This Week in the Fight to Vote • October 26 – November 1
By Chris deLaubenfels, Director of Policy and Communications, Let America Vote
BIG ELECTIONS NEXT WEEK
It’s time to get out the vote! There are huge elections taking place next Tuesday in Virginia, Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi. The elections have major implications for voting rights and the fight against gerrymandering. Let America Vote has endorsed candidates in Virginia, Mississippi, and New Hampshire.
In 2017, Virginia Republicans maintained control of the state House with a random drawing because one race ended in a tie. Every. Vote. Counts.
Let America Vote is working hard in Virginia to flip the state blue. If you can help us by volunteering in Virginia, please click here.
Fair maps in North Carolina
Opponents of extreme gerrymandering earned a major victory in North Carolina this week. A three-judge state court panel struck down North Carolina’s congressional map as an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. State court rulings have now ended partisan gerrymandering on both the state and congressional levels in North Carolina. North Carolinians will finally vote under fair maps in 2020. Listen to how gerrymandering was defeated in North Carolina on Slate’s “What Next” podcast.
Georgia voter purge
The Georgia GOP is back at its voter suppressing ways. This week it came out that Georgia is planning to purge 300,000 voters from its voting rolls. Thousands of the voters will be purged simply because they have chosen not to vote in recent elections. This is voter suppression and it is wrong.
Much needed election reforms in Pennsylvania
Huge election reforms are coming to Pennsylvania. The state legislature passed an important bill that makes voting more accessible, with measures including vote-by-mail, an extended 50-day mail-in voting period, a permanent mail-in voter list, and more time to register to vote and submit ballots by mail. The bill also includes funding for election security. The reforms will make elections more fair, free, and secure. We are excited for Gov. Tom Wolf (a Let America Vote board member!) to sign this important legislation into law soon.
Lawsuit in Michigan
On Wednesday, Priorities USA filed a lawsuit challenging Michigan’s checking of voter signatures on absentee ballots. Currently, election clerks must compare a voter’s signature on an absentee ballot with the signature in the state’s qualified voter list. If the clerk believes that the signatures don’t match, they have to reject the absentee ballot application. Marc Elias, Priorities USA’s attorney and Let America Vote board member, contends that this process is unconstitutional because it can disenfranchise voters without due process and equal protection. We need to continue to fight procedures that suppress the vote in all their forms.
This week’s must read
We know that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help the Trump campaign. They are back at it again heading into 2020. Read about how Russia is using Instagram to spread disinformation about the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. We need to secure our elections from foreign interference.