The global coronavirus pandemic threatens to disrupt the Presidential
Preference Primary election in Florida. The extension of vote-by-mail options and other accommodations at polling places is necessary.
Florida's failure to extend vote-by-mail deadlines, adjust early voting dates, and expand mail ballot transmission options amounts to a denial of critical voter opportunities in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment.
"We intend to continue fighting for expanded voting opportunities so that every Floridian can have their voice heard in this election and in November.”
Group wants vote-by-mail deadline extended to March 27, citing state’s failure to make accommodation for those impacted by the current public health crisis.
Voting rights groups sent a letter to Ohio Secretary State Frank LaRose demanding that changes to the Primary Election calendar comply with the National Voter Registration Act and the Ohio Constitution.
“With a general election in November, we are continuing to take action through the current litigation to ensure the state of Florida has a plan and accommodations in place to assure access to the ballot for future elections.”
The state must make voting accessible for all eligible Ohioans, especially Black and brown voters who too often are pushed to the sidelines of our democracy by obstacles such as arbitrary voter registration deadlines or burdensome procedures for voting absentee or at the polls.
“The state must hold a 2020 primary election that makes voting accessible for all eligible Ohioans, especially Black and brown voters who too often are pushed to the sidelines of our democracy by obstacles such as arbitrary voter registration deadlines or burdensome procedures for voting absentee or at the polls.”
This pandemic is revealing the deeper inequities for Black and brown people that have always been present in our economy and democracy but that are often papered over in ordinary times.
Now and always, Demos remains committed to fighting voter suppression and working with our community partners to remove barriers to participation that too often disproportionately impact people of color.
The Ohio legislature created a wholly avoidable, overly complicated situation that makes Ohioans jump through hoops to vote. Ohio voters: we want to hear about your experience.
“The collective trauma of this pandemic is exposing the sheer depth of inequality in this country and the consequences that has always presented for Black and brown communities. We hope that Florida election officials will stand on the right side of history..."
“In litigating these voter purge cases across the country, we have seen Judicial Watch and similar groups use bad data, routinely rejected by courts, to try to undermine political participation.”
The COVID-19 pandemic is an environmental justice crisis—it has exposed inequalities that have persisted in places across the country with decades of pollution.