Hey Indivisibles, 

It’s Meagan Hatcher-Mays, Director of Democracy Policy at Indivisible. I’m horrified, and frankly pissed, about what’s going on with our elections in Wisconsin and across the country right now -- and you should be too. 

This is a long email, so real quick: if you want to know what happened last night in Wisconsin, read on. If you’re already up to date and want to hear about the COVID-19 bill that Senator Schumer and Representative Pelosi released today, and how it relates to democracy, skip down to the “What next” section, below. 

What Happened in Wisconsin

Republicans took their voter suppression scheme to the next level this week. Late Monday night, the conservatives on the Supreme Court issued a disastrous 5-4 ruling that disenfranchised tens of thousands of voters, disproportionately affecting people of color. Its impacts were felt in Wisconsin yesterday, and soon they’ll be rippling all over the country.  

Here’s what happened: late Monday night, the Supreme Court halted Wisconsin’s plan to extend absentee voting before yesterday’s primary, resulting in thousands of late absentee ballots being thrown away. Voters in the state who requested absentee ballots weeks or even months ago didn’t receive their ballots until after the election due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus. Now they’ve been disenfranchised -- not because they did anything wrong, but because the United States Supreme Court wanted to help out their Republican friends in Wisconsin by making it even more difficult for progressives and people of color to vote. 

On top of that, thousands of poll workers across Wisconsin, understandably, declined to work yesterday in fear for their health, and hundreds of polling stations closed as a result, leaving folks across the state to decide between risking their health or not voting in a pivotal election. You’ve probably seen the photos: enormous lines of people, trying to maintain social distance while also stay in line to vote. It was horrifying.

What’s next?

The GOP’s voter suppression efforts have ramifications far beyond the primary election in Wisconsin -- they’ll impact participation in the November presidential election, too. Here’s what’s at stake: without substantial funding and policies in place to protect our election, millions of voters, especially in brown and Black communities, will lose their chance to vote. The GOP doesn’t want to expand vote-by-mail to all states because it means they’ll lose -- Trump said so himself on national television.

Yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren released a plan (of course) that builds on Senators Wyden and Klobuchar’s bill, and includes some non-negotiable policies:

• Expanding early in-person voting days and no-excuse absentee vote-by-mail to all states.
• Banning oppressive requirements, like strict voter ID laws, that prevent people from voting.
• Banning voter roll purges.
• Offering hazard pay for poll workers.
• Requiring that all states provide envelopes with prepaid postage to all voters.
• Requiring absentee ballots to be counted if postmarked or signed before the close of the polls on election day. 
• Providing at least $2 billion in funding to states to implement these reforms.

Here’s the bad part: this morning, Democrats released their latest COVID-19 bill, and while we’re glad that party leaders acknowledge the flaws in the last package, this package doesn’t remedy them. The last bill was a $2 trillion free-for-all for corporations and elites, and this bill doesn't even pretend to address that by strengthening oversight over the bailout money. And even worse, even after the chaos we all witnessed in Wisconsin yesterday, the new bill doesn’t include any additional money for election reforms or vote by mail.

Put simply, Democrats’ new bill is not enough and we have to press for more. 

Our ask is simple: call your members of Congress -- including Democrats -- today and demand that they fight to include these emergency protections for our election in the next coronavirus bill. Click here to make the call now, and then keep calling. 

And if you want to do more, here are a few more asks:

• Record a video to demand your senators include Elizabeth Warren's election protection plan in the next coronavirus bill. Click here to make a video. 
• Email your member of Congress and ask that prioritize a people-first stimulus bill that puts people over profits. Click here to draft and send an email.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and explain to your neighbors and Congress why they should support a people’s bailout in response to COVID-19. Click here to draft your letter.
• Share our election security resource far and wide. Click here to view.

You’ll hear more from us about this in the coming days. Mark your calendar now for next Friday, April 17th, which is our Vote By Mail day of action. Now, more than ever, it’s clear that the only way to save democracy is more democracy -- and that includes making sure every eligible vote is counted in November.

In solidarity,
Meagan