September 21, 2021
The Honorable Joseph Manchin III
Hart Senate Office Building, Room: 306
2nd and C Streets, N.E.
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Manchin,
On behalf of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and the undersigned organizations, we urge you to support a narrow change to the filibuster rule to allow the Senate to approve S. 1, the For the People Act, by a simple majority vote. This crucial legislation will help to protect our democracy and the right to vote for all Americans, including older West Virginians who depend on voting by mail.
More than any other age group, senior citizens benefit from the ease and comfort of vote-by-mail. Those who are immobile or sick can request mail ballots, as can those who cannot drive or lack access to mass transit. Mail ballots represent a way for those individuals to exercise their constitutional rights at election time in a convenient way.
Studies have shown vote-by-mail to be consistently free of fraud. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study found only 0.00006 percent of 250 million votes by mailed ballots nationwide were fraudulent. Additionally, scholars at Stanford University analyzing 1996-2018 data in California, Utah and Washington found vote-by-mail did not advantage one political party over another.
In 2020, many seniors chose vote-by-mail in an effort to exercise their right to vote and stay safe during the pandemic. In fact, 41 percent of voters age 50-64 and 55 percent of voters over age 65 voted by mail in the 2020 election. The safety and convenience of this method of voting is likely to prove equally effective in future elections – unless state legislatures decide to obstruct voting by mail.
Given the advantages and encouraging results of the nation’s vote-by-mail experience, and the paucity of evidence of voter fraud, we question why so many states are moving in the opposite direction – to discourage vote-by-mail. According to the Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and policy organization, between January 1 and May 14, 2021, at least 14 states enacted 22 new laws that restrict access to the vote.
In West Virginia, on March 24, the State Senate approved Senate Bill 565 which would have moved the deadline for requesting an absentee ballot from six days before Election Day to 11 days. While Judiciary Committee of the House of Delegates chose not to take up the bill during the recently concluded session, Chairman Moore Capito left open the possibility of considering the legislation during the next session.
The For the People Act would protect all Americans from new state voter suppression laws by setting national mail-in voting standards and guaranteeing no-excuse mail-in voting. S. 1 requires states to give every voter the option to vote by mail, calls for prepaid postage for all election materials and state-provided drop boxes for federal races. These guarantees will provide seniors, including older West Virginians, with the assurance that they will be able to participate in future elections.
But what stands in the way of guaranteeing our democracy and the constitutional right to vote is the use of the Senate filibuster against S. 1. We acknowledge that during your August 1st appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” you said you could not imagine carving out the filibuster for voting rights legislation, but we hope you will reconsider this position given that in the past you have repeatedly listened to and addressed the needs and concerns of seniors. We urge you to listen to seniors again by protecting their right to vote through supporting a narrow change to the filibuster rule to allow the Senate to approve the For the People Act by a simple majority vote.
Respectfully yours,
Max Richtman, President and CEO
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
Steve Regenstreif, Chair
DNC Seniors Council
Prior to retirement, Director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Retiree Program
Maria Cordone, Executive Vice-Chair
DNC Seniors Council
Prior to retirement, Director of International Association of Machinist Retirees
Jon “Bowzer” Bauman, President
Social Security Works PAC
Judy Beard, Legislative and Political Director,
American Postal Workers Union
Cathy Hurwit, Treasurer
DNC Seniors Council
For 20 years, Chief of Staff for Representative Jan Schakowsky
A primary staffer for House Democratic Caucus Seniors Task Force
Carlottia Scott, Executive Board
DNC Seniors Council
For 35 years, Chief of Staff for Representative Barbara Lee and Representative Ron Dellums
Former DNC Political Director
Thomas Murphy, Chapter Leader
United Federation of Teacher Retirees
Todd Crenshaw, Director
National Education Association Retirees
Julie Tippins, Director,
American Federation of Government Employees Retirees
Jim Centner, Executive Board
DNC Seniors Council
Prior to Retirement, Director, Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR)
Steelworker Organization of Active Retirees (SOAR)
United Steelworkers of America
Ernie Powell, Retiree Advocate
Economic Opportunity Institute
American Postal Workers Union Retirees Department
Alliance for Justice
National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs
National Senior Corps Association
David Lipschutz
Center for Medicare Advocacy
Nanine Meiklejohn, President
National Capital Area Union Retirees
Gail Dratch, Executive Board
DNC Seniors Council
Formerly Legislative Representative for Retirement Security, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations Dept. of Government Affairs
Ernest “Spud” Terry, Co-Chair
West Virginia Coalition of Retired Public Employees
Also, President, West Virginia American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Retiree Chapter 77
Kathy Martin, President
West Virginia Education Association-Retired
Darlene Kelchak, Vice President
West Virginia Education Association-Retired
Bill Milam, Co-Chair
West Virginia Coalition of Retired Public Employees
Also, Executive Director, West Virginia Association of Retired School Employees