Thread by @NancyWangVotes

There’s a lot to unpack in this disingenuous piece about #votebymail from Rep. @LynnAfendoulis in @BridgeMichigan, so I thought I’d walk through with a closer look and bring some facts into the conversation. #VoteSafe #factcheck (1/11)

FACT: The cost of mailing absentee ballot applications is coming out of CARES money that the state is required to use in response to #COVID19, NOT Michigan tax dollars. There is no $4.5 million cost on taxpayers. (2/11)

YES, @MichSoS is making voting easier and more accessible through the mailing of absentee ballot applications, that’s the right thing to do during the #COVID19 pandemic and frankly, shouldn’t be controversial in normal times. (3/11)

Rep. @LynnAfendoulis’s approach at its core, creates hurdles for people to exercise their constitutionally-protected right to vote absentee, even when in-person voting carries significant risk of illness or death from #COVID19, esp. in communities of color. (4/11)

By stating that voting shouldn’t “be manipulated by a bureaucratic office,” Rep. @LynnAfendoulis implies that the @MichSoS’s action is improper and somehow influences election results, which is inaccurate. @BrennanCenter lays out the facts: (5/11) brennancenter.org/our-work/analy…

There is 0️⃣ evidence that mailing #absenteeballot applications invites fraud. Election fraud in general is infinitesimally small and a myth perpetuated to justify #votersuppression. The avg. election has 8 cases of fraud involving mailed ballots across the whole COUNTRY. (6/11)

For example: Oregon has 22 years of #votebymail experience. Out of over 15 million votes cast, they have had 15 fraud cases – that probability is 0.00000097. #VoteSafe (7/11)

Why is #voterfraud so rare? High cost, little gain. It's a felony in MI - punishable by up to 4 years in jail. Accusations of fraud are an unsubstantiated claim intended as a distraction and should be called out for what they are. #VoteSafe (8/11)
brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/20…

Rep. @LynnAfendoulis states 1 voter received extra applications, insinuates this means potential for fraud statewide. Voters still need to sign and return the app & signatures are verified. Both @MIGOP & @MichiganDems send members absentee ballot applications every year. (9/11)

Rep. @LynnAfendoulis concludes “mail-in voting creates a mail-in democracy.” Here we have a fundamental difference in values. We strive to give voters every opportunity to vote & vote safely, while she clearly wants to create obstacles to voting amid a pandemic. (10/11)

You can learn more about the @NotPoliticians #VoteSafe campaign to protect public health and the integrity of our elections during the COVID-19 pandemic at vnp.vote/votesafe. (11/11)