“Deadline looms for keeping state voting reforms” (Editorial, June 6) is a welcome contribution to an important discussion on voting rights in the Commonwealth. In addition to the bill the editorial focused on, there’s a more comprehensive bill being considered by the Legislature. The VOTES Act, filed by Senator Cindy Creem and Representative John Lawn, has over 100 legislative cosponsors and addresses systemic barriers to our democracy by calling for same-day registration on Election Day and on early in-person voting days. In fact, 15 of the 20 states that have same-day registration, including our neighbors Maine and Vermont, allow registration on early voting days, which makes life easier for voters and administrators alike. The VOTES Act would also require the secretary of state’s office to finally enroll in the Electronic Registration Information Center, as the Legislature directed in 2018. ERIC will make our voter rolls more accurate and make implementing same-day registration easier. The VOTES Act also provides return postage for applications and ballots.
As the editorial states, the debate over these important details is playing out in the margins, and the Creem/Lawn bill has the improvements needed to bring everyone in from those margins.
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Geoff Foster
Executive director, Common Cause Massachusetts
The letter was written on behalf of the Election Modernization Coalition, which includes ACLU Massachusetts, Common Cause Massachusetts, Lawyers for Civil Rights, League of Women Voters Massachusetts, Massachusetts Voter Table, MASSPIRG, and MassVOTE.
