TOMORROW’S VOTE: Tell Your State Rep to Support Same Day Registration + Jail-Based Voting

I don’t know what tomorrow’s Wordle will be, but the most important five-letter word in the MA House tomorrow is VOTES.

Why? Because the MA House will finally be taking up the VOTES Act, a voting rights package that makes pandemic-era voting reforms like mail-in voting and early voting permanent.

But there’s a problem. Whereas the Senate’s bill, passed last fall, included Same Day Registration and strong Jail-Based Voting language, the House bill doesn’t.

Email Your State Rep in Support of Same-Day Registration & Jail-Based Voting Amendments now!

Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Connecticut all have Same Day Registration, and Massachusetts should too. It’s one of the most proven ways to increase voter turnout. Every single Democratic member of the US Congress supports Same Day Registration, so why doesn’t our Democratic supermajority?

And individuals incarcerated with non-felony convictions maintain the right to vote under the law, but that right often doesn’t exist in practice. We are all worse off when anyone’s right to vote is denied.

State representatives have already filed amendments to fix this, but your rep needs to hear from you.

Amendments #5, 11, and 40 (Same Day Registration) would enable voters to register to vote or update their registration on Election Day.

Amendment #13 (Jail Based Voting) strengthens reporting requirements for houses of corrections and builds voter registration into the re-entry process.

Or even better: give them a call. You can find their number at https://scorecard.progressivemass.com/.

THIS WEEK: VOTES Act, Common Start Roundtable, & More

Last week was a bad week for voting rights in the US Senate, as Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema refused to support rules changes that would allow for important voting rights packages to pass amidst Republican opposition.

But this week—with your help—might be a good week for voting rights in Massachusetts.
Last October, the MA Senate passed the VOTES Act, which 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.

The MA House is expected to take up this bill this week: on Thursday, January 27.

It’s important that the House pass the VOTES Act in full, especially the provisions on Same Day Registration and strengthening Jail-Based Voting.

Tell your state rep to support the VOTES Act in its entirety.

Driving Families Forward Virtual Briefing Series Continues

Join the Driving Families Forward Coalition for part II of the Driving Families Forward Coalition Virtual Briefing series! Over the last year, the Driving Families Forward Coalition has worked tirelessly gaining the support of more than 270 endorsing organizations, including community, health, faith, labor, business, and law enforcement for the Work and Family Mobility Act, which would ensure that immigration status is not a barrier to obtaining a driver’s license.

Tune in on Facebook Live at the Driving Families Forward page Tuesday, January, 25th to hear from law enforcement leaders supporting our legislation across the state.

Common Start Roundtable: Tuesday @ 6:30 pm

Tomorrow at 6:30 pm, the Common Start Coalition will be hosting a virtual roundtable–featuring Congresswoman Katherine Clark–about the child care crisis and the solutions for it, especially the Common Start bill.

Common Start Roundtable

Massachusetts Power Forward Day of Action

Climate Justice can’t wait! Massachusetts needs decision-makers to act fast and move more climate justice policy now!

Join the Massachusetts Power Forward coalition this Thursday for a day of action. 9AM – 10AM : Action Hour, call your legislators https://fb.me/e/1i7OF5oNc
12pm- 1pm: Action hour, take a selfie photo petition and post on twitter to push our legislators https://fb.me/e/3lr4Lo33T

The Fight for Racial Justice and Equity is Year-Round

Yesterday, on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, politicians across the Commonwealth (and the country) honored Martin Luther King, Jr., for his commitment to racial equity and social justice.

It was a reminder of how much work we still have to do here in Massachusetts to deliver on his vision, and how we need to demand that elected officials follow through with their rhetoric from yesterday all 365 days of the year.

Three Quick Actions You Can Take Today

(1) Write to Your State Rep in Support of the VOTES Act

While Congress remains stalemated on voting rights action due to Republican and conservative Democratic (we’re looking at you, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema) opposition, we have important action to take here in MA.

Last fall, the MA Senate passed the VOTES Act, which would make pandemic voting reforms like expanded mail-in voting and expanded early voting permanent as well as enact Same Day Voter Registration and stronger protections for jail-based voting. But the House needs to take action too. Write to your state representative today — and if you already have recently, follow up with them.

(2) Write to the Public Safety Committee in support of the Safe Communities Act.

Immigrant justice and racial justice are deeply intertwined. Longstanding state and local involvement in deportations discourages immigrants from seeking medical care, and prevents immigrant victims and witnesses from seeking police and court protection. Many immigrants—and their children—fear that seeking help from local authorities will result in deportation and family separation.

That’s why we need the Safe Communities Act. Send an email to the Joint Committee on Public Safety about why it’s time to pass the SCA.

(3) Pledge to be a Fair Share Voter: For years, Massachusetts’ communities of color have been harmed by inequitable and inadequate access to transportation and public education. Now, the pandemic has heightened these economic and racial inequities that prevent shared prosperity.

The Fair Share Amendment is a transformative opportunity to raise revenue to build a more equitable commonwealth by investing in public education and transportation. Pledge your support for Fair Share today!

Wednesday, Jan 19, 4 pm: Legislative Briefing on No Cost Calls

This Wednesday, the MA Legislature’s Criminal Justice Reform Caucus is hosting a “NO COST CALLS” legislative briefing, open to the public. RSVP here.

They are partnering with the No Cost Calls Coalition and Prisoners’ Legal Services to explain how this legislation will remove barriers to communication between incarcerated people and their loved ones as Connecticut, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego Counties have already done. Join this briefing to hear firsthand accounts of the hardships that phone charges impose and the benefits of facilitating family contact. Worth Rises, based on its experience in jurisdictions that have already eliminated charges, will present a fiscal analysis showing how cost-effective this legislation would be.

Thursday, Jan 20, 7 pm: #NoNewWomensPrison Virtual Forum

Join this Thursday to learn more about S.2030/H.1905, An Act Establishing A [5-year] Jail and Prison Construction Moratorium, and how to take action to support it. The forum will discuss what this bill does and doesn’t do, how it would be implemented, and what it would mean for Massachusetts to invest $50 million into communities, instead of incarceration.

Featured speakers include bill sponsors Sen. Jo Comerford and Rep. Chynah Tyler along with Mahtowin Munro of the United American Indians of New England, and Andrea James of Families for Justice as Healing and The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls.

RSVP here.

No New Womens Prison Event Graphic

Whether or not you can make it, take a moment to email your legislators about the prison moratorium bill here.


In solidarity, Jonathan Cohn
Policy Director
Progressive Massachusetts

PS: Our annual member meeting is THIS SATURDAY, 1 PM TO 4 PM. Have you RSVPed?

MA Needs to Lift the Ban on Rent Control

Rent Control Now

Today, most Massachusetts residents will be experiencing subzero temperatures due to wind chill.

And too many working-class people will have to decide whether they can afford sufficient heating (or sufficient winter clothing) and still afford next month’s rent, a decision no one should have to make.

At the same time, we’re in the midst of a pandemic that has made clear that quarantining at home is impossible if you don’t have a home to go back to, and that too many workers are faced with the dire choice of going into work while sick or not having enough money to pay rent.

What both show is that we need to be doing far more for housing stability in our state amidst escalating rents and the displacement that results.

This morning, the MA Legislature will hear testimony on the Tenant Protection Act (S.886/H.1378), a bill from Sen. Adam Gomez and Reps. Mike Connolly and Nika Elugardo that would lift the statewide ban on rent control and enable municipalities to take action to support housing stability in line with the needs and conditions of each community.

No one policy is a silver bullet, but local leaders need to have every tool in the toolbox to address our housing crisis.

Here are ways that you can show support for the bill:

(Photo credit: Boston Globe)

Coming Soon: Our Annual Meeting + Hearing on Lifting the Ban on Rent Control

2022 is going to be an eventful year. We’re kicking it off with our annual member meeting on Saturday, January 22, from 1 pm to 4 pm. We’ll have an update on our work from the past year as well as what’s in store for 2022. We’ll also be featuring interviews with 2022 Gubernatorial and Lt. Gubernatorial candidates.

Progressive Mass 2022 Annual Member Meeting

Saturday, January 22

1 pm to 4 pm

Zoom link upon RSVP

RSVP today!

The first segment of the Annual Member Meeting will offer members updates on our organization, plans, and a chance to meet nominees for the Board (to be voted on after). The remainder, the bulk of the meeting, is open to all for the candidate interviews.

Not yet a member? Become one today!

Not sure if you’re a member? Check your status here.

RSVP today for our annual member meeting!

Next Tuesday: Hearing on the Tenant Protection Act

Next Tuesday, the MA Legislature will hear testimony on the Tenant Protection Act (S.886/H.1378), a bill from Sen. Adam Gomez and Reps. Mike Connolly and Nika Elugardo that would lift the statewide ban on rent control and enable municipalities to take action to support housing stability in line with the needs and conditions of each community.

Here are ways that you can show support for the bill:

ways that you can show support for the bill:

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.

MA Needs a Decisive, Equity-Centered Response to the Winter COVID Surge

COVID graphic

With the onset of a new COVID-19 variant, we are seeing a frightening rise in Covid-19 cases, including growing hospitalizations and deaths. We need decisive action and communication at the State level to prevent much more avoidable illness and death.

Thankfully, nearly two years into the pandemic, we have a range of public health tools, including vaccines, that can reduce the spread of COVID-19 and enable us to have a safer New Year. Stopping the spread of COVID is essential to the safe and consistent functioning of our schools and businesses.

Can you write to Governor Baker and your legislators in support of bold, equity-focused action?


Please use your voice to support a comprehensive public health approach — along the lines of the Massachusetts Covid19 Action Plan. Last month, Senator Becca Rausch (D-Needham) and a dozen state legislative colleagues delivered a letter to Governor Baker urging the administration to adopt a slate of data-driven public health policies set forth in a Massachusetts COVID-19 Action Plan, crafted and endorsed by a coalition of over 100 public health and medical professionals and 36 community organizations, to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the Commonwealth.

Can you write to Governor Baker and your legislators in support of bold, equity-focused action?

What this includes:

  • Funding and staffing daily mobile vaccination clinics in frontline communities and school-based vaccine clinics
  • Making testing widely available and distributing free rapid tests
  • Implementing a county-based mask mandate according to CDC recommendations
  • Providing free high-quality masks, like KF94, KN95, and N95, to frontline communities
  • Applying safety standards in the workplace that mitigate aerosol transmission through ventilation
    and/or air filtration, appropriate distancing, and masking
  • Applying and enforcing federal and state occupational safety standards and guidelines.
  • Protecting against foreclosures, evictions, and rent increases to decrease home crowding using the
    measures in H.1434 and S.89
  • Adhering to CDC guidance for universal masking in schools regardless of vaccination status
  • Making remote learning options available so infected or ill children do not get left behind.

What You Can Do Next

  • Give Governor Baker a call at (617) 725-4005.
  • And then tweet at him at @MassGovernor and the State House Leadership: MA needs decisive action to address the winter surge. @MassGovernor, @KarenSpilka, and @RonMariano, please listen to & follow public health leaders’ recommendations at https://tinyurl.com/MACOVIDResponse. #mapoli

Another 60-degree Saturday in December: Why we need bold climate action

Saturday was another warm 60-degree day. In the middle of December.

It’s the type of weather that inspires an initial bout of excitement and then some existential dread: it is just one of many manifestations of climate change. And the erratic weather patterns, with a greater chance of storms and extreme weather events of all kinds, will wreak havoc on our infrastructure, our agriculture, and human health and well-being.

And we have to do something about it.

Coincidentally, tomorrow, the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities, and Energy committee in the MA Legislature is holding a hearing on significant climate legislation.

Of particular note: S.2170/H.3372: An act investing in a prosperous, clean commonwealth by 2030 (the “IPCC by 2030” bill, from Sen. Jamie Eldridge and Rep. Erika Uyterhoeven) and S.2136/H.3288 An Act transitioning Massachusetts to clean electricity, heating and transportation (the 100% Clean Act, from former Sen. Joe Boncore and Reps. Marjorie Decker and Sean Garballey).

Sign up to give testimony at tomorrow’s hearing — or just send in written testimony with our template here.

Flooding scene

These bills accelerate our path toward achieving 100% renewable energy, electrifying our transit systems, and greening our buildings, and they center equity in our response to climate change by making sure no workers are left behind.

The Next-Generation Roadmap bill, signed into law earlier this year, was an important step forward, but we need stronger goals as well as commitment to robust policies to make significant emissions reductions possible at all.

ALSO TOMORROW: Hearing on Banning Tear Gas

In 2020, the MA Legislature passed a comprehensive police reform legislation. The bill did many important things, but it had significant limitations.

Among the limitations: the bill’s failure to ban the use of tear gas by law enforcement. (The House took a vote on doing so; you can find how your state rep voted here.)

The use of chemical weapons is banned in war, and it should be banned on our streets.

Sign up here to give testimony to the Joint Committee on the Judiciary about the importance of passing H.4150: An Act banning the use of tear gas by law enforcement — or send written testimony here.

Cops using tear gas on protesters

Safe Communities Act Hearing Prep – Dec 2021

SCA rally at State House

Bill Numbers: S.1579 / H.2418

Full title: An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massachusetts residents

Lead sponsors: Sen. Jamie Eldrige, Rep. Ruth Balser & Rep. Liz Miranda

Committee: Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

Hearing Information

The hearing will be Wednesday, December 1, at 11 am.

Sign up for the SCA Coalition’s hearing watch party here.

Submit Testimony Yourself

You can submit testimony using the link here!

The Issue 

Federal immigration enforcement practices have created a climate of fear in the Commonwealth. Across the country and here in Massachusetts (yes, Massachusetts), immigrant families have been separated and detained indefinitely or deported by ICE for any reason or no reason, without due process. This is happening despite the fact that most non-citizens in Massachusetts have lived here for more than 10 years and are deeply rooted in family and community here. More than 90% of deportation cases initiated in Massachusetts during the 2021 fiscal year (as of February) were against people who were charged solely with immigration violations, not crimes. 

Massachusetts may not be able to stop deportations, but we can stop being complicit. Massachusetts law enforcement officers have, in many cases, voluntarily cooperated with federal immigration enforcement efforts–at Massachusetts taxpayer expense. If immigrants fear that interacting with state officials could get them or family members deported, they will cease to report crimes or emergencies. When immigrants fear state officials, we are all less safe.

Although the new administration in Washington has shown interest in reforming our immigration system, we don’t need to wait to act, especially when we should have acted years ago. 

The Solution

The Safe Communities Act guarantees basic rights and ensures that state and local law enforcement aren’t deputized as federal immigration agents. It bars local law enforcement from asking about immigration status (codifying a practice already common across the state), ensures that undocumented immigrants are granted due process rights, and prevents ICE from disrupting fair access to the judicial process for both victims and defendants. Moreover, the bill ends 287(g) agreements, which deputize state and local law enforcement to ICE at taxpayer expense. 

These reforms reflect a genuine vision of public safety: when communities are ripped apart, we are all less safe, and when communities are whole and everyone has access to justice, we are all safer. 

Highlights 

  • Bars law enforcement from asking about immigration status (unless required by law): Many immigrants fear that calling 911 or speaking to police will lead to separation from family members. This makes them more vulnerable to domestic abuse, wage theft, and other crimes. 
  • Protects due process rights: Before ICE questions someone in local custody, police would have to obtain their consent and explain they have the right to decline an interview or have their own attorney present (rights commonly known as “Miranda” rights). Non-citizens are often unaware of these rights, but without such protections, they can unintentionally make statements that or sign documents that put their own cases in jeopardy. 
  • Ensure fair access to courts: Current practices enable and encourage ICE to take custody of people before they have their day in court, denying justice to victims and defendants alike. The SCA allows police and court officials to notify ICE of a person’s pending release from custody only at the end of a sentence, not before. 
  • Bans 287(g) agreements: These contracts, which allow state and county personnel to act as federal immigration agents at state taxpayers’ expense, are the most extreme form of entanglement with ICE. Massachusetts is the only state in New England to have such agreements, and we have four: with Bristol, Barnstable and Plymouth counties, and the Department of Corrections.
  • Requires law enforcement training: The bill also requires that law enforcement agencies incorporate this guidance into their training programs, and permits the filing of complaints with the relevant agencies.

Email / Call Script (provided by the SCA Coalition) 

Find your legislators’ contact information here. Or send it directly here.

I urge you to cosponsor the Safe Communities Act (S.1579/H.2418). As we celebrate the federal government’s renewed appreciation for the contributions of immigrants, we must also end our state’s longstanding involvement in deportations by supporting this critical legislation, which was reported out favorably last year by the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security.

The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the detrimental impacts of this involvement—undermining testing, treatment and contact tracing efforts in immigrant communities, and impeding immigrant access to court and police protection.

In the interest of public health, public safety, and an equitable recovery that includes all state residents, I hope I can count on your support for this bill.

Talking Points / Sample Tweets 

  • We believe ALL immigrants are welcome in our community. The #SafeCommunitiesAct would be a step toward delivering on that promise. #mapoli 
  • The #SafeCommunitiesAct is about safety: when communities are ripped apart, we are all less safe, and when communities are whole and everyone has access to justice, we are all safer. #mapoli 
  • Deputizing state and local law enforcement to ICE makes us all less safe, leading to families being ripped apart and increasing racial profiling. #SafeCommunitiesAct #mapoli 
  • Deportations disrupt the economy by depleting the workforce and pushing the undocumented into the underground economy. We all benefit from the #SafeCommunitiesAct. #mapoli 
  • The #SafeCommunitiesAct makes sure that we aren’t spending public money in ways that make the public less safe. That’s basic fiscal responsibility. #mapoli 
  • We can’t wait for the federal government to take action to protect immigrants’ rights. It’s time to pass the #SafeCommunitiesAct. #mapoli 
  • A new White House doesn’t mean the fight for immigrants’ rights is over. The #SafeCommunitiesAct is just as important than ever. Let’s get it done. #mapoli 
  • If we want a successful and equitable recovery from COVID-19, we must pass the #SafeCommunitiesAct. #mapoli 

Learn More