April 20, 2020

NEW YORK – The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, with its campaign And Still I Vote and in partnership with Common Cause New York, will hold multiple events this week to mobilize voters and urge officials in New York to ensure fair, free, and safe elections in 2020. These activities are part of Turn Up Tuesdays, a weekly, national call to action that focuses on a state in the country that needs to do more to ensure we have a fair and safe election in November.

Turn Up Tuesdays is dedicated to ensuring that the election process in upcoming primaries is safe and effective, and never again encounters the disarray that voters experienced in Wisconsin’s election on April 7. New York’s primary election is currently scheduled for June 23 after a postponement in response to COVID-19 concerns. Activities this week will also amplify the call for expanded safe in-person early voting and absentee voting.Here is a list of the week’s events:

Monday, April 20 

8 – 9:30 p.m. EDT
Declaration for American Democracy Coalition:  Protect Our Vote | Virtual Town Hall Kick-Off
Guests will discuss the need for swift action from Congress to secure rights to safely vote in elections this year. In order to secure the $4 billion in funding necessary for the states to protect democracy in the next federal COVID 19 relief package, we must demonstrate the overwhelming public and political support, across party lines, for the vital solutions necessary to protect our health and our elections, including vote-by-mail, expanded early voting, and other key reforms.

Speakers:

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.)
Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)
Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman (R-Wash.)
Jana Morgan, director, Declaration for American Democracy
Vanita Gupta, president & CEO, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Max Feldman, counsel, Brennan Center for Justice
Michelle Bishop, voting rights specialist, National Disability Rights Network
Karen Hobert Flynn, president, Common Cause
Debra Cronmiller, executive director, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin
Rio Tazewell, senior campaigns manager, People For the American Way
Christine Wood, democracy organizer, Public Citizen
Brett Edkins, political director, Stand Up America

Tuesday, April 21

5:30 – 6 p.m. EDT
Turn Up Tuesday Facebook Live Event – The Leadership Conference will speak with New York voting rights advocates who are in the center of the COVID-19 hotspot and how they are working to ensure that elections are safe, secure, and accessible.  

Participants

Ashley Allison, executive vice president of campaigns and programs, The Leadership Conference
Andre Richardson, political practitioner and consultant to Common Cause/ NY
Monica Bartley, community outreach specialist, Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York

Thursday, April 23

6:15 p.m. EDT
And Still I Vote:  Voting in the time of COVID-19 – The Leadership Conference and Common Cause NY are hosting a Tele-Town Hall for New York voters on COVID-19 and how the pandemic is impacting elections in 2020.
PRESS DIAL IN: (540)-409-4375 Ext. 59760#

Speakers

Ashley Allison, executive vice president of campaigns and programs, The Leadership Conference
Susan Lerner, executive director, Common Cause New York
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)
State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (D-N.Y. 34th  Senate District)