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/.
