This Week in the Fight to Vote • November 2 – 8
By Chris deLaubenfels, Director of Policy and Communications, Let America Vote
Flipping awesome: Virginia goes blue
On Tuesday, Virginia voters flipped both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly! With control of the House of Delegates, Senate, and governorship, Virginia will now be able to implement measures to improve access to the ballot and promote free and fair elections. Virginians will also be protected from the GOP’s extreme partisan gerrymandering, meaning they will be able to vote under fair maps for the next decade.
We are thrilled that 19 (and counting) of our endorsed candidates won their races. Virginia is where Let America Vote got its start in 2017, and we have knocked on doors and supported voting rights champions in order to elect voting rights champions. We are excited to see those politicians enact voter friendly policies.
Other big election night wins
Democrat Andy Beshear will be Kentucky’s next governor (although Gov. Matt Bevin continues to be a sore loser). Beshear’s win is a major victory for voting rights and a rebuke to Bevin’s voter suppression tactics. Kentucky voters have experienced some of the worst disenfranchisement in the country, from lifetime voting bans for felons to across-the-board voter purges, but they have now elected a voting rights champion in Governor-elect Beshear. We were proud to support his campaign and we know he will fight for fair, free and accessible elections for everyone in the Bluegrass State.
Two other Let America Vote Board of Advisors members were re-elected on Tuesday. Mayor Joyce Craig was re-elected in Manchester, NH and Rep. Jeramey Anderson was re-elected to the Mississippi State House or Representatives. Voters in both New Hampshire and Mississippi have experienced attacks on their right to vote from Republican politicians. Mayor Craig and Rep. Anderson are strong voting rights champions and Let America Vote will continue to support their fight to make elections more free, fair and accessible.
Vetoing voter suppression in North Carolina
On Wednesday, North Carolina Democratic Governor Roy Cooper vetoed a bill purportedly aimed at preventing non-citizens from voting, but really was about voter suppression. North Carolina already prevents non-citizens from voting and Cooper stated that the bill “creates a high risk of voter harassment and intimidation and could discourage citizens from voting.” As a reminder, GOP claim of widespread voter fraud and non-citizen voting is a myth and bills aimed at this fake problem are just ways to make it harder to vote.
Election reform on the horizon in Arizona?
A sweeping ballot initiative that would make Arizona elections more accessible was proposed last Friday. Among other pro-democracy policies, the proposed ballot initiative would establish automatic voter registration, same-day voter registration, and create in-person polling places on Native American tribal lands. The proposed initiative needs 238,000 signatures by July 2 to go on the November 2020 ballot. The ballot initiative would make voting easier. If you live in Arizona, please help with proposed initiative!