On Thursday, October 7th, MAP’s Senior Manager of the State Caucus Network, Alex Tapia, joined Sara Isgur from the Dispatch for a members-only briefing with the America’s Future Foundation. In this presentation, Alex described the steps MAP is taking to build a coalition of state legislators dedicated to ensuring a safe election through our organization’s Partnering to Ensure Election Resiliency (P.E.E.R.) Project.
Alex then moved to discuss how MAP’s PEER project has worked to mobilize bipartisan legislative support for a safer and more resilient election season as Election Day approaches. This work has included assisting legislators in enabling or improving vote by mail, accommodating social distancing at the polls, and enhancing ballot security.
Fortunately, we are seeing bipartisan momentum among state legislators take the lead on this issue. While polling indicates that only 39 percent of Americans express confidence in federal officials to do what is right for America, 68 percent are confident in local officials – underscoring the importance of legislators’ voices during this time. With more than 6,000 state legislative seats on the ballot this fall, state legislators have a real responsibility to ensure voters have trust in our democratic systems.
When it comes to safe voting, Alex identified three main areas of concern for MAP. These are, namely, the mailing of absentee ballot request forms to all registered voters, temporarily removing excuse requirements for absentee voting where they exist, and eliminating witness and notarization requirements.
While the headlines may lead observers to conclude these are highly partisan issues, the truth is we have seen these policies embraced by both blue states and red states. For example, the red state of Utah conducts its elections entirely by mail along with blue states such as Washington and Oregon. Removing excuse requirements has been achieved in red states South Carolina and Kentucky along with the blue state of Massachusetts. Additionally, witness requirements have been reduced in both New York and North Carolina. With these developments in mind, Alex made a clear and convincing argument for the strengthening of safe voting procedures.
In all, the crux of MAP’s P.E.E.R. Project is a commitment to safe and secure elections in what has been an unprecedented election season. If our democratic system is to endure, voters need to trust the legitimacy of our electoral process. Along these lines, Alex concluded her remarks with an appeal for elected officials to adhere to this mindset. The presentation finished with questions from the audience, closing with the note that the P.E.E.R. Project’s impact continues as legislators work to implement long-lasting changes to improve our voting systems.