News Clips

In New Mexico, Amber Carillo is helping members of the state's various tribes get information on the best way to register ahead of the Oct. 31 deadline. A member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe with relatives in the Acoma Pueblo, Carillo is particularly distressed whenever she gets word of another elder who has died from complications of COVID-19. “These are people that carry our cultural wisdom and language,” says Carillo, a Native American voting rights organizer with the activist group Common Cause New Mexico. “For us, when they die, it’s like the Library of Congress burning down.”

Common Cause Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan watchdog group and Election Protection partner, is hearing from voters who want reassurance they’re doing everything right. “We are seeing such incredible voter anxiety in Pennsylvania that is really a result of a lot of the new laws,’’ said Suzanne Almeida, the group's interim executive director. Almeida pointed to various election changes, including vote-by-mail available to eligible voters for the first time in some states, satellite election offices and deadline extensions. “All of which is in the midst of probably the most fraught election – at least of my lifetime,’’ she said.

“We’re holding our breath, and I’m concerned about lines at early voting places,” said Jay Heck, executive director of the nonpartisan voting rights group Common Cause in Wisconsin. “Every area - red counties and blue - there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm,” he said in reference to counties that lean toward either of the parties.

Suzanne Almeida, acting executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said she is aware of the technological challenges voters are facing as they try to register online and has petitioned the state to address it. “There are things that DOS [Department of State] can do to make sure those people are registered, and my understanding is they are taking those steps,” she said, adding that the situation is “not perfect” and is “the kind thing that could make it more difficult for folks to register to vote. For someone who is on the fence, they may decide not to bother.”

While that ruling is likely to draw an appeal, any prolonged legal uncertainty for the absentee ballots could threaten a voter’s opportunity to cure the ballot in time. “The longer a voter says, ‘Oh I turned in my ballot, it must be good,’ when they do finally hear from the county, they might be more suspicious about it, considering how much disinformation there is going around,” said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at Common Cause, a voting rights group.