Monday, August 10, 2020

Mail-in ballots have been getting rejected at a frightening rate

A brand-new poll shows that 50% of young voters—a crucial Democratic constituency—say they don't have the resources or knowledge they need to vote by mail in November.

Dear MoveOn member,

In recent primary elections, mail-in ballots have been getting rejected at shockingly high rates.1 In one New York election, nearly one in five mail ballots may be thrown out.2

This is setting off alarm bells for November. 

Election experts predict that up to 70% of all ballots cast in November's election could be cast by mail.3 But here's the catch: The majority of voters who plan to vote by mail in this election are Democrats, with only one in five Republicans planning to do the same.4

This is a train wreck waiting to happen. If enough Democratic mail-in ballots in battleground states are tossed out, that could be enough to tip the election and hand Trump a second term. 

That's why we're creating ads that will provide voters the information they need to properly and safely vote this year. We have big plans to target these ads to young voters, voters of color, and first-time voters in 10 critical battleground states, but we need your help to get them up and running.

Will you chip in $3 a week to help fund these ads and ensure voters have the information they need to vote safely and securely this November? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.) 

Count me in.

No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.

Making things worse is a brand-new poll showing that 50% of young voters—a crucial Democratic constituency—say they don't have the resources or knowledge they need to vote by mail in November.5

Mar, we MUST do everything in our power to ensure every single voter has what they need to vote safely and securely this November.

Mail-in ballots can be rejected for various reasons. The most common reason they're tossed out is because ballots are returned after the deadline. But tens of thousands of ballots are discarded for other reasons: Sometimes, voters forget to sign their ballots, and other times a voter's signature doesn't exactly match the voter's signature on file. 

Election data show that the ballots of young people and people of color—both of whom are pivotal Democratic constituencies—are being rejected at disproportionately high rates.6

To make things worse, the Trump administration is purposely sabotaging the U.S. Postal Service in an effort to interfere with the election. 

Trump has installed a lackey, Louis DeJoy, as the new postmaster general, and he is working to destroy the post office from within. A leaked memo shows that at a time when the Postal Service is already strapped because of the coronavirus, DeJoy is cancelling overtime in ways that will slow down mail delivery.7 DeJoy claims these are efforts to improve the post office, but they could cause millions of votes to be invalidated—and we can't let that happen.

Given these attempts to suppress Democratic votes, it is crucial that every single voter has the information and resources they need to properly and safely vote this November. Which is why we have big plans to create videos explaining the voting process and to target these video ads to young voters, voters of color, and first-time voters in 10 critical battleground states.

We need your help. With less than 90 days left until Election Day, will you chip in $3 a week to get these critical ads up and keep them running as long as it takes? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.) 

Count me in.

No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.

This election will be like no other. And with millions of Americans voting by mail for the first time in their lives, we need to ensure everyone has the information and resources they need to vote safely—whether they are voting by mail or in person. Mail-in ballots have been in wide use in many states for over a decade, including in some states that automatically send mail-in ballots to every registered voter, so we've got years of experience to build this voter education program with precise messaging to reach voters.

But getting this critical information out to voters in battleground states costs money. And we can't afford to pull a dime away from our budget to defeat Trump and take back the Senate. 

So, will you chip in $3 a week to help fund these critical ads and ensure every voter has the information they need to safely vote this November? (MoveOn will bill your weekly donation to your credit card once a month starting today and will contact you shortly after the election to see if you want to modify or cancel your weekly donation.) 

Count me in.

No, I'm sorry, I can't chip in weekly.

Thanks for all you do.

–Emma, Kate, Erik, Kenia, and the rest of the team

 Sources:

1. "States reject tens of thousands of mail ballots in this year's primaries, setting off alarm bells for November," NBC News, July 18, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141671?t=8&akid=270970%2E10220574%2ERxJVj9

2. "New York could throw out 1 in 5 mail-in ballots in one district, disproportionately hitting Brooklyn," The Intercept, June 30, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141672?t=10&akid=270970%2E10220574%2ERxJVj9

3. "Why Is Voting By Mail (Suddenly) Controversial? Here's What You Need To Know," NPR, June 4, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141673?t=12&akid=270970%2E10220574%2ERxJVj9

4. "A Trump trap? He's the one who could get a boost from mail voting glitches," NBC News, July 30, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141674?t=14&akid=270970%2E10220574%2ERxJVj9

5. "Poll: More Than Half Of Young People Lack Resources To Vote By Mail," NPR, July 30, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141675?t=16&akid=270970%2E10220574%2ERxJVj9

6. "Signed, Sealed, Undelivered: Thousands Of Mail-In Ballots Rejected For Tardiness," NPR, July 13, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141676?t=18&akid=270970%2E10220574%2ERxJVj9

7. "Trump-backed postmaster general plans to slow mail delivery," Fortune, July 24, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/141438?t=20&akid=270970%2E10220574%2ERxJVj9


PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.

This email was sent to Mar Alfaro on August 10, 2020. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. To remove yourself from this list, click here.

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