The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Ryan Thomas, (763) 954-0470, ryan@standupamerica.com

Stand Up America, Dozen Partners Send Letter to McConnell and Schumer Demanding $600M For Election Security Funding In CR

WASHINGTON

Today, Stand Up America and a dozen partner organizations, including Indivisible and Sierra Club, sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to demand that the Senate include at least $600 million in election security funding in any continuing resolution passed before the November 21 government funding deadline.

The letter, which can be viewed here, reads:

"Time has almost run out to provide states with the resources they need to protect the 2020 election. The best opportunity for lawmakers to effectively secure our elections before 2020 is by including $600 million in directed appropriations for election security in the continuing resolution that will extend government funding past November 21, 2019--when current government funding runs out.

"Therefore, on behalf of the millions of Americans we represent, the undersigned organizations demand that the Senate include at least $600 million in election security funding, with appropriate accountability language, in the upcoming continuing resolution...

"As leaders of the Senate, you have a constitutional obligation and moral duty to protect the foundations of our democracy by ensuring that America's elections are secure. Inaction is not an option."

The letter comes ahead of the Secure Our Vote day of action on November 13. Partners signing onto the letter include: Business for America; Clean Elections Texas; CREDO; Democracy 21; Franciscan Action Network; Greenpeace USA; Indivisible; New American; Leaders Action Fund; Secure Elections Network; and Sierra Club.

Earlier this year, Stand Up America launched a campaign to demand $600 million in election security funding, which includes:

  • Texting and emailing hundreds of thousands of constituents across the country and driving 90,000 calls to Congress, including the offices of key Republican and Democratic senators like Leaders McConnell and Schumer and Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO), Chris Coons (D-DE), John Kennedy (R-LA), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Richard Shelby (R-AL), and others
  • A volunteer-driven peer-to-peer texting campaign, which uses the voter file to educate tens of thousands of voters about election security and drive constituent calls to key senators, including Leader McConnell (R-KY) and Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO), John Kennedy (R-LA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC)
  • A billboard near Leader McConnell's district office in Louisville urging Kentuckians to call 'Moscow Mitch' to demand he stop blocking election security funding

Stand Up America is a progressive advocacy organization with over two million community members across the country. Focused on grassroots advocacy to strengthen our democracy and oppose Trump's corrupt agenda, Stand Up America has driven over 600,000 phone calls to Congress and mobilized tens of thousands of protestors across the country.