✊🏾 Why We’re Gathering

On July 17, we join Indivisible groups across the country for a nationwide day of action to honor Congressman John Lewis, whose legacy reminds us that fighting for democracy means getting into good trouble.

In Roseburg, we’re rallying to:

• Defend Oregon’s vote-by-mail system

• Oppose Senate Bill 210, a calculated attack on voter access

• Support our community through a local food donation drive

This is about more than protest — it’s about solidarity. It’s about standing up to voter suppression and standing with those in our community who are in need .

🚨 What Is SB 210?

Senate Bill 210, introduced by Sen. David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford), would gut Oregon’s vote-by-mail system and make it harder for working people to vote. If passed, SB 210 would:

• End automatic vote-by-mail for most voters

• Force people to opt-in through extra forms and deadlines

• Require government-issued photo ID to vote or request a ballot

• Eliminate prepaid return postage, adding costs for voters

This is not reform. This is voter suppression by design — and here’s why it matters:

🆔 Why Photo ID Requirements Are Harmful

• Requiring photo ID to vote or even to request a ballot imposes serious barriers — especially for rural, elderly, low-income, and unhoused Oregonians. Millions of eligible Americans lack current government-issued ID.

• One of the biggest hurdles? Not having a birth certificate, which is often required to obtain ID. Replacing it can cost $25–$50 or more (depending on the state), plus travel, time, and paperwork.

• This turns voting into a pay-to-participate system — where the right to vote depends on your ability to navigate red tape and absorb financial costs. SB 210 punishes people for being poor, disabled, or marginalized. It’s a poll tax by another name.

📨 Why the “Opt-In” System is Suppressive

Oregon’s current vote-by-mail system works: ballots are mailed automatically to registered voters, securely and reliably. SB 210 would scrap that and force voters to request a ballot every election — through confusing paperwork, strict deadlines, and bureaucratic steps.

This creates unnecessary barriers for:

• Voters with limited access to election information

• Non-native English speakers

• People with disabilities or chronic illness

• People working multiple jobs or caretaking full-time

• Vote-by-mail boosts participation. SB 210’s “opt-in” scheme is designed to reduce it, particularly among the very communities who rely on it most.

💸 The Hidden Cost of In-Person Voting

One thing SB 210’s supporters don’t want to talk about? Cost.

Switching from vote-by-mail to primarily in-person voting doesn’t just hurt access — it hurts Oregon’s budget. Study after study has found that in-person voting costs between 50% and 210% more per voter than vote-by-mail. That includes:

• Paying poll workers and staffing sites

• Leasing voting locations

• Transporting and securing voting equipment

• Printing and managing ballots on-site

• Managing longer lines, wait times, and provisional ballots

Oregon’s vote-by-mail system is not just more accessible — it’s also more efficient and cost-effective. SB 210 would force taxpayers to spend more to make voting harder. That’s not fiscal responsibility. That’s political sabotage dressed up as “security.”

🥫 Food Donation Drive

In the spirit of John Lewis’s vision of the Beloved Community, we’re also collecting donations to support those in need in our local community. Your contributions will help ensure that families and individuals facing hunger and hardship have access to essentials.

✅ Items We Especially Appreciate:

• Canned meats (tuna, chicken)

• Chili, stew, soups

• Peanut butter

• Nuts & dried fruit (low sugar)

• Canned vegetables & fruits (no syrup)

• Cereal

• Protein bars

❌ Items We Cannot Accept:

• Rusty or unlabeled cans

• Homemade foods

• Non-commercial packaged items

• Alcoholic beverages, soda, or mixers

• Opened, used, or expired items

📢 What to Bring

• Protest signs (see ideas below)

• Food and donations

• Friends, family, and allies

• Sun protection, water, and weather-ready gear

🪧 Suggested Sign Ideas

Against SB 210:

• Hands Off Vote-by-Mail

• SB 210 = Voter Suppression

• Rural Voters Count, Too

• No Red Tape on My Rights

• I Vote from Home Because I Work

• Protect the Oregon Way: Vote-by-Mail

Pro-Democracy and Justice Themes:

• Good Trouble Lives On

• Voting is a Right, Not a Privilege

• Our Vote, Our Voice — Our Power, Our Choice

• March in Peace, Act in Power

• Pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

• Stop the SAVE Act

• D.C. Deserves Representation