Take Action: We Need to Strengthen Democracy Here in MA

One year ago today (Jan. 6, 2021), right-wing extremists, aided by our ex-president, assaulted the Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the election results and subvert our democracy.

It’s a timely day to reflect on democracy and how it needs strengthening at all levels. And, yes, that means here in MA, too.

The central principle of democracy is that every person’s voice matters. And far too often, communities of color and working-class communities face unnecessary, arbitrary, and sometimes insurmountable barriers to making their voice heard. And we are all worse off because of it.

In Massachusetts, we haven’t been a leader on voting rights. The COVID elections package from 2020 finally brought us up to where many other states have been for years, with expanded options to vote by mail and to vote early. But the Legislature let that expire.

Our neighbors in Maine and New Hampshire have had Same Day Registration for decades, but Massachusetts still has an arbitrary voter registration cutoff, rooted in anti-immigrant sentiment from a century ago.

And despite the fact that many individuals incarcerated in prisons and jails maintain the right to vote, that right often doesn’t exist in practice due to misinformation and indifference from correctional officers.

We can do better. And we need to do better.

The MA Senate played its part, passing the VOTES Act in October. The VOTES Act not only makes vote-by-mail and expanded early voting permanent but also goes further by eliminating our arbitrary, exclusionary voter registration cutoff and strengthening protections for jail-based voting.

Tell your state rep it’s time to pass the VOTES Act now.

News Roundup — January 5, 2021

“Commission sharply split on qualified immunity proposals,” CommonWealth

“Commission member Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, had a harsher response, calling it “deeply frustrating” and “a colossal failure” that the commission failed to recommend immediate reforms to qualified immunity. “The delay tactics that characterized this commission are really dangerous and harmful for people of color who are at risk of police brutality,” Espinoza-Madrigal said. “We need immediate changes to the qualified immunity doctrine, and this cannot be delayed for years to come.”  “

“Losing patience with Governor Baker after waiting hours in line for a COVID test,” Boston Globe

“Unlike them, Baker, a former health care executive, doesn’t seem able to rise to the occasion. People with far less access to resources than Baker have for almost two years cared for each other by masking up, getting vaccinated, and getting tested. We elect our leaders to provide care and respond quickly in moments of crisis, not make excuses or pass the buck. Baker must step up and accept responsibility for this dangerous debacle, and fix it. None of us can afford for him to be a reluctant leader.”

“Commission wrestles with incarceration costs, benefits,” State House News Service

“Between fiscal years 2016 and 2020, the average population of people in Department of Correction custody declined from 9,743 to 7,935, according to data published by the Special Commission on Correctional Funding. Over that same five-year span, the agency’s total spending increased from about $580 million to more than $732 million, driving up the cost per inmate from $59,535 in FY2016 to $92,368 in FY2020.”

“New Year’s to-do list for Governor Baker, Mayor Wu stirs reaction,” Boston Globe (A letter from Margaret Heitz!)

“Re “New Year’s resolutions for the new mayor and the outgoing governor” (Editorial, Jan. 1): To follow up its 2022 resolutions for Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and Governor Charlie Baker, the Globe needs to create a list for the state Legislature. Leading the list should be legislative process reform; the residents of this state deserve — and don’t have — an open process that fairly weighs the interests of families and of corporate associations. Will the Globe create that list? Will it spotlight the lawmaking system’s perennial autocratic dysfunction? Will it point to needed changes? (See, for example, last January’s report from the Climate Social Science Network at Brown University, “Who’s Delaying Climate Action in Massachusetts? Twelve Findings.”)”

“‘People’s house’ still shuttered, but crucial work lies ahead,” Boston Globe

“At the start of the pandemic and in anticipation of the 2020 presidential election, lawmakers wisely brought the state’s absentee voting laws into the 21st century, allowing no-excuses mail-in voting and, for the first time, early voting in primary elections. The reforms, however, were only temporary — extended once to include last year’s municipal elections. But the law died on Dec. 15, and efforts to extend it permanently have stalled. The Senate, in its bill (passed last October), wants to add same-day voter registration to the package; the House, which voted earlier for most of those reforms, seems not amenable to the voter registration piece. All those Democrats squabbling over the shape of voting reforms is just unseemly.”

“MTA attacks Baker on testing,” CommonWealth

“We are tired of Band-Aid approaches from Baker and [Education Commissioner Jeff] Riley when it comes to facing the biggest public health threat of our time,” said MTA President Merrie Najimy in a statement.

“With supplies running short, school employees will each get only one COVID-19 test,” Boston Globe

“The state will provide only one COVID-19 test per school employee, instead of the two originally planned, as supply shortages continue to challenge efforts for a safe return to school, education officials confirmed Saturday.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education notified school superintendents Friday night that the department had received 227,166 tests from two manufacturers, enough to provide one to each teacher and staff member.”

“Colorado governor pardons 1,351 Coloradans convicted of marijuana possession,” Denver Post

“More than 1,300 people convicted of possession of less than two ounces of marijuana will have their criminal records cleared after Gov. Jared Polis announced Thursday he would issue a mass pardon.” MA, your turn.

“New England is warming faster than the rest of the planet, new study finds,” Boston Globe

“New England is warming significantly faster than global average temperatures, and that rate is expected to accelerate as more greenhouse gases are pumped into the atmosphere and dangerous cycles of warming exacerbate climate change, according to a new study.”

“‘Rubber stamp’ justice? In Mass., prison officials almost always deny prisoners’ claims of abuse behind bars,” Boston Globe

“Every year, Massachusetts prisoners file hundreds of grievances alleging all manner of mistreatment behind bars, from excessive force to racism to harassment — all at the hands of prison employees….And year after year, state records show, prison officials reject almost all of them.”

“Wu is right to stay the course amid anti-vax misinformation,” Boston Globe (A letter from Jonathan Cohn!)

“Wu has shown no sign of backing down, and we are all better for it. But those of us who believe in science, public health, and solidarity as the way forward on the pandemic and other issues need to be more vocal in our support so that we can relegate the misinformation and invective to the mere noise that it is.”