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Greater Los Angeles, CA May 14, 2020- Grassroots organizations announced a nationwide virtual rally to call on Congress to fund #VirusFreeVoting for all Americans, planned for Monday, May 18, 4-6 pm ET and 1-3 pm PT. The organizations assert that voters should not have to choose between their health and their vote. To highlight their virtual rally, more than 70 concerned voters crowdsourced a 90-second video compilation speaking directly to Congress. In the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, state governments must institute reforms allowing voters to safely cast their ballot, and states will need extra funding to run safe and secure elections. The grassroots organizations are calling on Congress to stand up and protect their right to vote by funding $3.6 billion in the Heroes Act relief bill to help states shift all Americans to vote-by-mail.  They are also demanding funding for the United States Postal Service to carry out the elections.

Leaders across the nation have voiced how critical #VirusFreeVoting is to our country to ensure that our fundamental rights as a democracy are safeguarded. 

"Congress must act so every citizen can vote safely from their home and ensure that the United States Postal Service is fully funded. It is absurd that there are already so many obstacles to be able to cast your vote in America. This is a matter of principle." – Michelle Fowle, Founder & Chair of The Resistance – Northridge, Indivisible; Field Team 6 trainer for California & Maine

"50 million unregistered Americans will need online registration to be able participate in this critical ‘Vote at Home’ moment. We need Congress to fully fund election support immediately.” – Patti Crane, Field Team 6 leader; Steering Committee member, Indivisible Beach Cities & Indivisible South Bay LA

“Vote by Mail is the best way to ensure that rural voters and voters with transportation issues can participate in elections. The USPS is vital to these communities for VBM and all other forms of vital communication."  – Martha Shockey, Founder, Indivisible GA-04

"In Wisconsin, we know all about having to choose between your vote and your health, maybe even your life. Now 67 COVID cases are tied to in-person voting. It must not happen again." - Linda Kessel, Lead Organizer, Indivisible Madison

"The majority of my Detroit Indivisible group members come from union households, so we were already standing up for the Postal Service. We are happy to join in this virtual protest to keep them funded and to expand access to vote by mail to everyone. We shouldn't have to choose between our health and our vote!" – PJ Edwards, leader, LP Indivisible, Detroit

Logistics:

Date: Monday, May 18

Time: 4-6 pm ET | 1-3 pm PT

Action: Organizers ask voters to call their Senators and Representative, post graphics and videos with the hashtag #VirusFreeVoting on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram during the Virtual Rally hours on Monday, retweet and share the video compilation, repost any items calling for #VirusFreeVoting, send letters to electeds via the Action Network link, and make and share a personal video using this link: FlipGrid.com/VirusFreeVoting. The full digital toolkit is here: VirusFreeVoting.org/Toolkit.

Grassroots Organizations Sponsoring the #VirusFreeVoting Virtual Rally as of May 14, 2020:

1. 350 South Bay Los Angeles

2. Action for a Better Tomorrow Sauk Valley

3. Bend the Arc: Champaign-Urbana

4. Blue Future

5. CBFD Indivisible San Diego

6. Code Blue Washington

7. Democracy Labs

8. Field Team 6

9. Flip the West

10. Heartland Resistance Coalition, an Indivisible group

11. Indivisible Beach Cities

12. Indivisible Bellingham

13. Indivisible CA-33

14. Indivisible CA-7

15. Indivisible Clackamas District 5

16. Indivisible Columbus District 3

17. Indivisible Ga 04

18. Indivisible Hawaii

19. Indivisible IL9

20. Indivisible Illinois

21. Indivisible Madison (WI)

22. Indivisible Martha's Vineyard

23. Indivisible Media City Burbank

24. Indivisible Nob Hill

25. Indivisible Petaluma

26. Indivisible San Jose

27. Indivisible San Pedro

28. Indivisible Sonoma County

29. Indivisible South Bay LA

30. Indivisible St Johns FL

31. Indivisible St Johns FL

32. Indivisible Vashon

33. Indivisible Western Springs and surrounding communities

34. IndivisibleKC

35. IndivisibleSF

36. Livermore Indivisible

37. LP Indivisible

38. Mainers for Accountable Leadership

39. Metairie Indivisible

40. MoveOn Sacramento

41. No Dem Left Behind

42. Ohio Progressive Action Leaders

43. Our Next 4 Years

44. People For the American Way

45. Rogan's List

46. Secure Elections Network

47. SoCal 350 Climate Action

48. South Puget Sound Action Network

49. The Democratic Coalition

50. The Resistance - Northridge, Indivisible

51. Venice Resistance

52. Washington State Indivisible Coalition

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Colleen / colleen@trnindivisible.org

Grassroots Organizations Across the Nation Launch Digital Rally
Urging Congress to Enact #VirusFreeVoting for All

Greater Los Angeles, CA  April 30th, 2020- Grassroots organizations announced a nationwide digital rally to call on Congress to fund #VirusFreeVoting for all Americans. The organizations assert that voters should not have to choose between their health and their vote. To highlight their virtual protest, 52 concerned voters crowdsourced a one-minute video compilation speaking directly to Congress. In the midst of the COVID 19 pandemic, governments must institute reforms allowing voters to safely cast their ballot and provide states the funding needed to run safe and secure elections.  They are calling on Congress to stand up and protect their right to vote by including $4 billion in the next relief bill to shift all Americans to vote-by-mail.  They are also demanding funding for the United States Postal service to carry out the elections.

Leaders across the nation have voiced how critical VirusFreeVoting is to our country to ensure that our fundamental rights as a democracy are safeguarded.  

"We must ensure a fair and safe election. No voter should risk their life to do their civic duty. That is why DemCastUSA is calling for expanded vote by mail, expanded early voting, and making voter registration more accessible to all. We must act now to ensure that every voter can safely cast their ballot and participate in our democratic process." – Jamie Carter, Director of Partnerships and Outreach for DemCastUSA

"It is absurd that there are already so many obstacles to be able to cast your vote in America. This pandemic has made crystal clear the disparities between the wealthy and the poor. Congress must act so evey citizen can vote safely from their home and ensure that the USPS is fully funded. This is a matter of principle." – Michelle Fowle, Founder and Chair of The Resistance – Northridge, Indivisible; Field Team 6 trainer for CA and ME.

"50 million unregistered Americans will need online registration in every state to be able participate in this critical “Vote at Home” moment. We need Congress to fully fund election support immediately- Patti Crane, Field Team 6 leader; Steering Committee member, Indivisible Beach Cities & Indivisible South Bay LA

Vote By Mail is the best way to ensure that rural voters and voters with transportation issues can participate in elections. The USPS is vital to these communities for VBM and all other forms of vital communication." - Martha Shockey, Founder, Indivisible Georgia-04

"In Wisconsin, we know all about having to choose between your vote and your health, maybe even your life. Now 52 COVID cases are tied to in-person voting. It must not happen again." - Linda Kessel, Lead Organizer, Indivisible Madison

"The majority of my Detroit Indivisible group members come from union households, so we were already standing up for the Postal Service. We are happy to join in this virtual protest to keep them funded and to expand access to vote by mail to everyone. We shouldn't have to choose between our health and our vote!"
– PJ Edwards, leader, LP Indivisible

Logistics:

Date: Thursday, April 30th

Time: 3-5 PM PT and 6-8 PM ET

Action: We ask voters to call their elected officials, post consistently on social media during the day and time mentioned above, retweet, repost any posts calling for #VirusFreeVoting, send action network letters, amplify using Speechifai, record, post and share a video on flipgrid.com/virusfreevoting, Full digital toolkit  Website: VirusFreeVoting.org

Grassroots Organizations Sponsoring:

1. Action for a Better Tomorrow Sauk Valley

2. Bend the Arc: Champaign-Urbana

3. Blue Future

4. Brave New Films

5. CBFD INDIVISIBLE SAN DIEGO

6. Code Blue Washington

7. DemCast USA 

8. Democracy Labs

9. Field Team 6

10. Flip the West

11. Heartland Resistance Coalition, an Indivisible group

12. Indivisible Beach Cities

13. Indivisible Bellingham

14. Indivisible CA-33

15. Indivisible CA-7

16. Indivisible Clackamas District 5

17. Indivisible Columbus District 3

18. Indivisible Ga 04

19. Indivisible Hawaii

20. Indivisible Illinois

21. Indivisible Madison (WI)

22. Indivisible Media City Burbank

23. Indivisible Nob Hill

24. Indivisible Petaluma

25. Indivisible San Jose 

26. Indivisible San Pedro

27. Indivisible Sonoma County

28. Indivisible South Bay LA

29. Indivisible St Johns FL

30. Indivisible Vashon

31. Indivisible Western Springs and surrounding communities

32. IndivisibleKC

33. IndivisibleSF

34. Livermore Indivisible

35. LP Indivisible

36. Mainers for Accountable Leadership

37. Metairie Indivisible

38. MoveOn Sacramento

39. No Dem Left Behind

40. Ohio Progressive Action Leaders

41. Our Next 4 Years

42. People For the American Way

43. Rogan's List

44. Secure Elections Network

45. South Puget Sound Action Network

46. The Democratic Coalition

47. The Resistance - Northridge, Indivisible

48. Unite Blue

49. Venice Resistance

50. Vote At Home Coalition

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