DEMOCRACY MEDIA MONITORING
Wednesday
August 05, 2020
Top Democracy News & Analysis
Everyday we provide the top news stories to watch on issues related to voting rights, money in politics, and fair courts.
Obama Couldn’t Fix the System. Biden Must (Sarada Peri / The Atlantic) "... Should Joe Biden overcome these [electoral] obstacles, as well as Trump’s inevitable attempts to cheat, and win the presidency, he simply must devote his political capital to tackling the process issues that eluded the last Democratic president. Yes, he will inherit bigger problems even than Obama did—a pandemic Trump refuses to contain, which is causing an economic catastrophe he refuses to address. But Biden needs to recognize that if the democratic process doesn’t work—which it does not—then neither can democratic governance. He has a long list of reforms from which to choose."
The lone Black judge on the bench was the only one to disagree. In a searing dissent, Chief Justice Bernette Johnson said Bryant’s sentence was only due to Louisiana’s harsh habitual offender laws, a “modern manifestation” of the “Pig Laws” designed to keep Black people in poverty during Reconstruction."
In Missouri, a progressive activist, Cori Bush, pulled off a stunning upset against the longtime incumbent William Lacy Clay Jr., The A.P. reported, marking a turning point for the progressive movement in its bid to threaten more centrist elected officials. If she wins in November, Ms. Bush, a nurse who was a local leader in the Black Lives Matter movement in St. Louis, would be the first person outside the Clay family to represent the seat in more than 50 years."
However, U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen did order one key change: new protections for people who vote by mail, giving them a second chance to fix any problems that might keep their ballot from being counted.
The ruling said people will now be ensured “due process” to fix any problems that arise with their ballots, and Osteen left open the door for the state’s political leaders to write a more specific rule or law “which provides a voter with notice and an opportunity to be heard” if there is a problem with their mail-in ballot."
Silicon Valley is losing the battle against election misinformation (Mark Scott / POLITICO) "Social media companies are struggling with an onslaught of deceptive and divisive messaging from political parties, foreign governments and hate groups as the months tick down to this year’s presidential election, according to more than two dozen national security policymakers, misinformation experts, hate speech researchers, fact-checking groups and tech executives, as well as a review of thousands of social media posts by POLITICO.
What Else Is Happening?
For all the news that didn't the make front page, here are other important local, state, and federal stories shaping the narrative around democracy issues. Plus, the latest opinions and editorials.
