that ensures every Massachusetts voter has safe and easy access to vote in this year’s elections.
We appreciate your efforts to safeguard our local elections in Massachusetts by passing legislation that allows those sheltering in place due to COVID-19 to cast absentee ballots by mail in elections held on or before June 30, 2020. These are extraordinary times and they call for states to lead by acting courageously, swiftly and effectively to ensure that its citizens can exercise their right to vote without anxiety or fear of contracting or spreading this deadly virus.
Medical experts cannot guarantee that COVID-19 will subside enough to safely vote in person. In fact, Dr. Anthony Fauci stated that, “We will have coronavirus in the fall.” This could suppress voter turnout in this critical election.
Many of our neighbors are scared to come out and vote. They feel forced to make a decision between expressing their democratic right and protecting their lives, and this is a choice no one should have to make. We’ve already seen the devastating effects of COVID-19 on our elections; many voters in Wisconsin never received their requested absentee ballots and others either stayed away from the polls or left before voting to avoid long lines and unsafe conditions.
This is voter suppression and we can not allow it to erode our democratic process.
Since the stakes are so high, we ask that you support and promote legislation that includes, but is not limited to, the following:
Universal Vote-by-Mail: Proactively mail ballots to all registered voters for both the September 1 primary election and the November 3 general election. For the primary, every voter registered with a political party would automatically receive their party’s primary ballot; unenrolled voters may request a primary ballot for any political party. For the general, every registered voter would receive a ballot. This ensures that no voter is unable to vote due to barriers that make it difficult or impossible to request a ballot individually.
Five states already have universal vote-by-mail (Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah); not only did the introduction of vote-by-mail increase voter turnout, but it reduced costs over time and has not been shown to increase voter fraud.
Since this is a new voting process in Massachusetts, the Secretary of the Commonwealth should provide the needed public education to dispel any confusion which might keep a citizen from voting.
Early Voting: Extend the period for early voting for both the September 1 primary election and November 3 general election, to reduce large numbers of voters showing up at the polls during a short period of time.
In-Person Voting: Provide sufficient funding to train and protect poll workers, including providing them with adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and mandating that in-person voting take place with the appropriate social distancing and safety precautions.
Election Day Registration: Since in-person voter registration is not feasible due to social distancing requirements, allow election-day registration. At the very least, reduce the registration cut-off from 20 to 10 days prior to the election.
Given the short timeframe between now and the primary election, and the logistics of implementing this necessary process in all towns across the Commonwealth, we implore you to act on this legislation quickly. Delaying this matter puts significant burden on our towns and jeopardizes our ability to implement this process effectively.
Our Democratic Town Committee is committed to supporting these measures so that our residents can cast their ballots without fear for their health and safety. No American should have to face the choice that Wisconsin voters were forced to make between their franchise and their lives.
Sincerely
Meg Wheeler, Chair
Cohasset Democratic Town Committee
CC:
Governor Charlie Baker
Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito
Secretary Wiliam Galvin
Senate President Karen Spilka
House Speaker Robert DeLeo
Senator Patrick O’Connor
Representative Joan Meschino