Voting Rights

“We support this bill because it is based on evidence and best practices from other states,” says Pam Wilmot of Common Cause Massachusetts. “It is comprehensive, and includes reforms that consider the needs of voters, but also of local elections officials who no matter what happens will be faced with a surge of absentee ballots and very different elections than in years past. One clear lesson learned from other states is that the necessary reforms will take all the time we have to implement, which is why we urge the Joint Committee on Election Laws to act quickly to move this critical bill.”

“Regardless of what we do, we’re going to see an increase of absentee balloting from the current rate of 3 to 5 percent to 70, 60, 80, 90 percent,” said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, which supports universal vote-by-mail. “When you add on the request process, it’s astronomical.”

“The baseline is the same in the sense that I think all involved…want to ensure that everyone who wants to cast an absentee ballot in the fall are not blocked from doing so by our absentee laws,” said Pam Wilmot, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts.