Editor’s note: This commentary is by Marisa Keller, of Brattleboro, who is a freelance writer and editor, and Dana Dwinell-Yardley, of Montpelier, a small-business owner and community organizer. Their letter campaign is a grassroots effort that is not affiliated with any organization, political party, or candidate.
At this polarized moment in history, it is essential that the citizens of this country can trust that all of our voices are heard and the people who take office are actually the ones who won the vote. When states put up obstacles to voting, when the president casts doubt on the legitimacy of the results, our country is weaker because of it.
While we trust the integrity of the election process in Vermont, some of the most egregious violations of voter rights are happening in states led by other Republican governors. We want to see all governors uphold our right to elect our leaders by popular vote, and we call on Gov. Phil Scott to rally his colleagues in defense of our democracy. Every vote must be counted; incidents of voter suppression and fraud must be impartially investigated and remedied; and results must be respected.
As one of our cosigners commented, “It is not possible to be neutral on this issue.” For the governor to stand by while his colleagues erode our democracy is a betrayal of our democratic values and his oath to Vermonters and to the Constitution. We ask him now to step up as a champion of those values.
Our open letter to Scott is below. More than 400 people from 100 Vermont towns have signed so far. We invite all Vermonters who support free and fair elections and a strong democracy to sign on at tinyurl.com/ScottLetter2020.
We will be officially delivering our letter to the governor in a ceremony on Monday, Oct. 26, at noon, on the lawn next to the Pavilion Building at 109 State St. All are welcome to attend.
OUR OPEN LETTER TO GOV. SCOTT:
Dear Governor Scott,
Democracy needs your help.
As we watch this election unfold, we worry that we are seeing the death of democracy in this country: The purging of voter rolls, the resistance to mail-in voting during a pandemic, the attempted dismantling of the postal service, the reduction in polling places, the fake ballot boxes, the president’s repeated lies about the prevalence of voter fraud, and his suggestions that he will do whatever he can to stay in power regardless of what the voters decide.
Here in Vermont, we trust that we will be able to vote and that our votes will be counted. But we are deeply concerned about threats to the voting process elsewhere, especially in other states with Republican governors.
Governor Scott, we need you to be a model for the Republican party. We call on you to:
- make a public statement against voter suppression tactics
- affirm your commitment to making sure every vote is counted
- call on your fellow Republican governors to follow Vermont’s lead in safeguarding democracy in these unstable times
You have the platform and the connections to help ensure free and fair elections across the United States. Please use your power to protect our democracy.