President of the League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area weighs in on voting rights

Suzanne Brock

Guest Columnist

Published Feb. 13, 2022 

The headline of the letter by William Skinner from Venice, Florida, “Voting rights bill a radical piece of legislation” (Feb. 7) certainly got our attention. Mr. Skinner refers to information he got from Imprimis, Hillsdale College newsletter (Oct. 2021, Vol. 50 No. 10). Unfortunately, Mr. Skinner only chose to use some of the information presented, which is what has been happening a lot lately when presenting arguments.

Sometimes what is left out is just as important as what is presented. For instance, Mr. Skinner underpins his argument in favor of Voter IDs with the findings of the 2005 Commission on Federal Election Reform. This commission came out with its recommendations after only two limited hearings and no call for public comment. Last year, members of this commission, Jimmy Carter among them, came out to disavow that commission’s work.

The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to the protection of voting rights. For democracy to work for all, access to fair, unrestricted voting for all citizens is imperative. Imposing burdensome and unnecessary voter identification requirements is a significant assault on voting rights, which disproportionately affect voters of color, young voters, voters with disabilities, as well as veterans serving outside of the US.

The LWV of the Cape Cod Area is especially appreciative that the state of Massachusetts is forward-thinking in its voter laws. Massachusetts only requires voter identification when you vote for the first time or have been an inactive voter.

The discussion encouraging increased voter identification has become more vociferous due to the excessive misinformation about voter fraud that surrounded the 2020 presidential election. Multiple studies and investigations have indicated that there was no significant fraud. The flagrant attempts to limit voting rights for huge segments of the national population suggest that legislation such as the VOTES Act is more necessary than ever.

The League celebrates that the Massachusetts State Legislature is now in the process of hammering out in conference committee the VOTES Act. The final bill will bring strong voting reforms to Massachusetts, including unrestricted voting by mail and expanded early voting. As recommended by our Secretary of the Commonwealth, the LWV is in favor of same-day voter registration, which passed the state Senate but not the House of Representatives. We urge citizens to contact their state representatives and ask them to support same-day voter registration in the conference committee version.

Suzanne Brock is the president of the League of Women Voters of the Cape Cod Area.

LINK

Massachusetts Senate passes ‘groundbreaking’ voting reforms

 

BOSTONHERALD.COM

Massachusetts Senate passes ‘groundbreaking’ voting reforms

State senators passed a “groundbreaking” package of voting reforms — including making mail-in voting permanent, expanding early voting access and introducing same-day registration — bringing the state one step closer to enshrining pandemic-era expansions in voter access into state law.

“The overarching goal of this legislation is to move our election system into the modern era and make sure that every voter can exercise their fundamental right to vote,” Sen. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, said introducing the bill on the Senate floor on Wednesday.

Finegold, co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Election Laws, called the so-called “VOTES” Act a “massive step in the right direction” that builds upon progress in voter access expansion made amid the pandemic.

Senators passed the bill 36-3 in a party-line vote with Sens. Bruce Tarr, Ryan Fattman and Patrick O’Connor against.

The bill aims to make permanent no excuses universal mail-in voting and guarantees two weeks of early voting for general elections and one week of early voting for primaries. It introduces same-day registration for new voters looking to cast a ballot on Election Day or any early voting day, which is already policy in 20 states plus Washington, D.C., including neighboring New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine and Vermont.

The bill also spells out a plan to boost ballot access for eligible incarcerated voters and people with disabilities.

The Senate bill also permanently empowers local clerks to pre-process mail-in ballots, which will allow election officials to open up ballot envelopes and verify voters’ signatures well in advance of Election Day to avoid reporting delays seen in some regions in the 2020 election.

Gov. Charlie Baker has said he would support permanent mail-in voting, but the Republican governor has been less inviting on same-day voter registration.

Opponents criticized the state Senate’s “rush” to push through the “controversial” reforms.

“They want this to help them in Democratic primaries. There is no good reason why something this momentous and controversial needs to be rushed without support from both parties and without buy-in from groups with differing ideological viewpoints,” Paul Diego Craney of the right-leaning Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance said.

The House in June passed a bill making the pandemic vote-by-mail option permanent, but Speaker Ronald Mariano, D-Quincy, said the chamber would need a new bill to counter the Senate’s reform package. He didn’t let much slip on what that might include during a Monday conversation with reporters.

House Ways and Means Chairman Aaron Michlewitz has said the bill would cost taxpayers up to $3 million a year to pay for stamps to mail ballot applications and ballots.

Proponents argue the cost is justified as voters have embraced mail-in voting. Nearly 42% of the record 3.6 million ballots cast in the 2020 general election were mail-in ballots — more than the number of votes cast in person early or on Election Day.