The incoming Legislature will also benefit from more people of color serving among its members, said Beth Huang, the executive director of the Massachusetts Voter Table.
Read moreTrust, civic education seen as keys to voter engagement →
MA Voter Table Executive Director Beth Huang said it all comes back to trust and people trusting that their vote actually can lead to change in their community. But that trust between a candidate or elected official and voters can’t only exist when an election is coming up, she said.
“Trust is broken when candidates make big promises, their campaign office is closed by that Wednesday or Thursday after Election Day, and then people vote and things don’t change,” Huang said. “And so I think sometimes we see a trust broken when there aren’t continued organizations or structures for people to be engaged year-round.”
Read moreMake a Plan to Vote: Early Voting in MA Begins Oct. 22 →
"It definitely makes a difference when we go vote, and when we turn out our friends and family to come with us."
Read moreHow the census recount could affect housing in Massachusetts →
What they're saying: "The additional funds for any other social supports for food, for heating, for child care and more also really matter to how rent-burdened families are able to live their daily lives," Beth Huang, executive director of the Massachusetts Voter Table, tells Axios.
That also extends to federal transportation funding, she says. "We really can't separate transportation from housing. People want to live close to where they work and want a commute that is bearable."
Read moreEarly registration finds interest among up-and-coming voters →
"This is a big win for democracy," said Geoff Foster, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, a nonpartisan group. "We are seeing youth voter turnout continuing to increase, and the ability to engage a young person while they're still in high school increases the likelihood that they will become civically engaged when they reach voting age."
Read moreDeSantis takes immigration fight to Massachusetts →
Beth Huang, executive director of the Massachusetts Voter Table, offered a few reasons for the disparity: Many voters of color and low-income voters are “skeptical about why it’s important to vote” and of mail-in voting itself, she said. The process requires multiple steps — because voters have to apply for their mail ballots instead of being automatically sent them like in some other states — creating a “higher barrier to entry.” And whether someone rents or owns a home could also make a difference.
“Places where we know there are so many renters, like in Everett and Chelsea, I would not be surprised if a large number of mail-in ballot applications went to the wrong addresses, which is part of the argument for the application,” Huang told Playbook. …
Huang and her group are working to close those gaps for the general election, regardless of how people cast their ballots. “We have three good options,” she said. “That’s really what matters to us.”
Read moreAfter redrawn districts, far more candidates of color are poised to join State House ranks →
“We definitely are taking the long view in many of these districts. In some places, it will require the incumbent to step down to field several candidates of color,” said Beth Huang, executive director of the Massachusetts Voter Table. “Redistricting alone is not going to be the fix for representation.”
Read moreNew American Voters Fund
Massachusetts is home to 223,244 naturalized citizens who speak English “less than well.” These 200,000+ New Americans deserve the same access to casting a ballot and having a voice in the democratic process.
The Census Bureau published the list of Voting Rights Act Section 203 jurisdictions on December 8, 2021. Section 203 mandates that a jurisdiction must provide language assistance to voters if more than five (5) percent of voting-age citizens are members of a single-language minority group and do not “speak or understand English adequately enough to participate in the electoral process,” and if the rate of those citizens who have not completed the fifth grade is higher than the national rate of voting-age citizens who have not completed the fifth grade.
Massachusetts has 20 jurisdictions that meet these thresholds and must provide language access to all voters across the municipality. (Lowell is counted twice since two language minority groups meet the threshold.)
Spanish: Boston, Chelsea, Clinton, Everett, Fitchburg, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Methuen, Revere, Salem, Southbridge, Springfield, Worcester
Chinese: Malden, Quincy
Khmer (Cambodian): Lowell
Vietnamese: Randolph
Implementing VRA Section 203 in these jurisdictions requires:
Hiring bilingual poll workers or interpreters at every polling location
Hiring permanent bilingual elections department staffers
Providing fully bilingual ballots
Distributing bilingual outreach materials
Targeting outreach and information sessions
Hiring professional translators for bilingual digital information on elections
Training the elections department on voting rights law and discrimination
Creating clear, rapid resonse systems to discrimination or lack of access
Collecting feedback from LEP residents to improve voting
These are necessary measures to avoid voting rights violations and subsequent litigation. However, the federal government does not provide funding to carry out these measures. Without funding, many municipalities unintentionally cut corners, and naturalized immigrant voters are disenfranchised.
New Massachusetts Law Requires Jails to Expand Ballot Access →
Katie Talbot, an organizer for Neighbor to Neighbor Massachusetts Action Fund, says that widespread misinformation and confusion over who can vote also prevents people in pretrial detention from understanding their own rights. “I was formerly incarcerated and I could speak to personal experience that when I was in jail I knew nothing about when elections were happening and what’s the process to vote,” Talbot said.
Read moreVoting Rights Advocates Applaud New Expansion to Voting Laws in Massachusetts
Boston, MA — Governor Baker signed the VOTES Act into law today, expanding access to the ballot in Massachusetts.
Voting rights advocates, public interest groups and a network of state and local organizations praised the legislation signed by Governor Baker today. The bill, An Act Fostering Voting Opportunities, Trust, Equity, and Security or the VOTES Act, is the largest expansion of voting access in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in years. The House and Senate passed the final version of the bill last week.
The VOTES Act will make several permanent changes to Massachusetts’ election laws, including: allowing voters to vote by mail without an excuse; expanding early voting options; making sure that eligible voters who are incarcerated are able to request a mail ballot and vote; ensuring that the Commonwealth joins the 30-state Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to keep voter registration rolls up-to-date; and more. The bill also reduces the voter registration deadline prior to an election from twenty days to ten.
The VOTES Act, sponsored by State Representative John Lawn and Senator Cindy Creem, is strongly supported by the Massachusetts Election Modernization Coalition, a coalition of advocacy organizations working to modernize the Commonwealth’s election laws.
“We are thrilled that Governor Baker signed the VOTES Act into law today. We’d like to thank Governor Baker, Senate President Spilka and Speaker Mariano for making voting rights a priority this legislative session,” said Geoff Foster, Executive Director of Common Cause Massachusetts. “At a time when many states are making it harder to vote, this new law will modernize our elections and make our democracy more accessible and equitable.”
“We are proud Massachusetts is actively supporting voters and appreciate the Governor signing this bill,” said Patricia Comfort, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts. “We expect voters to use the mail and early voting options as soon as the Sept. 6 primary election.”
“Voters embraced mail-in voting and expanded early voting in 2020,” said Beth Huang, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Voter Table, “Now that the VOTES Act is law, we will educate voters, especially in communities of color and working-class neighborhoods, about these permanent expansions of voting rights.”
“Voting is the foundation of democracy; it is the right we exercise to protect all others,” said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. “Across the country, voting rights are in peril, but Massachusetts is charting a different course. We applaud Massachusetts policymakers for strengthening our democracy and advancing these crucial voting reforms.”
“Whatever sport you’re following right now, signing this bill is a home run, a slam dunk, or a hole in one. All of us win when voting is made more accessible and that’s what the VOTES Act will accomplish,” said Janet Domenitz, Executive Director of MASSPIRG. “Our thanks go out to Governor Baker for turning this act into law.”
“We are overjoyed that Governor Baker has signed the VOTES Act into law,” said Vanessa Snow, Policy and Organizing Director at MassVOTE. “Policies included in the VOTES Act, like permanent mail-in voting, expanded early voting, and jail-based voting reforms, will increase accessibility and equity in our elections. We of course wish that Election Day Registration was included in this version of the VOTES Act, but we will continue to fight tirelessly for the reform in the years ahead. We thank Representative John Lawn and Senator Cindy Creem for filing the VOTES Act, as well as Senate President Spilka, House Speaker Mariano, and Governor Baker for supporting the bill.”
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The Election Modernization Coalition is made up of Common Cause Massachusetts, ACLU of Massachusetts, League of Women Voters of Massachusetts, MassVOTE, the Massachusetts Voter Table, MASSPIRG, and Lawyers for Civil Rights.