April 11, 2021 0 Comment apgov
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New Mexico governor signs Civil Rights Act

Santa Fe New Mexican – Proponents of civil rights protections claimed a victory Wednesday after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed a new law allowing residents to sue government agencies in state courts over violations of the New Mexico Bill of Rights.

The New Mexico Civil Rights Act takes effect July 1.

Peter Simonson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, said the governor’s action was “one of the highlights of my more than 20 years with the ACLU.”

“It means New Mexicans have a far better and more timely route to justice in our state than what is otherwise afforded to them in the federal courts,” Simonson said. “They can now go into a New Mexico court, argue before a judge who has been elected by New Mexicans and argue for their rights under a constitution that is quintessentially New Mexican.”

Federal courts have become “increasingly hostile” to civil rights claims over the past few years, he said.

Wednesday’s bill signing came amid the high-profile trial of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged in the May death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man.

Several of the bill’s sponsors, including Sen. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, and House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, said such legislation was needed following Floyd’s death and a series of nationwide civil rights demonstrations last year.

The legislation became one of the most hotly debated during this year’s regular legislative session, which ended March 20. While advocates for the measure said it would hold governments accountable, critics said it would lead to mounting costs for taxpayers while doing nothing to prevent such offenses.

A key provision in House Bill 4 eliminates “qualified immunity” as a legal defense to complaints against government workers and agencies.

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine created by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1982. It shields government workers from personal liability under federal law.

However, under the new state law, lawsuits cannot be filed against individuals.

“The philosophy of qualified immunity has really been a barrier to justice for such a long time,” said Marshall Martinez, executive director of Equality New Mexico, an LGBTQ advocacy group headquartered in Albuquerque.

Martinez, who called Lujan Grisham’s action “exciting,” said federal court is “intimidating, inaccessible and downright dangerous for many people in our community. Providing an opportunity to seek justice in a state court means more New Mexicans will take that opportunity.”

He said the bill becoming law also means “LGBTQ New Mexicans — predominately of color — have access to justice that they have never had before.”

The Governor’s Office issued a news release Wednesday in which Lujan Grisham was quoted as saying, “New Mexicans are guaranteed certain rights by our state constitution. Those rights are sacred, and the constitutional document providing for them is the basis of all we are privileged to do as public servants of the people of this great state.”

She said that while many government employees work tirelessly to serve and protect New Mexicans, when “violations do occur, we as Americans know too well that the victims are disproportionately people of color, and that there are too often roadblocks to fighting for those inalienable rights in a court of law.”

Under the law, damages for such complaints are capped at $2 million.

The measure triggered an ethics complaint against Egolf, an attorney, as it was making its way through the legislative session. The complaint alleged Egolf would stand to benefit from the measure if it became law because an early version included a provision ensuring attorneys filing claims under the act would be compensated in successful cases.

The State Ethics Commission has said two of three charges in the complaint against Egolf likely will be dismissed but that a third is still under review.

The bill underwent several changes during the session. One amendment prohibits claims from being filed under the law for incidents that take place before July 1. Another amendment makes it discretionary, not mandatory, for a court to award attorney’s fees to a prevailing plaintiff.

The governor signed a total of 10 bills Wednesday. Among them were the following:

  • Senate Bill 1 allows 50 percent of state and local gross receipts tax revenues from construction projects of $350 million or more to be placed in the Local Economic Development Act fund to help the business with building and infrastructure costs.
  • Senate Bill 93 creates an Office of Broadband Access and Expansion to coordinate broadband projects among state and tribal governments and internet service providers. The office is tasked with creating a three-year plan to expand the state’s broadband system.
  • Senate Bill 94 will allow college athletes to enter into deals in which they are paid for endorsements.
  • Senate Bill 204 amends the Rural Telecommunications Act of New Mexico to define additional provisions under which carriers can apply and receive support from a fund intended to aid customers who live in low-income households, as well as schools, libraries and rural health care providers.
  • Senate Bill 256 allows fire departments statewide to access 100 percent of money available in the Fire Protection Fund to buy equipment. Previously, state law required most of the money to revert to the general fund, costing fire departments $13 million alone in 2021, according to the Governor’s Office.
  • Senate Bill 439 appropriates $165,000 from the general fund for a one-time $300 compensation for each legislative staff member who worked in the Roundhouse during the coronavirus pandemic.
  • House Bill 10 creates a Connect New Mexico Fund and Connect New Mexico Council to provide grants for broadband infrastructure.
  • House Bill 51 creates the Environmental Database Act, which calls for an online database on natural resources and land use in New Mexico, among other information.
  • House Bill 55 requires the Legislature to publish a searchable database showing how each lawmaker spends capital outlay. Currently, lawmakers are not required to do that, although some do so voluntarily.

Source: US Government Class

April 10, 2021 0 Comment apgov
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Kentucky Gov. Beshear signs into law bipartisan elections bill expanding voting access

CNN – Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bipartisan-supported bill into law on Wednesday that expanded voting access by codifying election recount procedures, online absentee ballot portals and early voting procedures — an exception to the GOP efforts nationwide to overhaul state election rules in the wake of the 2020 election.

“Today is also a good day for democracy, a good day for elections,” he said. “I want to start by talking about voting — about how when much of the country has put in more restrictive laws — that Kentucky legislators, Kentucky leaders were able to come together to stand up for democracy and to expand the opportunity for people to vote.”

The bill, HB 574, passed 91-3 in the state House and 33-3 in the state Senate before going to Beshear’s desk last week. Both chambers of the Kentucky Legislature are controlled by Republicans.

Among its provisions are the official approval for voting centers, an online portal for absentee ballot registration and three days of early voting. It will also require drop boxes, creates official recount procedures, allows for tax dollars to advocate for or against ballot questions and mandates all voting machines to generate a paper trail for votes cast, Beshear said.

The signing of the bill comes at a time when Republicans in key states — including Georgia, Arizona and Texas — are pushing to make voting more difficult after former President Donald Trump’s months of lies about the outcome of the 2020 election. The efforts have drawn criticism — particularly in Georgia, where the new law has become the target of corporate backlash.

An updated tally by the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice finds 361 bills restricting voting had been introduced in 47 states as of March 24. The total marks a 43% rise in the number of bills introduced since Brennan last released a count in February.
Beshear implied the 2020 election cycle was secure and cast a thinly veiled criticism against states that have made it more difficult for voters seeking to cast their ballot.

“While some states have stepped in a different direction, I’m really proud of Kentucky,” he said. “We created a model for the nation. When sometimes people said eyes were on Kentucky, we showed them the very best, ensuring that not only all our citizens and a record number of citizens in a general election could vote, but that they could do so safely.”
CNN’s Kelly Mena contributed to this story.

Source: US Government Class

April 8, 2021 0 Comment apgov
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Manchin says he won’t vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster

CBS News – Senator Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat who wields significant power in the party’s narrow 50-seat majority in the Senate, reiterated that he would not vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster, all but dooming the chances of passage for several key Democratic priorities. Ending the filibuster would mean that legislation could advance in the Senate with only a simple majority, instead of the 60-vote threshold currently required.

“There is no circumstance in which I will vote to eliminate or weaken the filibuster,” Manchin said in an opinion piece in The Washington Post. “The time has come to end these political games, and to usher a new era of bipartisanship where we find common ground on the major policy debates facing our nation.”

As Democrats only hold 50 seats in the Senate, they would need support from at least 10 Republicans to end debate on most legislation and bring bills to the floor for a full vote. Several of the measures which have recently passed the House — shoring up voting rights, enacting campaign finance reform, enshrining legal protections for LGBTQ Americans, raising the federal minimum wage and implementing stronger background checks for firearm purchases — are unlikely to garner support from the requisite number of Republicans.

Many Democrats in Congress argue it’s necessary to get rid of the filibuster so that these measures can, at the very least, get a vote on the floor of the Senate. But Manchin said in his op-ed that the filibuster is a necessary tool to protect the rights of the minority party.

Manchin argued that changes to the filibuster in 2013 and 2017, which allowed judicial and Supreme Court nominees to be approved with a simple majority of votes, had only intensified “political dysfunction and gridlock.”

“The political games playing out in the halls of Congress only fuel the hateful rhetoric and violence we see across our country right now,” Manchin said, arguing that the filibuster forces senators to work together to address important issues. “The issues facing our democracy today are not insurmountable if we choose to tackle them together.”

Manchin also worried that using workarounds to avoid the filibuster could damage the regular order of the Senate. One such method is budget reconciliation, which allows the Senate to pass budget-related items with a simple majority. Congress passed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan using budget reconciliation, and may also opt to pass his $2 trillion infrastructure package using reconciliation.

“We should all be alarmed at how the budget reconciliation process is being used by both parties to stifle debate around the major issues facing our country today,” Manchin wrote. “I simply do not believe budget reconciliation should replace regular order in the Senate. How is that good for the future of this nation?”

He argued that Senate Democrats “must avoid the temptation to abandon our Republican colleagues,” but also called on the GOP “to stop saying no, and participate in finding real compromise with Democrats.”

“Working legislation through regular order in the Senate prevents drastic swings in federal policymaking,” Manchin said. “If the filibuster is eliminated or budget reconciliation becomes the norm, a new and dangerous precedent will be set to pass sweeping, partisan legislation that changes the direction of our nation every time there is a change in political control.”

Opponents of the filibuster argue that it gives the minority too much power. Democrats currently control the House and Senate as well as the White House, although their majorities in Congress are narrow. If Republicans block that agenda, the thinking goes, it is subverting the will of the American people.

Some Democrats have suggested creating a carve-out in filibuster rules for legislation related to voting rights. Historically, the filibuster was used extensively by senators from the South to block civil rights legislation, leading some critics to refer to the rule as a relic of Jim Crow laws.

These lawmakers argue that it is necessary to end the filibuster to allow for the passage of the For the People Act, a sweeping elections and campaign finance reform bill, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would restore provisions in the 1965 Voting Rights Act knocked down by the Supreme Court.

Manchin said that some of the provisions in the For the People Act could have bipartisan support, and “our ultimate goal should be to restore bipartisan faith in our voting process by assuring all Americans that their votes will be counted, secured and protected.”

“Efforts to expand voting hours and access, improve our election security and increase transparency in campaign finance and advertisement rules should and do have broad, bipartisan support and would quickly address the needs facing Americans today. Taking bipartisan action on voting reform would go a long way in restoring the American people’s faith in Congress and our ability to deliver results for them,” Manchin said.

Many Democrats argue that it is necessary to pass the For the People Act in order to counter new state laws restricting voting rights proposed and passed by state legislatures in the aftermath of the 2020 election. But Manchin had previously opposed creating an exception to the filibuster, saying last month that weakening it would be like being “a little bit pregnant” — meaning that it is impossible to only partially change the rules.

Manchin said he believes it is possible for both parties to come together and negotiate, assuming that Republicans and Democrats would come to the table in good faith.

“We will not solve our nation’s problems in one Congress if we seek only partisan solutions. Instead of fixating on eliminating the filibuster or shortcutting the legislative process through budget reconciliation, it is time we do our jobs,” Manchin said.

In remarks on Wednesday, Mr. Biden said that he was open to negotiating with Republicans on his infrastructure package, but said that GOP lawmakers were unwilling to truly compromise. He said that when he invited Republicans to the White House to talk about the American Rescue Plan, they provided a counteroffer of $600 billion, but then did not budge on that number.

“They didn’t move an inch. Not an inch,” Mr. Biden said. Republicans would argue that Democrats should have lowered their bid for real compromise, but Democrats say that they are the party in power, and so Republicans should try to meet with them.

A simple majority is required to end the filibuster. As long as Manchin remains opposed to eliminating the filibuster, many of the bills supported by congressional Democrats and Mr. Biden will likely be dead on arrival in the Senate — leading Democratic leadership to believe budget reconciliation is their only option.

Source: US Government Class

April 8, 2021 0 Comment apgov
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Pelosi’s House Democratic majority on thin ice amid vacancies

FoxNews – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains confident that she can pass major items through her chamber even though she leads the Democrats‘ most fragile majority in the House of Representatives since the 1940s.

“It’s not going to be a problem,” Pelosi, D-Calif., told reporters a month ago when asked about advancing her party’s agenda through the House without the help of the minority Republicans.

But the task facing Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., isn’t getting any easier.

The death Tuesday of 84-year-old Democratic Rep. Alcee Hastings of Florida further reduces the Democrats’ already perilous majority. What started out at the beginning of the year as a slim 222-213 margin is now temporarily down to 218-212. That means the Democrats can currently lose just two votes and still be able to pass legislation along party lines.

Even before the start of the 117th Congress, Hoyer expressed reservations, telling reporters in December, a month after the GOP took a bite out of the House Democrats’ majoirty in the 2020 elecions, that “I’m certainly concerned by the slimming of the majority.”

“We’re going to be a very unified caucus as we were this past Congress,” Hoyer noted at the time. “In many of our bills, as you probably know, we passed unanimously without any losing any Democratic votes. And, in others, we [lost] just a few. But I think members will be focused on how close the majority is now or in the future”

And that’s been the case so far.

The massive $1.9 trillion COVID relief package – which was President Biden’s top priority upon taking office – passed the House with just two Democrats defecting on the first vote, and just one on the revised bill that came back from the Senate.

The House passed two bills expanding background checks on gun sales with just one Democrat voting against one measure and two Democrats defecting on the other.

There were similarly just two House Democrats who voted against the party’s police reform bill – and just one defection on the Democrats’ sweeping election and campaign finance reform legislation.

Hoyer noted three weeks ago that “frankly we’re doing OK as Democrats as you look at this quarter.”

He emphasized that despite the fragile majority, the Democrats have not “had trouble getting the bills through that we think are important.”

Some reinforcements will soon be on the way – with Democrats favored in two of the three House special elections that will be held over the next two months.

A special runoff election in Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District will be held on April 24 – and the two candidates facing off in the solidly blue district are both Democrats. The race is to fill the seat of former Rep. Cedric Richmond, who stepped down to join President Biden’s administration as senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Liaison.

A week later, on May 1, there will be a special election in Texas’ 6th Congressional District – which leans Republican – to fill the seat of GOP Rep. Ronald Wright, who died of COVID-19 complications.

One month later, on June 1, a special election is scheduled in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District – which leans Democrat – to fill the seat of former Democratic Rep. Debra Haaland, who was confirmed as interior secretary.

But the special general election in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District – a deep blue seat – won’t be held until Nov. 2 to replace former Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, who was confirmed as housing and urban development secretary.

The special election to fill Hastings’ vacant seat – in another very blue district – has yet to be scheduled, but likely won’t be held until July at the earliest.

Veteran Democratic strategist Meredith Kelly gives credit to Pelosi for keeping her conference unified at critical times.

“It’s never ideal to have a narrow majority, but if there’s one person who knows how to walk that tightrop effectively, it’s Speaker Pelosi. She gives vulnerable member leeway when they need it, and receives loyalty at key moments in return,” emphasized Kelly, who served as a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee communications director.

Source: US Government Class

April 8, 2021 0 Comment apgov
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Biden unveils executive orders to tighten gun restrictions

Washington Post – BREAKING: President Biden announced the executive actions, including one targeting kits used to assemble firearms from pieces, after deadly back-to-back mass shootings last month in Atlanta and Boulder, Colo. The unilateral moves come as legislation to tighten gun controls remains stalled in Congress.

President Biden plans to announce an array of executive actions Thursday morning intended curb gun violence, following pressure from activists and fellow Democrats in the aftermath of two recent mass shootings.

In the White House Rose Garden, the president is expected to announce new rules on firearms that are assembled at home, which lack serial numbers and are harder to track, among other moves designed to make it harder for unqualified people to obtain dangerous weapons.

Biden also will announce David Chipman as his pick to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, although it is unclear how the nominee will fare in an evenly divided Senate. Chipman is a senior adviser to a gun control group founded by former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was severely injured in a mass shooting in 2011.

Biden will be joined Thursday by Attorney General Merrick Garland and first lady Jill Biden, the White House said.

Biden’s moves come amid growing impatience from gun control activists because the administration has not acted more quickly. Biden promised during his campaign that he would take action to limit gun violence on the first day of his administration, but that fell by the wayside.

In his presidency’s early days, Biden has prioritized other emergency issues, including coronavirus pandemic relief and the struggling economy. He suggested recently that he considers gun control a less urgent priority that can be tackled over the long term.

But the issue of gun violence moved vividly the forefront after the two mass shootings, one in the Atlanta area in which eight people were killed and another in Colorado, where 10 were killed.

Biden’s aides stressed that beyond mass shootings, the president wants to focus on curbing the more frequent and deadlier epidemic of day-to-day gun violence that disproportionately affects Blacks and Latinos.

A former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Biden has a long record of arms control initiatives, including the 10-year assault weapons ban that was part of a 1994 crime bill he sponsored.

But the politics of gun control are turbulent. Rural voters, who skew sharply Republican, strongly support gun rights, while the suburbanites coveted by both parties tend to be more open to gun control.

Among Biden’s highest-profile moves Thursday will be directing his administration to take action on “ghost guns,” firearms without serial numbers that are sold in kits and assembled at home. They will be a focus of his remarks, aides said.

The president also will direct the Justice Department to draft a new rule regulating a device that can be placed on a pistol to turn it into a short-barreled rifle.

And he plans to order the department to create a template that individual states can use to enact “red flag” laws, which allow judges to seize firearms from people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others.

Other initiatives include asking the Justice Department to issue a report on gun trafficking and directing several agencies to allocate more money for violence intervention programs.

Source: US Government Class

October 7, 2020 0 Comment apgov
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Vice Presidential Debate 7:00 pm – Extra Credit

Join the Vice Presidential debate online discussion. Login to your class account and participate in the class discussion as the vice presidential candidates Vice President Pence and vice presidential nominee Sen. Harris meet for the first presidential debate. Credit will be based on the length of time you participate in the discussion.

NOTE: Be sure to make a comment when you login in so that your entry time can be noted. Your exit time will be based on the time of your last comment.

Time: 7:00
Channel: All major channels
The debate will also be streamed online.

Source: US Government Class

September 29, 2020 0 Comment apgov
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Presidential Debate 7:00 pm – Extra Credit

Join the 1st Presidential Debate online discussion. Login to your class account and participate in the class discussion as the presidential candidates President Trump and Vice President Biden meet for the first presidential debate. Credit will be based on the length of time you participate in the discussion.

NOTE: Be sure to make a comment when you login in so that your entry time can be noted. Your exit time will be based on the time of your last comment.

Time: 7:00
Channel: All major channels
The debate will also be streamed online.

Source: US Government Class

August 18, 2020 0 Comment apgov
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The stock market just hit its first record since the pandemic started

(CNN Business)The S&P 500 (SPX) closed at an all-time high on Tuesday for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the United States.

The index, which is the broadest measure of Wall Street, had been hovering in record territory for days but repeatedly fell short of reaching the milestone. But Tuesday was finally the day. It close up 0.2%, the first record since February 19.

The record is a big deal, because it means it only took Wall Street five months to go from the most recent trough — after the pandemic selloff in March — to a new peak. This would make the Covid bear market the shortest in history, at just 1.1 months, said S&P Dow Jones Indices’ Howard Silverblatt. Stocks fell into a bear market during the spring selloff.

“It’s hard to believe, but the 2020 bear market is officially over,” wrote UBS Global Wealth Management’s Americas CIO Solita Marcelli in a note to clients.

The market climbed higher on a combination of unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus in response to the pandemic, as well as hopes for a swift economic rebound.

“This is bittersweet news for some investors, who had hoped for another opportunity to buy more stocks on another market decline. On the bright side, this new bull market still offers opportunities for investors,” Marcelli said.

Although large-cap US stocks have been climbing higher over the summer, smaller American companies, as well as international stocks have more room to run.

By other definitions, a new bull market is only achieved after a 20% rally that doesn’t get undercut within six months. This would be the case next month unless the market witnesses a dramatic selloff.

“Many continue to wonder why stocks are at new highs with 10% unemployment and nearly a million people filing for initial unemployment claims. The truth is economic data is backward looking and stocks are looking ahead to a much brighter future,” said Ryan Detrick, Chief Investment Strategist for LPL Financial in emailed comments.

The Nasdaq Composite (COMP) also finished at a record high on Tuesday, up 0.7%, although it only had to exceed Monday’s peak to accomplish that.

The Dow (INDU) was the odd index out, closing the day lower, dragged down by losses in the energy and financial sectors. It ended down 0.2%, or 67 points. The index remains 6% below its peak.

Source: US Government Class

August 17, 2020 0 Comment apgov
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CNN Poll: Biden and Trump matchup tightens as enthusiasm hits new high

CNN – Joe Biden’s lead over Donald Trump among registered voters has significantly narrowed since June, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, even as the former vice president maintains an advantage over the President on several top issues and his choice of California Sen. Kamala Harris as a running mate earns largely positive reviews.

And on the eve of the party conventions, a majority of voters (53%) are “extremely enthusiastic” about voting in this year’s election, a new high in CNN polling in presidential election cycles back to 2003.

Overall, 50% of registered voters back the Biden-Harris ticket, while 46% say they support Trump and Pence, right at the poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. Among the 72% of voters who say they are either extremely or very enthusiastic about voting this fall, Biden’s advantage over Trump widens to 53% to 46%. It is narrower, however, among those voters who live in the states that will have the most impact on the electoral college this fall.

View Trump and Biden head-to-head polling

Across 15 battleground states, the survey finds Biden has the backing of 49% of registered voters, while Trump lands at 48%.

The pool of battleground states in this poll includes more that Trump carried in 2016 (10) than were won by Hillary Clinton (5), reflecting the reality that the President’s campaign is more on defense than offense across the states. Taken together, though, they represent a more Republican-leaning playing field than the nation as a whole.

The movement in the poll among voters nationwide since June is concentrated among men (they split about evenly in June, but now 56% back Trump, 40% Biden), those between the ages of 35 and 64 (they tilt toward Trump now, but were Biden-leaning in June) and independents (in June, Biden held a 52% to 41% lead, but now it’s a near even 46% Biden to 45% Trump divide).

Trump has also solidified his partisans since June. While 8% of Republicans or Republican-leaning independents in June said they would back Biden, that figure now stands at just 4%. And the President has boosted his backing among conservatives from 76% to 85%.

But the survey suggests that Trump’s voters are a bit more likely to say that they could change their minds by November (12% say so) than are Biden’s backers (7%).

More voters say their choice of candidate is about Trump than say it is about Biden. Nearly 6 in 10 say they support the candidate they do because of their view of Trump (29% say their Biden vote is more to oppose Trump, 30% say they are casting a Trump vote in support of him), while only 32% say Biden is the deciding factor (19% are voting in favor of Biden, 13% casting a ballot to oppose him).

Overall, 54% disapprove of the way Trump is handling his job as president and 42% approve. That’s an uptick since June, and about on par with Trump’s ratings from earlier this year. It still lands the President near the bottom of a list of historical approval ratings for presidents seeking reelection just ahead of their nominating conventions. Trump lands ahead of Jimmy Carter (33% approval) and George H.W. Bush (35%), but below Barack Obama (48%), George W. Bush (49%), Bill Clinton (53%) and Ronald Reagan (54%).

Trump’s favorability rating remains underwater nationally (43% see him favorably, 55% unfavorably), a bit worse than Biden’s 46% favorable to 47% unfavorable even split. In the battleground states, though, voters’ views on the two candidates are almost even: 52% have an unfavorable opinion of Biden, 54% of Trump. Both candidates are viewed favorably by 45% in those states.

Kamala Harris seen as a good pick

Harris joins the ticket with a narrowly positive favorability rating (41% have a favorable view, 38% unfavorable), which is an improvement since May when 32% of Americans said they had a positive view of her and 33% a negative one.

Biden’s selection of Harris is rated as excellent or pretty good by most (52%), and 57% say it reflects favorably on Biden’s ability to make important presidential decisions. Most say she is qualified to be president should that be necessary (57%). And a majority, 62%, say her selection does not have much effect on their vote. People of color, though, are more likely than White people to say her selection makes them more likely to back Biden (28% among people of color, 18% among whites).

Compared with other recent Democratic running mates, Harris fares well. The 30% who call her selection excellent outpaces the share who said so in CNN polling on John Edwards in 2004, Biden in 2008, Joe Lieberman in 2000 or Tim Kaine in 2016. And the 57% who say she is qualified to serve as president if that becomes necessary is only topped by Biden (63%) and Al Gore in 1992 (64%).

On the issues

The poll suggests that supporters of the two candidates are living in alternate universes when it comes to the issues that matter to their vote. Overall, the economy, coronavirus, health care, gun policy and race relations are rated as extremely important by at least 40% of voters. But there are large gaps between Biden and Trump voters on the importance of these issues. Seventy percent of Biden voters say the coronavirus is critically important vs. 24% of Trump voters. Among Trump backers, 57% rate the economy as extremely important, while 37% of Biden voters agree. Majorities of Biden supporters (57% in each case) call health care and race relations extremely important, while only about 1 in 5 Trump backers agree (20% on health care, 22% on race relations).

Biden tops Trump as better able to handle most of the issues tested in the poll: Racial inequality in the US, the coronavirus outbreak, health care and foreign policy. Trump wins out on handling the economy. Voters are closely divided over which candidate would keep Americans safe from harm (50% say Biden would, 47% Trump). And more generally, Biden is more often seen as having “a clear plan for solving the country’s problems” (49% choose Biden to 43% Trump) and as better able to “manage the government effectively” (52% Biden to 44% Trump).

And when it comes to these top issues, nearly all Trump and Biden supporters think their man is the right one for the job. Just 1% of Biden backers say they would trust Trump over Biden to handle racial inequality in the US, and only 2% would trust Trump to handle the coronavirus outbreak. On the flip side, 2% of Trump voters say they would prefer Biden on the economy, and only 4% choose him on the coronavirus outbreak.

Overall, Biden holds the edge on a range of positive traits often seen as valuable in a run for the White House. Most say he cares about people like them (53% Biden, 42% Trump), shares their values (52% Biden to 43% Trump), and is honest and trustworthy (51% Biden to 40% Trump). More also say Biden will unite the country and not divide it (55% Biden to 35% Trump). But in this matchup between two septuagenarians, voters are split over which one has the stamina and sharpness to be president (48% say Trump, 46% Biden).

The CNN Poll was conducted by SSRS August 12 through 15 among a random national sample of 1,108 adults reached on landlines or cellphones by a live interviewer, including 987 registered voters. The survey also includes an oversample of residents of 15 battleground states for a total subsample of 636 adults and 569 registered voters from those states. That subset was weighted to its proper share of the overall adult population of the United States. Results for the full sample have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. It is 4.0 points among registered voters and 5.4 points for results for registered voters in the battleground states.

Source: US Government Class

August 16, 2020 0 Comment apgov
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U.S. Postal Service warns states that mail-in ballots may not be counted in time

CBS News –  The U.S. Postal Service is sending letters to states warning that their mail-in ballots may not be counted in time because their provisions for voting by mail “are incongruous” with post office delivery standards. The U.S. Postal Service confirmed late Friday that letters that indicated concerns about on-time ballots had been sent to 41 states.

Seven states were informed that their ballot request deadlines are “compatible” with delivery standards and “should allow sufficient times for voters to receive, complete, and return such ballots by the state’s Election Day postmarking deadline.”

Vermont and Washington D.C. were sent letters that they have “sufficient time” for voters to receive ballots, but the postal service said it “cannot fully assess” if their planned use of mail aligns with the delivery standards.

The Postal Service faces a financial crisis exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said a week ago that the agency’s financial situation is “dire,” “stemming from substantial declines in mail volume, a broken business model and a management strategy that has not adequately addressed these issues.”

DeJoy warned that congressional intervention is needed, and a bipartisan group of senators has been pressing for $25 billion in additional Postal Service funding to keep it afloat. While President Trump had indicated he would not support a financial bailout for the Postal Service, he said Friday he would support it “if they (Democrats) gave us what we want,” that is, a payroll tax cut and more loans for small businesses.

The letters were sent to the secretaries of state from Postal Service general counsel and executive vice president Thomas Marshall and are dated at the end of July.

While the letters vary slightly from state to state, they warn that states whose ballot request and submission deadlines are “incongruous” with the Postal Service’s delivery standards is resulting in a “mismatch” that “creates a risk that ballots requested near the deadline under state law will not be returned by mail in time to be counted under your laws as we understand them.”

The Postal Service said in a statement, “Some states have reported Election Mail volumes that are 10 times higher than any previous year. The Postal Service is well prepared and has ample capacity to deliver America’s election mail. However, the increases in volume and the effect of when volumes were mailed in the primary elections presented a need to ensure the Postal Service’s recommendations were reemphasized to elections officials.”

Meanwhile, the Postal Service disclosed earlier this week that it lost $2.2 billion between April and June. Officials are warning that the agency could face $20 billion in losses over two years. It also reported a $4.5 billion loss for the first quarter, before the full economic effects of the pandemic were evident.

On Friday, former President Obama told his campaign manager David Plouffe on Plouffe’s podcast that Mr. Trump is trying to “actively kneecap the Postal Service” ahead of the election.

Mr. Trump has frequently repeated the false claim that mail-in voting leads to voter fraud, but he requested a mail ballot in Florida.

“Whether you call it Vote by Mail or Absentee Voting, in Florida the election system is Safe and Secure, Tried and True,” Mr. Trump tweeted on August 4. “Florida’s Voting system has been cleaned up (we defeated Democrats attempts at change), so in Florida I encourage all to request a Ballot & Vote by Mail!”

The Trump campaign and Republican Party are suing Nevada after officials joined several states that plan to automatically send voters mail ballots. Two other states, California and Vermont, moved to adopt a similar policy. Five other states had already adopted vote-by-mail measures even before the coronavirus pandemic raised safety concerns about voting in person.

Senator Elizabeth Warren has called for an investigation into changes at the postal service under DeJoy, who was appointed by Mr. Trump. A spokesperson for the inspector general confirmed on Friday that they are “conducting a body of work to address concerns raised. We cannot comment on details of ongoing work” of DeJoy’s tenure.

Source: US Government Class