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I received two emails today. One from Senator Chris Coons (D. DE):
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“This is just horrible,” one person said. “There is no reason it should take this long.”
Americans waited in line for one, two – even seven hours.
No, this wasn’t outside a retail store on Black Friday. This was Election Day: one of the most important days of the year for our country. This is the United States of America – the right to vote is in our DNA – we have to fix this now.
That’s why I’ve introduced the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely Voting Act of 2012 (FAST Voting Act). The FAST Voting Act sets up a competitive grant program to encourage states to innovate their electoral procedures and learn from those who are getting the job done.
Sign our petition at www.FixOurElectionsNow.org to urge the passage of the FAST Voting Act.
The FAST Voting Act isn't about winners and losers, it's about voters and ensures that every person has the ability to exercise his or her right to vote.
Between the extraordinary lines, discarded registrations, inaccurate voter rolls, and deceptive calls and mailings, the widespread violations of the voters’ civil rights are not only embarrassing, but they’re destructive to our democracy.
We the people should demand accountability in our elections and pass the FAST Voting Act:
http://www.FixOurElectionsNow.org
For many of us, voting was easy. I was able to vote early with in-person absentee voting. The line was short and the process was relatively simple.
The disparity, though, between my experience and that of some voters in states like Florida, Ohio and Virginia, is extremely disturbing. The FAST Voting Act helps remedy this by encouraging states to make it easier to register to vote, vote early and vote absentee. It’ll help shorten lines and make us more prepared for natural disasters. Ultimately it will preserve the security of our elections while making it easier for Americans to cast their votes.
The FAST Voting Act has already been endorsed up and down Delaware and nationally from the New York Times as a way to fix our broken election system.
As I work with other senators like Senator Mark Warner from Virginia to pass this legislation, please help us make sure electoral reform remains a priority issue. Sign and share our petition to Fix Our Elections Now:
http://www.FixOurElectionsNow.org
Fixing our elections will not only ensure the rights of all our people are fulfilled, but it will move us forward to something we constantly should be striving for – a more perfect union.
Best –
Chris
The other from Senator Mark Warner (D. VA):
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This year was another historic election for the battleground state of Virginia – but as the weeks have passed, I’ve been troubled by the stories I’ve heard from people across the Commonwealth and across the country about the hours they spent in line waiting to vote.
It’s inexcusable. Voters reportedly waited three, four and even five hours to cast their vote on Election Day. In the 21st century, in the greatest democracy in the world, voting shouldn’t be this hard.
That’s why I’ve joined with Senator Chris Coons to co-sponsor the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Voting Act of 2012, a piece of legislation that would provide incentives for states like Virginia to invest in practices and technology that would expedite voting at the polls and simplify voter registration. Now, I’m asking for your help to turn up the pressure on Congress to pass this important legislation into law.
Make your voice heard – sign the petition urging Congress to pass the FAST Act.
Virginians came out full force in 2012. But far too many of them were asked to wait longer than they could afford for the right to cast their ballot. These lengthy wait times have effectively brought forward a 21st century poll tax.
These flaws in our voting systems are fixable – but only if Congress acts. We need to ensure this voter disenfranchisement doesn’t happen again by passing common sense reforms that make voting faster and more accessible to all voters.
Please click here to sign the petition and join me in urging Congress to pass the FAST Act.
Thank you,
Mark Warner
Warner and Coons introduced the FAST Voting Act a few weeks ago:
http://atlantablackstar.com/...
A new bill suggests that efficient voting process should be a national priority. Senators Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Chris Coons (D-Delaware) introduced The Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Voting Act of 2012, which would give federal grants to states that improve access to their polls. States would be judged based on several categories, including early voting and absentee ballot availability.
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“The extremely long lines and wait times that many Virginia voters experienced at the polls this week were completely unacceptable,” Warner said via a statement. “The FAST Voting Act addresses this issue in a responsible way: it does not impose new mandates, and authorizes additional resources for those states which step up with common sense reforms to make voting faster and accessible to more voters.”
Still in the early phases, the source for grant funding was not identified in the bill’s announcement. The legislation would only authorize the government to reward states, but would not control how grants are dispersed.
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“We’re not intending for this to be new money,” a spokesman for Coons said, according to ABC News.. “We want to make sure it comes out of existing funds. There’s still quite a bit of work to be done on that front.” - Atlanta Black Star, 11/18/12
Glad to see Senators Warner and Coons take initiative in making voting and voter registration easier. Especially in Virginia where the GOP was busted trying to toss out voter registration forms and intimidate voters in voting lines. I'm originally from Pennsylvania and I know all about the GOP's plans to rob Democrats of the vote. So please take some time to sign Warner and Coons petition:
http://www.fixourelectionsnow.org/...
Both Coons and Warner are up for re-election. As an extra way of saying thanks for sticking up for voters rights, how about helping fuel their re-election campaigns:
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https://secure.actblue.com/...
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https://secure.actblue.com/...