Dear Secretary Hughs,

As the pandemic has dramatically altered the lives of Texans across the state, you have been shockingly silent. 

Instead of acting quickly to help clarify voters’ rights and counties’ duties, you have provided nothing — no guidance to voters or to counties on how to conduct upcoming elections. As the State’s Chief Elections Officer, you have a responsibility to mobilize all of the state’s election infrastructure to confront this emergency. 

Your failure to lead on responding to the pandemic is endangering the fundamental right to vote of all Texans. Accordingly, you must take action now before the pandemic overwhelms the upcoming elections. I support the following guidance to ensure that no Texan loses their opportunity to cast a ballot:

1. The Primary Runoff Election cannot be delayed past July 14: Counties need to be fully prepared to conduct elections under any circumstances existing at that time.
   
   
2. Make vote by mail available to all Texans: Issue advisory guidance instructing counties to allow all eligible voters to vote by mail in all upcoming elections during this crisis.
   
   
3. Help counties offer expanded vote by mail and track status of mail ballots: Provide best practices to counties to operate a larger-than-normal vote by mail program.
   
   
4. Help counties select safe polling places: Provide best practices and other necessary support to assist counties in relocating polling places away from high risk populations.
   
   
5. Boost curbside voting: All polling places should be equipped to process voters as they drive up to designated areas without them having to go inside to request curbside voting.
   
   
6. Make sure polling places have sufficient protective supplies to ensure public safety: That includes sanitizer, gloves, approved face masks, and disinfectant spray.
   
   
7. Assist counties in recruiting and training a sufficient pool of poll workers: Provide best practices on how to staff positions, including guidance on hiring backup election workers.
   
   
8. Make sure that every vote cast by mail is accurately and fairly counted: Provide detailed guidance for all Early Voting Ballot Board and Signature Verification Committee members on how to verify signatures on mail-in ballots.
   
   
9. Provide guidelines for continuing to ensure voter registration services throughout the pandemic: You must instruct counties to have at least one staff member regularly collect registration cards and process them in a timely manner.

The health, safety, and voting rights of all Texans, regardless of ideological preference, are at issue. Decisions taken (or not taken) today will have an outsized impact on voters later on — time is of the essence. 

1. ACLU Foundation of Texas, Inc. 
2. Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) 
3. Austin Justice Coalition 
4. Austin Tech Alliance 
5. Center for Local Elections in America, Rice University 
6. Children's Defense Fund - Texas 
7. Coalition of Texans with Disabilities 
8. Deeds Not Words 
9. Emgage Action 
10. Houston in Action 
11. Jolt Action 
12. March to the Polls 
13. Mi Familia Vota Education Fund 
14. MOVE Texas Action Fund 
15. NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. 
16. National Association of Social Workers - Texas Chapter 
17. OCA-Greater Houston 
18. Planned Parenthood Texas Votes 
19. Progress Texas 
20. Protect Democracy 
21. Texas AFL-CIO 
22. Texas Civil Rights Project
    Texas Coalition of Black Democrats 
23. Texas Educators Vote  
24. Texas Freedom Network
25. Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO 
26. Texas Organizing Project 
27. Texas Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism 
28. UFCW Local 1000 
29. United We Dream Texas