The Senate proposal also fails to provide any additional funding for cash-strapped state and local election officials who exhausted their budgets holding primary elections during a public health crisis. The right to vote and vote safely should be a priority for Congress, not a means to suppress the vote. The bill provides nothing for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) which will be relied upon heavily in the coming election to deliver ballot applications and ballots on-time in order to allow every American to make their voices heard at the polls. Again, this move follows the lead of a White House determined to undermine the effectiveness of the Postal Service on the eve of an election.
Adequate funding from Congress is one of the key recommendations of our Fair Elections During a Crisis report. Whether Congress funds it or not, the additional costs for mail-in and in-person voting are going to be there and we don’t want election officials to do a sloppy job because of inadequate resources.