Progressives Every Day: Our Two National Pandemics
Progressives Every Day: Our Two National Pandemics
Freedom is in the eye of the beholder
Welcome to the Thursday edition of Progressives Everywhere!
Republican lawmakers and (mostly) Republican-appointed judges decided to kick their July 4th celebrations a bit early this year, honoring the long struggle for democracy by issuing a series of rulings that restrict voter rights and reject citizen-led ballot initiatives. USA! USA! USA!
Isn’t it wild that the people refusing to wear masks because they think it infringes on their freedom are also the people who support the politicians who fight tooth and nail to make sure it’s hard for them to vote?
Note: The plan is to take Friday off from writing the newsletter, but if there is important news that you need to see, I’ll fire up the computer and make sure you get it. Otherwise, I’ll be back Sunday with a new candidate interview (it’ll be a good one!) and more news and notes.
Voter Suppression Potpourri:
Instead of focusing on the explosion of COVID-19 cases in his state, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is doubling down on voter suppression, hoping to ensure that neither he nor fellow Republicans will be held accountable for their disastrous performance over the last four months. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court granted DeSantis’s request and reinstated Florida’s Jim Crow law pending further developments.
In 2018, Florida voters approved Amendment 4, a constitutional amendment intended to end the disenfranchisement of former felons who have completed their prison sentences. In response, Florida Republicans passed SB-7066, which required ex-felons to pay back all the fines and fees related to their court cases. Those fees are generally unrelated to criminal sentencing and are generally impossible to track down
Last month, a US District Judge struck down SB-7066, ruling that the mandatory fees amounted to a poll tax and that the state could not force people to pay them in order to register to vote.
The new ruling dictates that the Jim Crow law case will be heard by the entire 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, though no date was set. The clock is ticking — the voting rights of hundreds of thousands of people hang in the balance and every day that activists can’t help them register is another affront to democracy and principles of fairness.
Over in Colorado, meanwhile, the State Supreme Court overturned Gov. Jared Polis’s executive order that activists could gather signatures on petitions to qualify absentee ballots over the internet. Here’s the money quote:
“The Colorado constitution requires that ballot initiative petitions be signed in the presence of the petition circulator,” the court said in its ruling. “That requirement cannot be suspended by executive order, even during a pandemic.”
Republican lawmakers in Idaho are hoping for a similar result in their ongoing fight against a ballot initiative that proposes increasing taxes on the rich in order to pay for a large increase in education funding.
Last month, a District Court ruled that the state had to either allow activists the opportunity to collect signatures online or just bite the bullet and put the initiative on the November ballot without the necessary signatures. Idaho Republicans had until last Friday to choose one of the options but decided to instead this week seek an emergency injunction from the 9th Court of Appeals. If they don’t get their desired court order by July 9th, they’ll have to comply with the District Court. Fingers crossed they’ll be able to stifle education funding and save their rich buddies.
Not to be outdone, the original kings of voter suppression over at the Supreme Court gave the thumbs up to Alabama’s onerous voter ID rules and restrictions on absentee ballots. Last month, a District Court judge ruled that the law, which requires a photo ID and an affidavit either signed by a notary public or two adult witnesses to simply request an absentee ballot, was illegally burdensome on people who have disabilities, are at a heightened risk of contracting COVID-19, or are over the age of 65.
Now, the ridiculous law will remain in place as Alabama continues to appeal the ruling. Presumably, this means that it will be in place for the July 14th Senate runoff between Jeff Sessions and Tommy Tuberville, both of whom are awful people.
Speaking of awful people, look at this tweet from the Alabama Secretary of State, mocking someone who was concerned about the need to have a printer in their home in order to mail a copy of their ID to obtain an absentee ballot.
I’m sure this guy will be on Parler by next week. What a dick.
COVID-19 Updates:
The United States set a new record for new cases of coronavirus in a single day, topping 54,000.
Texas: New coronavirus cases topped 8,000 for the first time on Thursday, prompting Gov. Greg Abbott to finally issue a mask mandate for counties with more than 20 COVID-19 cases. The order, which also included limiting public gatherings to 10 people, comes after months of refusing to do the one thing that virtually everyone agrees is effective at preventing mass transmission.
I can only wonder how his mouth-breathing Lt. Governor Dan Patrick reacted to the news; remember, just yesterday Patrick said he was sick of listening to Dr. Anthony Faucci. Whether Texans comply with the new rule remains to be seen — there are a remarkable number of mean, stupid people doing their best to make the state the virus capital of the world and kill their neighbors. Just look at these big diaper babies! (photo via Reuters):
Arizona: The idea that cases of coronavirus are only rising due to increased testing had already been discredited, but we should still emphasize the fact that as of today, one in four COVID-19 tests administered in the state is coming back positive. It’s an astoundingly high number — Texas and Florida, the two other new epicenters of the virus, are at 14% and 16% respectively. Earlier this week, Gov. Doug Ducey rolled back reopenings, which naturally brought out some awful people who seem to truly want to spread the virus as much as possible:
Some weekend reading:
Here’s a good piece about our pal, future Congressman Mondaire Jones, and a new generation of progressive lawmakers. This is the money quote:
“This moment feels like continued momentum and progress,” Ms. Cabán, now a national political organizer for the Working Families Party, said in an interview. “You can call it progressive, you can call it liberal, or you can call it people who just want a foot off their neck.”
I edited this story at Observer about Homeland Security, sex work, and the movement for decriminalization.
And this is just a wild caper with a lot of unexpected twists.
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