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The State of Reform

Download Unite America’s free report

Download Unite America's free report analyzing the impact of four key political reforms.

Verified Voting

VerifiedVoting.org is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates for legislation and regulation that promotes accuracy, transparency and verifiability of elections. We believe the integrity and strength of our democracy relies on citizens' trust that each vote be counted as cast. Our primary concern lies in ensuring that the means for verifying election outcomes are in place and used for that purpose. We also focus on the reliability and security of voting systems. We connect those who are making and implementing policy that shapes how we vote to those who understand the particular risks associated with the emerging digital landscape, particularly online and electronic voting.

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Events

Foreign Interference: Rep. Elissa Slotkin and CAP VP Kelly Magsamen on the 2020 National Security Agenda

Organizer: Leadership Now Project

As we approach this year's election, our country faces serious questions about both America's role in the world and the very integrity of our democratic processes. How is America handling the threat of foreign interference in the 2020 election? What role might the military or the international community play in the event of an election crisis? And what's the potential for a foreign policy course correction under a new administration? Join us for a conversation with former CIA and Pentagon official turned Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (Mich.) and former Pentagon and White House official and VP of National Security at CAP Kelly Magsamen to examine all things at the intersection of national security and American democracy in 2020.

Location: Webinar

Big Picture

J. Scott Applewhite/Getty Images

Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, here at Monday's Capitol service for the late Rep. John Lewis, will ultimately negotiate the fate of additional federal funding to smooth the election.

Anger, not panic, from advocates as Senate seeks no new election aid

There's not a dime for creating a safer and smoother election in the Senate Republican economic stimulus proposal — which has voting rights groups, democracy reform advocates and some election administrators professing outrage and frustration, but not panic just yet.

The roughly $1 trillion package, unveiled Monday and blessed by the Trump administration, is essentially the GOP's opening bid for negotiations with the Democratic House. It has voted for $3 trillion more in coronavirus recovery funds including $3.6 billion for states to make their November contest healthy, comprehensive and reliable despite the pandemic.

Securing significant aid for the states — mainly so they can accommodate a guaranteed surge in voting by mail — has become good-governance lobbyists' singular focus during the public health emergency. They remain cautiously optimistic the ultimate bipartisan deal this summer will include several hundred million beyond the $400 million they secured this spring, banking that the pleadings of election officials in many red states will outweigh President Trump's unfounded allegations about the fraudulent evils of mail voting.

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Protecting the Integrity of U.S. Elections: A Conversation with Rep. Rodney Davis

Organizer: Lincoln Network

Lincoln Network invites you to join us for a 30-minute virtual discussion with U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois. From his position as the ranking member of the House Committee on Administration, which has jurisdiction over U.S. elections, Rep. Davis has been a leader on efforts to promote election integrity and oversee our election system.

Now policymakers are facing new challenges as states and local governments prepare to administer elections during the pandemic, including by expanding absentee balloting. Rep. Davis will discuss the findings of his oversight and recommendations for protecting the integrity of U.S. elections.

We will reserve the final 10 minutes of this discussion for a Q&A with Rep. Davis. This event will be moderated by Dan Lips, Lincoln Network's director of cyber and national security.

Location: Webinar

Voting

Paul Natkin/Getty Images

Illinois Gov. BJ Pritzker signed into law on Tuesday legislation that will make it easier for citizens to vote by mail. A settlement of a lawsuit in Minnesota on Tuesday will have a similar impact.

Voting by mail gets boost in Illinois and Minnesota

New laws in Illinois and the settling of a lawsuit in Minnesota will ease voters' ability to use mail-in ballots.

On Tuesday, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed two bills that collectively require vote-by-mail applications be sent to all recent voters, expand early voting hours and allow for curbside voting, amend the process used to verify signatures on mailed-in ballots, and designate Election Day a state holiday.

"In the face of a pandemic, massive economic upheaval, and renewed calls for racial justice, it's more important than ever that Illinoisans can hold accountable a truly representative and transparent government," Pritzker said.

The changes to voting procedures only apply to the Nov. 3 general election.

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