If a #politician tells you that #VoteByMail is a bad idea, that politician is trying to stop you from #voting. #Vote that politician out, with extreme prejudice.
Suppressing the vote has been the goal of GOP leaders for decades. Their efforts are working:
Polling locations are supposed to be accessible to all voters -but ~1 in 5 polling locations is a church, -religious entities are exempt from the Disabilities Act. The prevalence of inaccessible polling places -alarming for disabled & aging ppl in states that have moved to quash mail-in voting—incl. OK & AK -churches make up >50% of voting locations.
All registered voters get a voters' pamphlet and ballot in the mail automatically, then have 2-3 (?) weeks to complete ballot and return it, either by mail or in a drop box.
GOP bills in the #Oregon Legislature:
SB1536 - impose a 15 week abortion ban.
HB4037 - make gender-affirming care for youth illegal.
HB4054 - allow discrimination against trans athletes.
SB1589 - attack our vote-by-mail system and make it harder for people to vote.
Contact your state representatives and make it clear a majority of Oregonians oppose these bills.
@ahimsa_pdx Originally it was a non-partisan issue and had broad support. (We've had vote by mail for local elections since the 1980's and it expanded from there.) Unfortunately the GOP drive to restrict voting nationally has gained popularity amongst the "we want minority rule" set here too.
#VoteByMail is a gift. I was thrilled when we started it and I've been grateful every election since.
Calling all registered voters in #Oregon tomorrow, Tuesday May 21st, is the Primary Election. It doesn't take much effort to complete and drop off your ballot or have it in the mail before 8:00.🗳🇺🇲✅
I used to post these over on the now dead to me #BirdApp.
I'm gonna continue that tradition by encouraging everyone across the #Fediverse to vote, no matter if it's a local or national election, just vote!! #Oregon#VoteByMail
"We are here because #Senate#Republicans refused to convict Donald #Trump on the article of impeachment charging him with inciting insurrection" @JoyceVance on the failed vote three years ago, 13 February 2021
Consequently, the #SCOTUS will hear oral argument on the #Colorado 14th Amendment case on Thursday 08 February, five weeks from now.
Colorado GOP primary voting starts the following Monday, 12 February. CO is a #VoteByMail state.
Dropping off my ballot for today's primary election in #Oregon I encourage you and all your friends who live in the first #VoteByMail state (est. 1999) to vote! It's so easy and convenient!🗳🇺🇲✅
Tomorrow is election day for Oregonians. Ballots must be taken to a drop box or postmarked by 8 PM Tuesday, May 21.
All registered voters should have received voters' pamphlets and ballots automatically (I love our vote by mail system ❤️) but here's your reminder in case you stashed them somewhere and forgot.
Local elections can have a big impact!
I spent the morning doing my research and voting at home 😁
In the new book Voting in Indian Country, Jean Reith Schroedel weaves together historical and contemporary voting rights conflicts as the election nears
by Nina Lakhani in New York
Fri 16 Oct 2020
"#VoterSuppression has taken centre stage in the race to elect potentially the 46th president of the United States. But we’ve heard little about the 5.2 million #Native Americans whose ancestors have called this land home before there was a US president.
"The rights of indigenous communities – including the right to vote – have been systematically violated for generations with devastating consequences for access to #CleaAir and #water, #health, #education, economic opportunities, #housing and #sovereignty. Voter turnout for Native Americans and Alaskan Natives is the lowest in the country, and about one in three eligible voters (1.2 million people) are not registered to vote, according to the National Congress of American Indians.
"In a new book, Voting in Indian County: The View from the Trenches, Jean Reith Schroedel, professor emerita of political science at Claremont Graduate University, weaves together historical and contemporary voting rights conflicts.
"Is the right to vote struggle for Native Americans distinct from the wider struggle faced by marginalized groups in the US?
"One thing few Americans understand is that American Indians and #NativeAlaskans were the last group in the #UnitedStates to get #citizenship and to get the #vote. Even after the civil war and the Reconstruction (13th, 14th and 15th) amendments there was a supreme court decision that said #IndigenousPeople could never become US citizens, and some laws used to disenfranchise them were still in place in 1975. In fact first-generation violations used to deny – not just dilute voting rights – were in place for much longer for Native Americans than any other group. It’s impossible to understand contemporary voter suppression in Indian Country without understanding this historical context.
"The motivation for the VRA was the egregious treatment of #black people in the south, and for the first 10 years there was a question over whether it even applied to #AmericanIndian and Native Alaskan populations. It wasn’t really discussed until a #CivilRights commission report in 1975 which included cases from #SouthDakota and #Arizona that showed equally egregious #discrimination and absolute denial of right to vote towards Native Americans – and also #Latinos.
"When voter suppression is discussed by politicians, advocates and journalists, it’s mostly about African American voters, and to a lesser degree Latinos. Why are Native Americans still excluded from the conversation?
"Firstly they are a small population and secondly most of the most egregious abuses routinely occur in rural isolated parts of #IndianCountry where there is little media focus. But it’s happening – take Jackson county in South Dakota, a state where the governor has done little to protect people from #Covid. The county council has just decided to close the legally mandated early voting centre on the #PineRidgeReservation, citing concerns about Covid, but not in the voting site in #Kadoka, where the white people go. Regardless of the intent, this will absolutely have a detrimental effect on Native people’s ability to vote. And South Dakota, like many other states, is also a very hard place for Native people to vote by mail. In the primary, the number of people who registered to #VoteByMail increased by 1,000% overall but there was no increase among reservation communities. In #Oglala county, which includes the eastern part of Pine Ridge, turnout was about 10%.
"The right to vote by mail is a hot political and civil rights issue in the 2020 election – could it help increase turnout in Indian Country?
"No, voting by mail is very challenging for Native Americans for multiple reasons. First and foremost, most reservations do not have home mail delivery. Instead, people need to travel to post offices or postal provide sites – little places that offer minimal mail services and are located in places like gas stations and mini-marts. Take the Navajo Nation that encompasses 27,425 square miles – it’s larger than West Virginia, yet there are only 40 places where people can send and receive mail. In West Virginia, there are 725. Not a single PO box on the Navajo Nation has 24-hour access."
"Here’s a Clever Way to Uncover America’s Voting Deserts:
Mathematicians are using topological abstractions to find places poorly served by polling stations."
Sure, this is clever. But you know what's even more clever? Eliminating polling places entirely and switching to 100% vote-by-mail like in Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Vermont, and Hawaii.
(With some in-person polling places as needed for accessibilty reasons)
Repubs are doing all they can to stop people (Dems) from voting! DON’T LET THEM STEAL YOUR VOTE!
If you vote by mail in Florida, DeSantis passed a law CANCELING ALL mailin ballot requests so you MUST SIGN UP AGAIN FOR MAIL-IN BALLOTS.
The website is a bit slow after you enter the basic info—so don’t give up!
PASS THIS ON!
As of Jan 2024, NY now allows mail-in early ballots without any excuse. This was signed into the budget bill by the Governor last year. It's permanent - not tied to any emergency covid things or anything.
If you're planning to vote by mail (recommended, as always), the deadline to request a ballot for the upcoming primary is rapidly approaching (Mar 23rd). #Vote#VoteNY#VoteByMail#NYS#NYC