Vote-By-Mail

A new report from Common Cause, “Extremists’ Plot to Nationalize Voter Suppression: 2023 and Beyond,” examines a new wave of anti-voter bills that have been introduced by Republicans in Congress representing an attempt to nationalize voter suppression. These extremist bills have largely been ignored by the public and the media, but should Republicans gain control of the U.S. House or Senate, these bills would represent a serious threat to the freedom to vote for millions of Americans.

"It's pretty common to see both sides of the aisle throw down lawsuits in the weeks leading up to an election," said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause. "What's different about litigation this year is it's directly tied to the 2020 election and the 'big lie,' meant to discourage voters from coming out to cast a ballot, and to lower their confidence in the outcome of our elections."

"It felt very much like the national effort to vilify and stop absentee voting," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a good government advocacy group.

Today, the Council of the District of Columbia unanimously passed the Elections Modernization Amendment Act, which makes permanent several changes implemented in 2020 because of COVID, including: providing all DC registered voters with a postage-prepaid mail in ballot; making permanent the Vote Centers, where any registered DC voter can vote in-person; and making permanent the accessible ballot drop boxes. It also builds on the promise of guaranteeing all citizens in DC the right to vote.

This is not a common policy across the country, and only a few states do something similar due to logistical challenges associated with pre-processing of ballots, according to Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for the nonpartisan voter advocacy group Common Cause.

Common Cause Rhode Island and the League of Women Voters of Rhode Island sued the state to strip signature requirements for good. “It was waived in 2020 and for fall elections, and sure enough, we set a record for number of mail ballots,” said John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island. “Part of that is that it was the height of the pandemic. But we think we’re going to see a permanent shift in an increase of voting by mail.”