To: The Massachusetts State House and The Massachusetts State Senate
Update MA Voting Laws in 2013
MassVote
Recently, the Election Laws Committee put out an election modernization bill that just does not go far enough.
H 3647 includes online voter registration (a great reform) and an early voting provision that needs to be strengthened. This bill should also include pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds and post-election audits to give people confidence in our voting machines. Both of these passed in the House last year; they should be added to the current bill. It would also be good to see improvements to the voter registration process by including Election Day Registration, permanent/portable registration that moves with you, and changes made to inactive voting procedures. To be effective, early voting needs to include evening and weekend voting hours, and in bigger cities, more than one voting location should be available.
I hope I can I count on your support for a stronger bill with the components I mentioned and that you will ask the speaker and Senate president to pass a strong comprehensive election modernization bill in 2013.
H 3647 includes online voter registration (a great reform) and an early voting provision that needs to be strengthened. This bill should also include pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds and post-election audits to give people confidence in our voting machines. Both of these passed in the House last year; they should be added to the current bill. It would also be good to see improvements to the voter registration process by including Election Day Registration, permanent/portable registration that moves with you, and changes made to inactive voting procedures. To be effective, early voting needs to include evening and weekend voting hours, and in bigger cities, more than one voting location should be available.
I hope I can I count on your support for a stronger bill with the components I mentioned and that you will ask the speaker and Senate president to pass a strong comprehensive election modernization bill in 2013.
Why is this important?
2013 may already be the year in which the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act, but Massachusetts should take a stand and also make it the year in which our Commonwealth stood up for voters by passing truly comprehensive election modernizations.