Your Calls Won $400 Million to Protect Our Elections This Year
We have good news: Thanks to your calls, Congress just passed a COVID-19 relief package that includes $400 million to help states prepare for the 2020 election by expanding vote-by-mail, early voting, and online voter registration.
When it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic could disrupt in-person voting this year, we mobilized — our community made over 70,000 calls in a single week demanding that Congress expand funding for vote-by-mail.
Your calls were the lynchpin to securing that $400 million. We went from zero funding for vote-by-mail, to Republicans proposing $140 million, to securing $400 million in the bipartisan bill that finally passed. Once again proving that grassroots activism matters — and it works.
While $400 million is certainly a step in the right direction, it’s just a fraction of the total amount that’s needed. Our partners at the Brennan Center for Justice estimate that we need $2 billion to fully implement the reforms necessary to protect the 2020 election.
That’s why we’re not done with this fight. You’ll be hearing from us in the coming weeks about what else you can do to ensure that vote-by-mail and other election reforms are adequately funded and implemented as quickly as possible.
For now, thank you for standing up to protect our democracy and ensure that every eligible voter can cast their ballot this year.