CONGRESS SECURE THE VOTE

ACTION ONE: JOIN US AT #INDIVISIBLETUESDAY 

WE HAVE COMBINED OUR REGULAR INDIVISIBLE TUESDAY WITH A DAY OF ACTION FOR ELECTION SECURITY. THE DAY IS SPONSORED BY A COALITION OF NATIONAL GROUPS INCLUDING COMMON CAUSE.  JOIN US TODAY – TUESDAY — AT 11:30 A.M. OUTSIDE THE OFFICE OF SEN. JEFF MERKLEY OFFICE AT 121 SW SALMON STREET.   
WE WILL THANK SENATOR MERKLEY FOR CO-SPONSORING ELECTION SECURITY BILLS IN THE SENATE, AND ASK HIM TO
  • KEEP PUSHING MCCONNELL TO PUT THE HOUSE-PASSED SAFE ACT* UP FOR A VOTE
  • WORK FOR $600 MILLION IN THE FY 2020 APPROPRIATIONS BILL TO SECURE OUR ELECTIONS
  • KEEP HIGHLIGHTING THE NEED FOR ELECTION SECURITY ON ALL OF HIS CHANNELS.
*SAFE ACT – SECURING AMERICAN FEDERAL ELECTIONS

ACTION TWO: CALL YOUR SENATORS

SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WYDEN AND MERKLEY:

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
Today is Secure Our Vote Day of Action. We all know that Trump and his GOP can only win if they rig the election system. We are grateful to have champions for election security in our Oregon delegation. We ask that the Senator:
  • keep pushing McConnell to put the House-passed SAFE Act* up for a vote
  • work for $600 million in the FY 2020 appropriations bill to secure our elections
  • keep highlighting the need for election security on all his channels.
*SAFE Act – Securing American Federal Elections

ACTION THREE: CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS

Not sure who your U.S. Representative is? Find out here. 

SAMPLE SCRIPTS FOR REPRESENTATIVES:

My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. I am calling because…
Everyone but Walden:  Today is Secure Our Vote Day of Action. We all know that Trump and his GOP can only win if they rig the election system. We are grateful to have champions for election security in our Oregon delegation. We ask that the Representative:
  • keep pushing McConnell to put the House-passed SAFE Act* up for a vote;
  • work for $600 million in the FY 2020 appropriations bill to secure our elections;
  • keep highlighting the need for election security on all his/her channels.
Walden:  Today is Secure Our Vote Day of Action. The Representative and I both know that we need federal protections for federal elections. This is a matter of national security, not states’ rights. Our own intelligence agencies agree: Russia is attacking our voting systems. Mueller testified just before the recess that “They [Russians] are doing it as we sit here. . . . And they expect to do it again during the next campaign.” Rep. Walden could have stood up for election integrity and voted for the SAFE Act* but he didn’t. I noticed. I ask him to do better next time. 
*SAFE Act – Securing American Federal Elections

BACKGROUND:

The House passed a sweeping election reform package in June with one Republican supporting it – it wasn’t Oregon’s Rep. Walden (R-D2).
Republicans claim that voting security is a state rights issue. But the highly decentralized data systems are easy targets for malicious actions, never mind voting fraud engineered by states, as Georgia most recently did in 2018.
Voting security cannot be left up to a patchwork of state systems that are limited by resources and politics – especially now, when outside actors are attacking these systems. 
By refusing to bring ANY election security bills to the floor, Mitch McConnell is inviting Russia and other hostile actors to meddle in our elections.
This threat strikes at the heart of our democracy. If we can’t trust that our elections are secure, their results are accurate, then we won’t have a representative democracy.
The SAFE (Securing American Federal Elections) Act includes:
  •  paper ballots that leave a permanent, verifiable record;
  • voting machines that aren’t Internet-connected
  •  risk-limiting audits that check machine records against a final count.
We have champions for election security in our Oregon delegation. We ask that they:
  • keep pushing McConnell to put the SAFE Act to a vote;
  • work for $600 million in budget to secure our elections;
  • keep highlighting the need for election security.

SOURCES: