The conference committee reconciling the Senate and House versions of the VOTES Act met for the first time Thursday, April 7. This committee needs to know the people of Massachusetts want them to include Election Day Registration (EDR) in the final version of the bill.
Please contact your own Representative and Senator now; find contact information here.
Ask them to tell members of the conference committee and the House and Senate leadership to adopt the Election Day Registration compromise and include it in the final version of the VOTES Act. Mention that the town clerks’ association is in favor of this compromise. The more the conference committee members hear from their colleagues about how popular this reform is, the better our chances of getting it in the final bill.
If your legislator is on the conference committee, it is particularly important that you call. The committee members are Senators Barry Finegold, Cynthia Creem and Ryan Fattman, and Representatives Michael Moran, Dan Ryan and Shawn Dooley. Here is a sample script:
"I'm a member of the League of Women Voters of __________ and a constituent of (Sen./Rep.) _______________. I strongly support including Election Day Voter Registration in the final version of the VOTES Act, now in conference committee. I ask the (Senator/Representative) to talk to the members of the conference committee and to the (Senate/House) leadership and urge them to adopt this compromise. Twenty states already use Election Day Registration, and the town clerks' association supports this compromise. I urge you to help bring Election Day Registration to Massachusetts. Thank you." (If you are sending an email, include your full street address.)
You might also be interested in this April 7 Boston Globe column on the issue:
Click here for more on EDR and the status of the VOTES Act.
