April, 27 2020, 12:00am EDT
Stand Up America: Senate Should Follow Pelosi's Lead on Vote-By-Mail
Group Demands Congress Provide $4 Billion.
WASHINGTON
After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she will be supporting vote-by-mail provisions in the next COVID-19 response package, Stand Up America Founder and President Sean Eldridge released the following statement:
"Congress is running out of time to ensure that the chaos that happened in Wisconsin doesn't unfold on a national scale come November. That's why we're grateful to Speaker Pelosi for promising to include additional election assistance funding in the next House relief package.
"Democrats in the Senate should follow her lead and use their leverage to ensure states get $4 billion to expand mail-in voting, extend early voting, implement online voter registration nationwide, and protect poll workers. We cannot let Republicans or Democrats in the Senate off the hook until we have a guarantee that sufficient election assistance funding will be included in the final relief package.
"The cost for ensuring that voters can safely cast their ballots this year is $4 billion--and that's a small price for Congress to pay to guarantee Americans' right to vote during this ongoing crisis."
On MSNBC, Speaker Pelosi said "in this next bill, we will be supporting vote-by-mail" to protect the "life of our democracy."
Since March, Stand Up America has demanded that Congress allocate $4 billion in funding to support vote-by-mail measures and other key reforms in states. The group has helped constituents make more than 120,000 calls to their lawmakers in support of election assistance funding.
Stand Up America is a progressive advocacy organization with over two million community members across the country. Focused on grassroots advocacy to strengthen our democracy and oppose Trump's corrupt agenda, Stand Up America has driven over 600,000 phone calls to Congress and mobilized tens of thousands of protestors across the country.
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