Mobilizing, Mailing, and Defending our Votes in 2020

Voting is the bedrock of our democracy. Many of our forebears struggled — and even died — to establish that right; to expand it to every citizen, and to defend it with dignity and determination.

In the midst of a raging pandemic, people are concerned about how to vote in the safest way possible and in finding ways to help their friends, family, and community do the same.

That is why we organized a DIY webcast on Mobilizing, Mailing, and Defending our Votes in 2020 — with experts across the country who are already working overtime to uplift, defend, and make our democracy work.

This webcast provides sober, practical guidance for people who just want to get to work on mobilizing and assuring proper handling of the vote.

This special webcast featured:

• Suzy Smith — co-founder of Vote From Home 2020. She is a lead provider of vote from home information nationwide.
• Eduardo Sainz — director of the Arizona branch of Mi Familia Vota. He also works nationally to inform and mobilize Spanish speaking and Latinx voters.
• Leigh Chapman — director of the Voting Rights Program of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a historic bulwark of voting rights defense since its founding in the 1950s.
• Gabriela Lemus, Ph.D — President of the Mi Familia Vota Education Fund is a leader of the Center for Common Ground’s “Reclaim our Vote” Campaign.
• Ted Lewis, moderated. Ted has been a leader in Global Exchange’s international democracy and human rights work since 1994.

The next couple of months are going to be challenging, but we need to stay calm and focused.

Here is the list of web-based tools that were shared during the webcast. They are designed to help people get useful information about how voting is organized in their locality. (Rules differ from state to state and even county by county, so these new tools can turn grassroots engagement into speed, accuracy, and maximized voter turn-out.)

Voting is a Right. Defending it is a Duty. Let’s Work Together.

Confirm You’re Registered –  https://www.usa.gov/confirm-voter-registration

How to Vote by Mail – https://www.eac.gov/election-officials/voting-by-mail-absentee-voting

Vote by Mail Deadlines – State by State Calendar –  https://www.vote.org/early-voting-calendar/

Background Information on Voting by Mail

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/politics/vote-by-mail-states/?itid=lb_election-2020-what-to-know_4

https://www.npr.org/2020/08/07/900210406/the-most-important-mail-youll-ever-send-a-ballot

Get Involved. Volunteer.

Mi Familia Vota – https://www.mifamiliavota.org/get-involved/

Power the Polls – https://www.powerthepolls.org/

The Center for Common Ground – https://actionnetwork.org/forms/reclaim-our-vote-signup

US Election Assistance Commission – https://www.eac.gov/help-america-vote

Please watch and share with your friends -on YouTube, Twitter, or Facebook.

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