Millennial Action Project Lays Out Three Pillars for Safe, Bipartisan Improvements to Election Procedure Ahead of Primaries in New York and Kentucky
June 18, 2020
In order to promote election integrity and security as the primary season continues and November approaches, the Millennial Action Project (MAP) established three core pillars to conducting safe elections in the age of COVID-19.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2020
MEDIA CONTACT
Stacy Lewis
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In order to promote election integrity and security as the primary season continues and November approaches, the Millennial Action Project (MAP) established three core pillars to conducting safe elections in the age of COVID-19. The recommendations in these pillars are curated from policy experts and over 100 legislators in MAP’s Future Caucus Network; they are common-sense, bipartisan proposals that ensure voters are not forced to choose between protecting their health and exercising their right to participate in our democratic process.
Enable vote-by-mail: Currently, nearly every state in the country has absentee voting in some form, whether it be automatic, no excuse, or excuse only. In the age of COVID-19, all eligible voters should be afforded the option to vote-by-mail without needing any excuse apart from the coronavirus pandemic.
Accommodate social distancing: In addition to allowing no excuse absentee voting for all eligible voters, states should implement policies that facilitate absentee voting and social distancing at in-person polling locations. For example, extending the deadline by which absentee ballots must be submitted to control for the increase in volume; increasing the time eligible voters have to vote early, in-person to limit congestion on election day; expanding ballot drop locations so eligible voters can deposit their ballots with minimal exposure; and offering an online portal to request absentee ballots that are pre-addressed and prepaid with return envelopes.
Enhance ballot security: With an increase in the number of people voting remotely, we should take several measures to enhance ballot security so people can have faith that their voice will be heard. Enhancements like ballot tracking, electronic scanning of absentee ballots, 24-hour monitoring of drop boxes, auditing procedures and ballot replacement guidance will ensure that eligible voters can vote safely and securely in the elections to come.
These three pillars are part of MAP’s Partnering to Ensure Election Resiliency or P.E.E.R. Project. The P.E.E.R. Project is a bipartisan initiative promoted by the 1,000+ young policymakers in MAP’s Future Caucus network. If you would like to learn more about the P.E.E.R. Project, the Future Caucus network or how MAP is building political bridges to find bipartisan policy solutions for our elections, please feel free to reach out to [email protected].
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The Millennial Action Project (MAP) is a national, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to activating young policymakers to bridge the partisan divide and lead a new era of collaborative governance. In 2013, MAP organized America’s first-ever bipartisan caucus for young members of Congress, the Congressional Future Caucus. Shaping the next generation of leadership, MAP’s Future Caucus Network has expanded into nearly 30 state legislatures and grown into the largest nonpartisan organization of millennial elected officials in the U.S.
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