It's Voter Suppression

[View this email in your browser]( Friends and Family - Voter disenfranchisement doesn’t just happen in the South – it also happens in the South Bronx and across New York State. During the 2020 Election, thousands of registered New Yorkers went to cast their ballots. Thousands of them were forced to vote by Affidavit Ballot, many unfairly, and yet they walked away believing they exercised their democratic right. The nonpartisan [Vote Early NY has put out an important study]( showing just how many New Yorkers were instead disenfranchised and why. Registered New York voters found their ballots being TOSSED OUT if they voted at a “wrong church,” a polling location to which they weren’t assigned. Some polling locations had been moved or changed, or voters may have mixed up the location through innocent error. We should think of a church as a place for healing, and instead the Board of Elections and archaic laws keep hurting us. A Registered Voter should never have their ballot rejected if they were sent to a wrong location or mistakenly went to the wrong place. [I'm quoted in The City in an article]( that explains this situation: “If we have anger about what's going on in Georgia and Texas and Florida, we need the same anger here in The Bronx and across New York.” Of the votes that were rejected for this unjust reason, 69% were cast in New York City. The Bronx experienced it the worst as an estimated one in 187 voters were disenfranchised by this rule. But the pain hits even closer to home. Out of the 150 Assembly Districts in New York State, the Assembly District with the highest number of disenfranchised voters was our home- the 79th District. Our district is home to Black and Brown voters. It is home to low-income voters. It is home to older voters. It is home to English as a second language voters. It is our home and, now represented by Assembly Member Chantel Jackson, it is our district where every voice deserves to and must be heard. Early voting begins on June 12th in New York. We need to do all we can to make sure that every last ballot cast by a registered voter is counted. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact your members of the New York legislature and demand that they act before session ends. Tell them to pass legislation permitting any registered voter who votes at a wrong polling location to have their ballots counted. [CONTACT Your Assembly Member]( [CONTACT Your NY State Senator]( WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact Governor Cuomo and tell him it is time to enact an Executive Order permitting any registered voter who shows at a "wrong church" or wrong polling location to have their votes counted. [CONTACT Governor Cuomo]( We cannot wait. Your voices cannot be silenced. Join us so that we ensure that your vote is COUNTED. Michael Blake Copyright © 2021 Atlas Strategy Group, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website. Our mailing address is: Atlas Strategy Group 837 Washington AveBronx, NY 10451-4842 [Add us to your address book]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from this list](.