TO PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY, WE MUST ALL BE ABLE TO VOTE SAFELY
ACTION ONE: 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…
I am calling again to demand that the Senate ensure that citizens do not have to choose between voting and possible sickness or death this November. All of us, not just Oregonians, have the right to vote safely from our homes in this most consequential election, which requires a fully functioning postal system. I know that you are committed to expanding Oregon’s system to every state, and I thank you for this, but we can no longer afford to wait. The Senate must swiftly
- Fully fund the USPS and voting by mail provisions of the HEROES Act
- Require that the $10 billion loan be provided free of constraints
- Authorize hazard pay for postal employees who daily risk their lives to deliver the mail
- Investigate and prevent Executive interference in USPS operations and the firing of the Deputy Postmaster General, a staunch advocate for vote-by-mail
The protection of our democracy and our fundamental right to vote is at stake.
CALL SENATOR MERKLEY
CALL SENATOR WYDEN
ACTION TWO: 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…
For all but Walden:
I am calling to thank the Representative for passing the HEROES Act. I am asking him/her to investigate and prevent Executive interference in USPS operations and the firing of the Deputy Postmaster General, a staunch advocate for vote-by-mail. The protection of our democracy and our fundamental right to vote is at stake.
For Walden:
I am calling because rural Oregonians rely on the USPS for our mail and our ballots. I am deeply disturbed that Rep. Walden doesn’t care about saving the USPS. His constituents demand better.
CALL SUZANNE BONAMICI (OR-01)
CALL GREG WALDEN (OR-02)
CALL BLUMENAUER (OR-03)
CALL PETER DEFAZIO (OR-04)
CALL KURT SCHRADER (OR-05)
ACTION THREE: HELP REGISTER VOTERS FROM YOUR HOME
Organizing for the 2020 Election is going VIRTUAL!
- Indivisible Oregon hosts virtual letter writing events every Saturday and fourth Tuesday. Sign up at https://swingleft.org/group/indivisible-oregon
- Write letters to voters from home, whenever it’s convenient. Register with Vote Forward to get started at votefwd.org
- Host your own virtual letter-writing party! Get started here:http://swingleft.org/p/virtual-letter-writing-party
Stay tuned — more activities to come!
BACKGROUND:
Tomorrow’s election day in Oregon! We’re so lucky we vote by mail and needn’t choose between exercising our right to vote and staying COVID-free—the Faustian choice required in Wisconsin. All Americans need this option, which 2/3 of us favor.
Some red and blue states are expanding vote-by-mail options, but others are exploiting pandemic to suppress votes. Trump’s also spreading lies about voting-by-mail and trying to bankrupt the USPS, which is needed to deliver and collect mail-in ballots. Trump’s also demanded USPS concessions before releasing already approved $10 billion emergency loan and forced out both Board of Governor’s Vice Chair and Deputy Postmaster General, a staunch vote-by-mail advocate—actions Congress must investigate.
House-passed HEROES Act, which Senate must adopt, partially blunts these GOP efforts
- universal vote-by-mail, expanded early voting, same-day registration, free ballot with no voter ID
- $3.6 billion for states’ election infrastructure
- $25 billion to make up for USPS’s lost revenue and purchase PPEs
- “hazard pay” for postal employees
- removing Treasury’s loan borrowing restrictions
Congress must ensure that all Americans can safely participate in this most critical election and prevent USPS’s weaponization when states are mobilizing vote-by-mail efforts. Failure to act puts both democracy and 2020 election at risk.
