Dear Illinois Voter:
This email focuses on two critical electoral issues: our endorsements of Sean Casten & Lauren Underwood, and a live opportunity to ask questions of them & their campaigns; and important information about our Illinois #virusfreevoting Vote-By-Mail campaign.
Join us this Thursday, May 14 at 7PM on Zoom, to hear directly from Sean & Lauren about their campaigns! Register here!
Our joint Casten/Underwood endorsement:
Two years ago Indivisible DuPage embraced a daunting electoral challenge: electing sensible, progressive Democrats to represent the Illinois 6th and 14th districts, including much of DuPage. Daunting because the conservative incumbents, long out of touch with the needs and aspirations of most district residents, were entrenched in decades long rule. Indivisible DuPage, along with other political organizations and hundreds of volunteers, determined that a massive, grass roots campaign could attract thousands of voters yearning for progressive change. The key to harnessing this energy and yearning was selecting candidates the electorate could believe in. Sean Casten in the 6th and Lauren Underwood in the 14th fit that requirement splendidly. Both represented a seismic shift away from career politicians beholden to the billionaires, the fossil fuel economy, the health insurance firewall sentencing millions to inadequate health care, among other special interests. They pledged to not only represent their 750,000 district residents in Congress, they promised to engage them personally, with town halls, public meetings, and myriad communication media virtually nonexistent within memory.
The campaign and the candidates meshed perfectly, propelling Casten and Underwood to compelling victories, nearly reversing the historical lopsided Republican majorities election after election in the 6th and 14th. In the two years since, both have lived up to all hopes and expectations. Gone were championing tax cuts for the billionaires, promoting earth choking fossil fuel businesses, denying tens of millions medical care to serve the health insurance industry, and cutting lifesaving regulations to fatten corporate wealth. Casten and Underwood have been laser focused on their constituents' real needs: championing clean energy initiatives, protecting the environment, promoting health care for all as a basic right, and honoring education and job training to drive a prosperous future.
Heading into the November 3rd election, Indivisible DuPage is once again proud to endorse Sean Casten in the Illinois 6th and Lauren Underwood in the Illinois 14th. Two years ago we said they could serve their districts with distinction. Today we can say they most certainly are serving with distinction. They deserve the support of us all to continue the unfinished work ahead, this time with a Democratic Senate.
#Virusfreevoting:
Things have been moving very quickly and we are writing to inform you about the timing, issues and new digital tools that you can use to build support for this critical cause! We have just 3 weeks left to ensure that Illinois has #Virusfreevoting
Time is of the essence! If we don't act now, November 2020 election day in some Illinois counties may be a repeat of the horrible scenes out of Milwaukee in April 2020, especially if the predictions of a second wave of the COVID-19 bear out. Significant Republican opposition to vote by mail efforts stems from their belief that the more people vote, the better it will be good for Democrats and the worse for them, and they have found 20 million dollars to fight us on the national level. The actions we can take to promote safe and expansive voting rights range from the county, to the state, to the national level. Please read on to learn what you can do join this critical movement!
Our goal is to expand access to safe voting in Illinois:
1. We must have a ballot automatically sent out paid return postage envelope in every registered voters mailbox.
2. We must have a statewide vote-tracking system.
3. We must have longer, earlier and expanded hours for both vote by mail (VBM) and early voting.
We can meet this goal in Illinois! Here's how:
There is a bill in progress addressing all of these goals that is about to be brought up in Springfield, and it needs our support now! We know that there is overwhelming public support for VBM, and it is up to us to mobilize that support and get this bill passed! And, of course, we also always welcome your ideas, plans, and contact building. See this regularly updated shareable timeline of how to get to #virusfreevoting in Illinois: bit.ly/VBMTimeline.
Actions we need now! Here's what you can do:
- For up to date information on our state campaign, bookmark this link: bit.ly/VoteByMailCampaign.
- Sign up for the VBM IL task force https://bit.ly/VBM2020IL
- Find tools for daily actions here: http://bit.ly/VBMDigitalToolkit.
Educate yourself about the need for changes in Vote by Mail in Illinois! Here are some resources:
- Watch a video of Lee Greenhouse from the National Vote At Home Institute: Bit.ly/VBM4IDP. This presentation was hosted by Indivisible DuPage, and explains why Voting At Home is the fastest, cheapest, easiest and safest way to vote, pandemic or not.
- For an excellent Vote by Mail reference library: bit.ly/VBMReferenceLibrary
- Mythbusting the fraud and security issues promoted by opponents of VBM; this is a quick FAQ voteathome.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Mail-Ballot-Security-Processes-FAQ.pdf.
- For best VBM practices: see this FAQ: voteathome.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/FAQ-Best-Practices.pdf.
And, don't forget: Join us this Thursday, May 14 at 7PM on Zoom, to hear directly from Sean & Lauren about their campaigns! Register here!
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