Penélope Cruz, Ricky Martin, Salma Hayek, Zoe Saldana Alert Voters To "Naked Ballot" Issue In 16 States

Six of the world's biggest Spanish-speaking celebrities star in a new ad to bring attention to laws that require voters in 16 states — including the important swing state of Pennsylvania — to insert their mail-in ballot into two separate envelopes in order to be counted. If the ballot is not inserted properly it is considered "naked," and in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, it is thrown away. This "naked ballot rule" risks the rejection of hundreds of thousands of mail-in votes, which could significantly impact US election results.

In the spot, celebrities Penélope Cruz, Ricky Martin, Salma Hayek, Zoe Saldana, Edgar Ramírez, and Alejandro Sanzinstruct voters on how to properly vote-by-mail, urging them to do so ASAP, ahead of November's critical presidential election.

The ad was created by RepresentUs, the non-partisan anti-corruption, and pro-democracy group — but is being released unbranded for the broadest possible public distribution. It has been shared free of charge to hundreds of civic and political organizations across the political spectrum — from the Republican National Committee to the Democratic National Committee; from the R Street Institute to Indivisible — to share with their supporters. As the coronavirus pandemic continues, more Americans than ever before are expected to cast their 2020 election vote by mail. The ad's goal is to clarify the necessary steps voters who are mailing in their ballots must take to make sure they are accepted by their state's board of election and counted.

"Naked ballots are the new hanging chads," said RepresentUs co-founder and CEO Josh Silver. "The fact is that if you use the wrong pen color or don't assemble your mail-in ballot correctly, your vote may not count. This is not a partisan issue; it affects all people planning to vote by mail. We're grateful to this committed and talented group for making an eye-catching video so that everyone understands what they need to do to ensure their vote is counted."

SOURCE RepresentUs