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League Continues Beacon Hill Push to Bring Automatic
Voter Registration to Massachusetts
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LWVMA Executive Director Meryl Kessler with Rep. Peter Kocot and coalition partners at the Massachusetts State House. |
While the Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) legislation introduced this session remains in committee, the League continues to meet with legislators, urging them to bring it to a vote.
AVR will modernize our voter registration system to make it more accurate, secure and cost-effective. AVR shifts voter registration from an opt-in to an opt-out system. If passed, every eligible citizen who goes to the RMV or other state services agencies would automatically be registered to vote, unless they decline, and up to 700,000 new voters would be added to the rolls in Massachusetts.
The AVR legislation has popular support in both legislative chambers, with 80 House co-sponsors and 22 Senate co-sponsors.
The legislation is also endorsed by 48 organizations including environmental, civil rights, consumer, community, labor, and good government groups. Ten states and the District of Columbia have already passed AVR, all in a bipartisan manner.
To help move this legislation forward, please join us and our coalition partners on January 31 for an AVR Lobby Day from 9:30 a.m. until noon in Room 428 at the State House. Register here.
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League Registers, Educates Voters at 2017 Massachusetts Conference for Women
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LWVMA Voter Service Co-Chair Kris Eastman helps pre-register high school students to vote. |
LWVMA was honored to be invited to participate in this year's Massachusetts Conference for Women in Boston on December 6 and 7. Themed "The Power of Us: Amplify Your Voice," the annual nonpartisan, nonprofit conference brings together thousands of professionals to connect, renew, and find inspiration in community.
League volunteers registered voters and provided information about election laws and procedures to many of the conference's 17,000 attendees, including a group of 500 high school students participating in the conference's Young Women's Program.
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High School Video Contest Kicks Off February 1
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Democracy is not a spectator sport! And no one should sit on the sidelines during an election!
To encourage voters to turn out for the Massachusetts statewide elections in fall 2018, we are inviting high school students to participate in our annual video contest.
Students should create a 30-second public service announcement encouraging people to
Get in the Game and VOTE! They can win a cash prize of up to $500.
The contest will kick off February 1 and run through March 31.
All winners will be invited to attend an award ceremony at the Massachusetts State House, and winning videos will be publicized throughout the state.
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Top Lawmakers Keynote Day on the Hill Lobby Day
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Rep. Patricia Haddad and Sen. Cindy Creem pose with LWVMA President Mary Ann Ashton and Legislative Action Chair Nancy Brumback
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League members showed up in force on Beacon Hill on October 24 to "move the needle" on our legislative priorities: Automatic Voter Registration (AVR), carbon pricing, safe communities, and criminal justice reform.
We were honored that two of the highest ranking women in the state legislature--Rep. Patricia Haddad, Speaker Pro Tempore, and Sen. Cynthia Creem, Assistant Senate Majority Leader--joined us to discuss the outlook for LWVMA's priority legislation in keynote presentations.
Both Creem and Haddad lauded the League for its commitment to voting rights and citizen action. Creem, who is the co-sponsor of the AVR bill and a criminal justice reform bill repealing mandatory minimums, urged League members to continue their pressure on the legislature to pass those bills. Haddad noted the voting reforms, including early voting, that the League was instrumental in passing in the past and emphasized that AVR is the next step in making it more convenient for people to vote.
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Support Democracy, Support LWVMA
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These times demand renewed commitment to democratic activism.
With your support, LWVMA is leading the way, fighting for what's right on election reform, climate change, immigration, and criminal justice reform. And our Education Fund is also nourishin
g grassroots democracy by registering voters, organizing candidate debates, publishing voters' guides, and holding issues forums.
But even with a network of thousands of League citizen activists in our state, our movement requires sufficient funding to succeed. Membership dues do not cover all of our expenses, and we rely on our supporters to help close the gap. To donate online, click here. To print a donation form, click here. Thank you in advance for your support!
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  133 Portland Street, Boston, MA 02114
617.523.2999
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