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A NOTE FROM FRED
The fight over providing money for the states to run their November elections is now underway in Congress as Democratic and Republican leaders begin laying out their priorities for the next big relief package.
It is essential to win this fight now, as time is running out for the states to be able to use the funding effectively in advance of the November election.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer have indicated that their top priority in this bill is substantial support for state and local governments, who have had to absorb enormous costs to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Pelosi and Schumer have also indicated that they are committed to getting the $3.6 to $4 billion necessary for the states to run safe, secure, and honest elections in November, in the face of the pandemic.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that his “red line” requirement in the coming negotiations and for passing the bill is to provide liability immunity for businesses. McConnell normally does not show his cards like this and the immunity provision appears to be his bottom line in return for providing states and local governments with the funding they desperately need.
Many oppose liability immunity for businesses. But if that is a deal that is made, Democracy 21 and other voting advocates must ensure that adequate funds are included in that deal for the states to conduct fair and honest elections.
If the voting money decision is left to later negotiations over the bill, our leverage will be gone, and McConnell, who strongly opposes any additional election funding for partisan reasons, will have the upper hand in withholding or minimizing the funds.
Time is of the essence.
We cannot let McConnell win this battle. At stake is the ability to ensure that every eligible voter is able to vote and have their vote fairly counted.
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MUST READS
THE COVID-19 RESPONSE
President’s Intelligence Briefing Book Repeatedly Cited Virus Threat
“[T]he alarms appear to have failed to register with the president, who routinely skips reading the PDB and has at times shown little patience for even the oral summary,” via The Washington Post.
AG Barr Memo Threatening Lawsuits Against Coronavirus Restrictions Is A Warning Shot
In a radio interview last week, “Barr explained that the Justice Department can try to intimidate governors into backing away from policies the Trump administration opposes,” via The Washington Post.
“My Fellow American”: Donald Trump Letter To Stimulus Check Recipients Raises Objections
Nina Olson, Ctr for Taxpayer Rights: “This will harm the IRS and its ability to appear nonpolitical and nonpartisan,” via USA Today.
Want A Mask Contract Or Some Ventilators? A White House Connection Helps
“Trump and his top aides have played favorites in awarding coronavirus contracts and allocating scarce resources,” via NBC News.
Small Business Rescue Money Flowing To Major Trump Donors, Disclosures Show, via The Intercept.
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McCONNELL’S PRIORITY OF THE WEEK: NOT COVID-19
Senate Republicans To Push Ahead On Judges Over Democratic Objections
The Judiciary Committee is poised to consider the nomination of a controversial McConnell protégé to an influential appeals court.
“As much as judges are important, what people want us to be focused on is Covid,” according to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
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TRUMP & FRIENDS
Trump’s Focus On His Base Complicates Path To Reelection, via Associated Press.
How A Media-Distracted Trump Ended Up Derailing His Own Briefing, via CNN.
Nervous Republicans See Trump Sinking, And Taking Senate With Him, via The New York Times.
Bill Barr Is Acting Like Trump’s Wing Man. Again, opinion via Los Angeles Times.
Keeping An Eye On The Hand Of Justice: Bill Barr And Targeting Joe Biden
“Three years of experience has shown that abuses of power are routine for this administration, and that nothing, not even a deadly pandemic, will disrupt its focus on gaining political advantage for the president, even at the expense of truth, fairness, and our Constitution,” via Just Security.
Supreme Court Orders New Briefs In Trump Financial Record Case, via Bloomberg.
Sen. Richard Burr Is Not Just A Friend To The Health Care Industry. He’s Also A Stockholder.
Sen. Burr (R-NC), “who is under investigation for his stock trading, regularly flips health care stocks even as he pushes for legislation to help the industry,” via ProPublica.
Mitch McConnell’s Calculated Decision To Become Trump's “Enabler-In Chief,” Explained
The New Yorker’s Jane Mayer discusses her recent profile of McConnell, via Fresh Air.
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BOOK OF THE WEEK
Rising Income Inequality Is Direct Result Of Campaign Finance Cases
“Not only are campaign finance cases the driving force behind income inequality, but they also correlate with the decline of economic regulation, the rise in U.S. debt, the decline of the middle class, and huge tax cuts disproportionately going to the very wealthy,” according to Politics and Capital: Auctioning the American Dream by Constitutional scholar John Attanasio.
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187 DAYS …
“The Nightmare Scenario”: How Coronavirus Could Make the 2020 Vote a Disaster, via Politico Magazine.
Trump Erupts At Campaign Manager As Reelection Stress Overflows, via CNN.
Can the Trump Campaign Rewrite the Story of the Trump Presidency? via The New York Times Magazine.
Biden Wins Big In Ohio, But Voting Difficulties Is Big Story
“Voter confusion abounded about such fundamental matters as the date of the election and the multi-step process of obtaining an application for an absentee ballot, sending it in with proper postage, getting a ballot back, completing it, and returning it by Tuesday’s deadline,” via The Columbus Dispatch.
America’s Elections Won’t Be The Same After 2020
“The chaos of this year could radically — and permanently — change how Americans vote,” via The Atlantic.
States Expand Internet Voting Experiments Amid Pandemic, Raising Security Fears
Washington Sec’y of State Kim Wyman: "We can't put our election at risk to technology we cannot guarantee is secure, and right now, in 2020, we cannot guarantee that any electronic transmission of a ballot is secure," via National Public Radio.
Few States Are Prepared To Switch To Voting By Mail. That Could Make For A Messy Election, via FiveThirtyEight.
Kobach And Trump’s Spectacular Voter-Fraud Failure
“As Trump makes new, unfounded claims about voter fraud and mail-in voting, it’s worth looking back on the colossal trainwreck of his administration’s first efforts to prove voter fraud,” via Rolling Stone.
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