| It’s safe and more secure to vote in person |
 Massachusetts Republicans make case for universal mail-in voting extension to end as originally planned Encourages residents to let their state representatives and senators know that it’s safe and more secure to vote in person March 8, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Evan Lips, communications director 617-523-5005 ext. 245  WOBURN — Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Jim Lyons, along with the party’s Elections Review Committee, submitted testimony Monday supporting emergency universal mail-in voting measures related to the commonwealth’s COVID-19 response to end as originally scheduled on March 31. “Massachusetts is hitting all of its benchmarks as the state continues to reopen, and the public’s faith in our tried-and-true history of in-person voting has never been more important,” Lyons said. “Emergency measures related to COVID-19 have upended our lives, but as more and more businesses reopen and more and more citizens are vaccinated, it’s important that we restore the public’s trust in our electoral process.” Last Monday saw House leadership pass through an informal session an extension of mail-in voting from March 31 through the end of June, but Senate Republicans paused the automatic extension days later by making the proposal subject to a committee hearing. The MassGOP Elections Review Committee, chaired by State Committeewoman Kathy Lynch, pointed out in its testimony (attached below) to the committee that requests submitted in December to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of November’s historic use of universal mail-in voting have so far been ignored. “Important questions must be answered before mail-in voting is even considered for continuation. In the attached letter to the Secretary of State William Galvin, Senator Ryan Fattman and Representatives Marc Lombardo and Nicholas Boldyga listed a series of important questions regarding undeliverable mail, signature verification, duplicate ballots, secure chain of custody, and financial cost,” the committee wrote. “Voters have a right to know the answers to those questions.” Lyons included in his testimony (also attached below) concerns voiced by several Massachusetts town clerks ahead of Election Day, including one town clerk who correctly pointed out that the emergency policy failed include safeguards like signature verification. “Today we’re calling on residents to reach out to their state representatives and state senators to let them know that these emergency voting measures are no longer needed,” Lyons said. “Ensuring the public’s trust in our electoral process is one of the most important responsibilities that government has.” To find your local legislator’s contact information, visit the Legislature’s “find my legislator” page by clicking here. Who is my legislator? How can I reach them? Click here to find out. Link to Press Release CLICK HERE TO READ Jim Lyons — Testimony to Senate Ways & Means Regarding H. 73 CLICK HERE TO READ MassGOP Elections Review Committee — Testimony to Senate Ways & Means Regarding H. 73 Paid for by the Massachusetts Republican Party Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee |
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