Policy Recommendations for Leagues to Advocate

The League of Women Voters of the United States believes that voting is a fundamental citizen right that must be guaranteed. The League  supports the following voting rights principles to ensure voters can safely participate in elections in 2020. These policy recommendations were carefully crafted with Impact on Issues positions at top of mind and reconciled with our work with coalition voting rights partners in response to the current global pandemic.

We encourage Leagues to lean on the Citizens Right to Vote and  Citizens Right to Know  positions when evaluating the appropriate next steps for their state and Leagues should use the guidance below as a reference point toward determining best action.  

LWVUS will continue to evaluate additional proposals and understands that state-by-state not all recommendations are feasible. For message consistency during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak, these are the following measures LWVUS supports publicly to ensure a safe and accessible 2020 election season. State and local League spokespersons may use this guidance when discussing publicly what the organization supports for election reform and expanding voting rights:

Voter Education and Addressing Misinformation:  

• Elections administrators must conduct public education by publishing changes to their official websites and promoting these sites to voters. The League recommends that changes be published within three hours of final decisions being made.  
• States and jurisdictions must undertake robust voter education campaigns as they make necessary changes to their policies and practices and must additionally counter any disinformation (intentional or not) with facts and accurate information. With seven to eight months until the general election which provide a start on preparations. 

Voter Registration:

• Online voter registration should be accessible to all. Voters should be allowed to check their registration and update their information through an online portal.  
• States should be prepared for an influx of users and ensure that stable and secure systems are in place that can handle a large amount of traffic.
• Election day registration or same day registration can be universally used in all states and jurisdictions. Voters should be allowed to register or update their information on Election Day and cast a regular ballot.  
• Voter registration deadlines should comply with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). If election dates are moved, states should extend registration deadlines to comply with the  NVRA, which will reduce voter confusion related to deadlines and minimize NVRA challenges. 

Early In-Person Voting:

• States should expand early voting options especially weekend hours on the weekend before Election Day.
• Between 14 and 30 days of early in-person voting should be allowed, including the weekend before Election Day, to reduce long lines and administrative stress on Election Day. 
• Early voting sites should follow the same procedures outlined for polling places (see below).  
• Elections administrators must educate the public about the option to vote early and encourage voters to take advantage of this policy.
• Administrators should also publish changes to their official websites and promote these sites to voters. The League recommends that changes be published within 3 hours of final decisions being made.

Expanded Access to Absentee Mail-In Ballots:

• All states should move to a no-excuse absentee system and any eligible voter in the state should be allowed to request a mail-in ballot.  
• Absentee mail-in ballots should include instructions on how to cast their ballots and all options for returning ballots should be clearly explained to the voter.  
• In states where ballots are required to be returned by mail, postage should be paid by the election official in the appropriate state or jurisdiction. The federal government must provide funding to states for any expansion to the mail-in provisions in times of national emergencies or pandemics. Reimbursement programs should be explicitly rejected since states and local election officials are unlikely to have funds to successfully implement and scale up expanded mail in options.
• States must allow voters who need assistance to designate individuals to provide support completing and submitting ballots, including voters with disabilities, illness, or who require language access.
• Options for requesting, receiving, and returning mail-in ballots should be expanded, while maintaining the security of the voting system and ensure that administrators are effectively trained on accessing the influx of these types of ballots in ways are inclusive of communities of color.  
• States should offer multiple methods of requesting mail-in ballots, including online, in person, by phone, and by mail.  
• Secure options for returning ballots should be expanded and deadlines for mail-in ballots to be requested and returned should be relaxed. Where possible, voters should be allowed to return ballots to any polling location in the appropriate state or jurisdiction. 

Polling Place Adjustments:

• Elections officials should follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) during a national pandemic.  
• Polling places must be adequately sanitized to prevent transmission of the virus, and should follow guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (including requiring sick poll workers to stay home, regularly cleaning frequently touched surfaces, disinfecting potentially contaminated surfaces, such as voting machines and other equipment, and frequent hand washing and sanitizing).
• Polling places should be reconfigured in order to adhere to “social distancing” protocol, creating additional space between voting booths, poll workers, and voters standing in line.
• Jurisdictions with polling places must follow public health guidelines while continuing to provide voting services at these sites. In-person voting is essential given that many people (including Native American tribes living on tribal lands) do not have access to mail voting. Denying these in-person voting options in some circumstances amounts to a violation of federal voting rights law.
• State and local officials must make any necessary modifications regarding polling place site determinations and administration of those locations. When considering such modifications, election administration officials must identify locations that both protect vulnerable communities and ensure that Black, Latino, Asian, and Native American racial and language minority voters, voters with disabilities, and students have the access they need to cast their vote.
• Jurisdictions should prepare for a surge in provisional voting due to delays in the processing of voter registration applications, voter confusion resulting from polling place closures and consolidations, and unfamiliarity with absentee voting.