LAV/ECU sent a letter to Sununu in April encouraging him to classify COVID-19 as a permissible excuse for voting absentee in the state’s primary and general elections
Let America Vote (LAV)//End Citizens United (ECU) Action Fund President Tiffany Muller released the following statement on news that Governor Chris Sununu (R-NH) signed H.B. 1266, which will allow all registered voters in New Hampshire to vote absentee in the September primary and November general election amid COVID-19:
“Governor Chris Sununu signing this critical bill to allow all New Hampshire voters to have the option to vote by mail in November is a direct result of grassroots pressure. No one should ever have to choose between their health and their right to vote, and H.B. 1266 ensures that Granite Staters will have safe, accessible and fair access to the ballot in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. This win is due to the hard work of organizers and everyday people across New Hampshire who pushed Governor Sununu and state lawmakers to listen to their concerns.
“While signing this bill is a critical step, it was the bare minimum. Governor Sununu and his office must work with the Secretary of State to ensure that the recommendations from the bipartisan Committee on Emergency Election Support are implemented to the fullest extent possible.”
LAV and ECU’s SAFE Democracy Project is a 50-state grassroots effort calling on Congress, Governors, and Secretaries of State to provide more election preparedness funding, implement a universal no-excuse vote-by-mail option for all 2020 elections, and add additional safeguards to guarantee safe and clean in-person voting.
As part of the project, LAV and ECU sent a letter to Governor Sununu on April 9, 2020 encouraging him to implement policies that protect voters’ health and access to the ballot. Through SAFE, the organizations’ members also sent more than 77,300 texts to in-state activists urging them to contact the Governor’s office in support of H.B. 1266.
Both LAV and ECU have been active and engaged in New Hampshire in recent election cycles and recently launched an in-state field operation. For the 2020 cycle, LAV and ECU have endorsed eight reformers for state-level races in New Hampshire, including State Senator Dan Feltes for Governor. Feltes recently proposed a campaign finance reform pledge that would increase transparency and root out corruption. Feltes asked other gubernatorial candidates, including Governor Chris Sununu and Executive Councilor Andru Volinsky, to sign on to what he is calling the “Granite State People’s Pledge.”
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