Thursday, US Senator Kamala Harris introduced legislation to provide nationwide early voting and improve the safety of polling places. The bill, known as the VoteSafe Act, would:
- Authorize $5 billion to expand vote-by-mail and early voting and to improve the safety and accessibility of polling places during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Require states to permit no-excuse mail-in absentee voting.
- Require states to maintain an early voting period of at least 20 days.
- Provide grants for states to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of polling places
Organizations such as NALEO Educational Fund, National Disability Rights Network, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) whose Senior Legislative Counsel for National Political Advocacy Department, Sonia Gill, said,
“We have seen nationwide in postponed or chaotic primaries, states are either unprepared or, sadly, unwilling to address COVID-19’s impact on our elections. he images of voters waiting in rain and hail in the midst of the current public health crisis just to be able to vote, and reports of absentee voters who did not receive their ballots in time, are antithetical to American democratic values.”
She added. “We need baseline federal standards to ensure the safety of both the public and our democracy, and the necessary funding to give states the flexibility to meet the needs of their voters…This legislation helps ensure voters are not forced to choose between casting their ballots and protecting their health.”
Senator Harris said even prior to COVID-19, voting has not necessarily been an easy process for some.
“Even before the pandemic, Native Americans, Black and Latinx voters, and voters with disabilities too often faced long lines, inaccessible voting locations, and outright hostility by election officials,” said Harris,
“So many have marched, protested, fought and died for the fundamental right to vote, yet that right is under attack.”
Harris is calling for voting by mail on a national level. Currently, it is if left up to the states to decide, five of which already hold elections entirely by mail: Oregon, Washington, Hawaii, Utah and Colorado.
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