Fair Fight Action, American Bridge, Priorities USA Launch National “Voter Suppression Watch” Initiative to Combat Voter Suppression and Expose Anti-Voting Groups
“Voter Suppression Watch” Initiative Will Fight Back Against Unprecedented Efforts By GOP and Right-Wing Groups To Suppress The Vote in 2020
Washington, DC — Today, the national organizations, Fair Fight Action, American Bridge, and Priorities USA announced a joint partnership initiative to track efforts by GOP and right-wing anti-voting organizations to limit access to the ballot, expose the tactics and leaders behind voter intimidation practices and educate like-minded organizations committed to protecting every eligible American’s vote in 2020.
The end of the Republican National Committee consent decree has enabled the GOP to fund the largest and most coordinated voter suppression scheme to date. Ahead of the 2020 election, the White House, RNC, state Republican parties and elected officials, and right-wing anti-voting groups are deploying a coordinated multi-pronged strategy of suppression and intimidation, including:
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raising tens of millions of dollars for litigation to make it harder to vote
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pushing voter suppression measures in states
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reshaping rules at the local level to make voting harder
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resisting efforts to promote voter safety through vote by mail
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engaging in misinformation campaigns
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forming “task forces” to prosecute voters
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recruiting 50,000 “poll monitors” to intimidate voters
Voter Suppression Watch will fight back against these tactics and call out the myth of voter “fraud” — the lie on which the coordinated assault on voting rights is based. Despite data showing that both in-person and mail voting fraud is extremely rare, voter suppression efforts use this myth to justify making it harder to vote and making it harder for one’s vote to count. Moreover, Voter Suppression Watch will expose how anti-voting efforts are specifically intended to target eligible voters who are people of color, students, and immigrants.
Wisconsin was just one example of the lengths to which the GOP will go to prevent voters, especially Black and brown voters, from casting a ballot safely and fairly. Voter Suppression Watch has fostered an innovative, coordinated strategy with a clear-eyed understanding of the GOP’s strategy to execute a comprehensive nationwide plan to ensure every eligible American can vote and have their vote counted without fear, intimidation, or undue burden.
Fair Fight Action, Priorities USA, and American Bridge understand that the 2020 election will be a battle to ensure every eligible voter can cast a ballot and have it counted. Left unchecked, anti-voting organizations will continue to weaponize false rhetoric and heavy-handed tactics to restrict access to the ballot and justify systems that police rather than protect the vote. Voter Suppression Watch will hold anti-voting actors accountable for their attacks on our democracy and on our sacred right to vote.
QUOTES:
“Voting as a fundamental right is under attack from an array of bad actors in 2020. Priorities USA is proud to join American Bridge and Fair Fight Action as we push back against these attacks and protect every eligible voter’s right to be heard. By exposing anti-voting groups and holding them and their leaders accountable, we will ensure that American voters are able to cast their votes freely and fairly, and that they have accurate information to help them do so.” – Aneesa McMillan, Director of Strategic Communications and Voting Rights, Priorities USA
“Now more than ever, we must protect the right to vote. A nationwide, GOP-lead effort to suppress that right strikes at the foundation of our nation’s values. We condemn this coordinated attempt to suppress the vote, and we will not let it stand. By partnering with Priorities USA and Fair Fight Action, we will expose this voter suppression for the anti-American tactic that it is, and we will ensure that all eligible Americans can cast their votes without having to combat the interference of these nakedly partisan efforts.” – Bradley Beychok, President, American Bridge 21st Century
“We will not rest in 2020 until right-wing anti-voting groups and the Republican National Committee are exposed and held accountable for their unprecedented efforts to suppress the vote. They are willing to spend and do anything to restrict the right to vote, especially among people of color, because they know that voter suppression is the only way they can win. These groups and the cast of characters leading them have freely admitted their intentions while spreading lies about vote by mail and so-called voter fraud. They will be met with full resistance from our organizations.” – Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO of Fair Fight Action