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Common Cause manages grassroots voter protection field programs for the Election Protection coalition mentioned above. It works with organizations in all 50 states to identify election reforms at all levels of government, including expanding vote-by-mail and ensuring safe in-person voting with strict public health and social distancing guidelines. The organization has recruited more than 35,000 volunteers during the 2020 election through its Protect the Vote program (four times more than they saw during the 2016 election), according to its national media strategist David Vance. Common Cause also has an online tool to help people quickly find their representatives, how to contact them, bills they’ve introduced, committees they’ve served on and political contributions they’ve received to ensure you have all the information needed to vote.

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.

Suzanne Almeida, the interim executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan organization that advocates to expand access to voting, told Newsweek that the "pattern of litigation" seen in the state in recent months is unlikely to end with Election Day. "We know that Pennsylvania is certainly in the center of the bullseye when it comes to this election. With new voting laws, and a focus from both national campaigns, everyone is fighting for the state's voters. And we don't expect that to stop on Election Day," Almeida said. "We have already seen a pattern of litigation from both parties, but particularly President Trump's campaign where they are attempting to use the courts to clarify or in some cases rewrite election law in Pennsylvania," she added. "But at the end of the day the important thing is that every single vote counts and that voters have confidence in the result—whatever it is."

However, even in states with open carry laws and no restrictions on guns at locations that host polling, such as churches and schools, prohibitions on guns prevail, according to Suzanne Almeida, interim executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania. "There are valid concerns now," Almeida added, "but we must let voters know about them without involuntarily discouraging them from coming to the polls." "We will have more than 1,000 volunteers at polling stations for questions, and to be eyes and ears on the ground and have voters' backs," Almeida said. "We make sure voters have a good experience."