alternet--2020-10-20--How to take on Trump on the ground — and convince others to do the same

`` Look , folks , the air quality is in the red zone today .
The EPA says that means people with lung or heart issues should avoid prolonged activity outdoors . ''
That was J.R. de Vera , one of two directors of UNITE-HERE !
's independent expenditure campaign to elect Biden and Harris in Reno , Nevada .
UNITE-HERE !
is a union representing 300,000 workers in the hospitality industry -- that world of hotels and bars , restaurants and caterers .
Ninety percent of its members are now laid off because of Trump 's bungling of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the chance to help get him out of the White House .
`` So some of you will want to stay in your hotel rooms and make phone calls today , '' JR continues .
Fifty faces fall in the 50 little Zoom boxes on my laptop screen .
Canvassers would much rather be talking to voters at their doors than calling them on a phone bank .
Still , here in the burning , smoking West , the union is as committed to its own people 's health and safety as it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ office .
So , for many of them , phone calls it will be .
My own job does n't change much from day to day .
Though I live in San Francisco , I 've come to Reno to do back-room logistics work in the union campaign 's cavernous warehouse of an office : ordering supplies , processing reimbursements , and occasionally helping the data team make maps of the areas our canvassers will walk .
Our field campaign is just one of several the union is running in key states .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ and , only last week , we began door-to-door canvassing in Philadelphia .
Social media , TV ads , bulk mail , and phone calls are all crucial elements in any modern electoral campaign , but none of them is a substitute for face-to-face conversations with voters .
We 've been in Reno since early August , building what was , until last week , the only field campaign in the state supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris .
( Just recently , our success in campaigning safely has encouraged the Democratic Party @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and elsewhere . )
We know exactly how many doors we have to knock on , how many Biden voters we have to identify , how many of them we have to convince to make a concrete voting plan , and how many we have to get out to vote during Nevada 's two-week early voting period to win here .
We 're running a much larger campaign in Clark County , where close to three-quarters of Nevada 's population lives ( mostly in Las Vegas ) .
Washoe County , home of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is the next largest population center with 16 % of Nevadans .
The remaining 14 counties , collectively known as `` the Rurals , '' account for the rest .
Washoe and Clark are barely blue ; the Rurals decidedly red .
In 2018 , UNITE-HERE !
's ground campaign helped ensure that Jacky Rosen would flip a previously Republican Senate seat , and we helped elect Democrat Steve Sisolak as governor .
He 's proved a valuable union ally , signing the Adolfo Fernandez Act , a first-in-the-nation law protecting workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ effects of the Covid-19 pandemic .
Defying a threatened Trump campaign lawsuit ( later dismissed by a judge ) , Sisolak also signed an election reform bill that allows every active Nevada voter to receive a mail-in ballot .
Largely as a result of the union 's work in 2018 , this state now boasts an all-female Democratic senatorial delegation , a Democratic governor , and a female and Democratic majority in the state legislature .
Elections , as pundits of all stripes have been known to say , have consequences .
( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Yes , we can ! ''
) Each morning 's online canvass dispatch meeting starts with that call-and-response followed by a rousing handclap .
Then we talk about where people will be walking that day and often listen to one of the canvassers ' personal stories , explaining why he or she is committed to this campaign .
Next , we take a look at the day 's forecast for heat and air quality as vast parts of the West Coast burn , while smoke and ash travel enormous distances .
Temperatures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ August ( often hovering around 115 degrees in Las Vegas ) .
And the air ?
Let 's just say that there have been days when I 've wished breathing were optional .
Climate-change activists rightly point out that `` there 's no Planet B '' for the human race , but some days it seems as if our canvassers are already working on a fiery Planet A that is rapidly becoming unlivable .
California 's wildfires -- including its first-ever `` gigafire '' -- have consumed more than four million acres in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of ash to record heights , and dumping a staggering amount of smoke into the Reno-Sparks basin .
Things are a little better at the moment , but for weeks I could n't see the desert mountains that surround the area .
Some days I could n't even make out the Grand Sierra Reno casino , a quarter mile from the highway on which I drive to work each morning .
For our canvassers -- almost every one a laid-off waiter , bartender , hotel housekeeper , or casino worker -- the climate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in their faces as they don their N95 masks to walk the streets of Reno .
It 's the same for the voters they meet at their doors .
Each evening , canvassers report ( on Zoom , of course ) what those voters are saying and , for the first time I can remember , they are now talking about the climate .
They 're angry at a president who pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord and they 're scared about what a potentially searing future holds for their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have read Joe Biden 's position on clean energy and environmental justice , but they know that Donald Trump has no such plan .
In his classic book Guns , Germs , and Steel , Jared Diamond suggested that the three variables in his title helped in large part to explain how European societies and the United States came to control much of the planet in the twentieth century .
As it happens , our door-to-door canvassers confront a similar triad of obstacles right here in Reno , Nevada ( if you replace @ @ @ @ @ @ @ smoke . ''
) Nevada is an open-carry state and gun ownership is common here .
It 's not unusual to see someone walking around a supermarket with a holstered pistol on his hip .
A 2015 state law ended most gun registration requirements and another allows people visiting from elsewhere to buy rifles without a permit .
So gun sightings are everyday events .
Still , it can be startling , if you 're not used to it , to have a voter answer the door with a pistol all too visible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ occasionally , our canvassers have even watched those guns leave their holsters when the person at the door realizes why they 're there ( which is when the campaign gets the police involved ) .
Canvassers are trained to observe very clear protocols , including immediately leaving an area if they experience any kind of verbal or physical threat .
African American and Latinx canvassers who 've campaigned before in Reno say that , in 2020 , Trump supporters seem even more emboldened than in the past to shout racist insults at them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called the police on our folks , essentially accusing them of canvassing-while-black-or-brown .
Two days before I wrote this piece , the police pulled over one young Latino door-knocker because neighbors had called to complain that he was walking up and down the street waving a gun .
( The `` gun '' in question was undoubtedly the electronic tablet he was carrying to record the results of conversations with voters . )
The officer apologized .
Which reminds me of another apology offered recently .
A woman approached an African-American canvasser , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he was doing in her neighborhood .
On learning his mission , she offered an apology as insulting as her original question .
`` We 're not used to seeing people like you around here , '' she explained .
Until the pandemic , my partner and I had planned to work together with UNITE-HERE !
in Reno during this election , as we did in 2018 .
But she 's five years older than I am , and her history of pneumonia means that catching Covid-19 could be especially devastating for her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Francisco , helping out the union 's national phone bank effort instead .
In fact , we did n't really expect that there would be a ground campaign this year , given the difficulties presented by the novel coronavirus .
But the union was determined to eke out that small but genuine addition to the vote that a field campaign can produce .
So they put in place stringent health protocols for all of us : masks and a minimum of six feet of distance between everyone at all times ; no visits @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , including during off hours ; temperature checks for everyone entering the office ; and the immediate reporting of any potential Covid-19 symptoms to our health and safety officer .
Before the union rented blocks of rooms at two extended-stay hotels , our head of operations checked their mask protocols for employees and guests and examined their ventilation systems to make sure that the air conditioners vented directly outdoors and not into a common air system for the whole building .
To date , not one of our 57 canvassers has tested positive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as we add another 17 full-timers to our team next week .
One other feature of our coronavirus protocol : we do n't talk to any voter who wo n't put on a mask .
I was skeptical that canvassers would be able to get voters to mask up , even with the individually wrapped surgical masks we 're offering anyone who does n't have one on or handy .
However , it turns out that , in this bizarre election year , people are eager to talk , to vent their feelings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the people we 're canvassing have suffered so much this year that they 're surprised and pleased when someone shows up at their door wondering how they 're doing .
And the answer to that question for so many potential voters is not well -- with jobs lost , housing threatened , children struggling with online school , and hunger pangs an increasingly everyday part of life .
So yes , a surprising number of people , either already masked or quite willing to put one on , want to talk to us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as the most important of their lifetime .
And did I mention that it 's been smoky here ?
It can make your eyes water , your throat burn , and the urge to cough overwhelm you .
In fact , the symptoms of smoke exposure are eerily similar to the ones for Covid-19 .
More than one smoke-affected canvasser has spent at least five days isolated in a hotel room , waiting for negative coronavirus test results .
The White House website proudly quotes the president on his administration 's testing record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We have the best testing in the world . ''
Washoe County health officials are doing what they can , but if this is the best in the world , then the world is in worse shape than we thought .
So why , given the genuine risk and obstacles they face , do UNITE-HERE !
's canvassers knock on doors six days a week to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ?
Their answers are a perfect embodiment of the feminist dictum `` the personal is political . ''
Every one of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or he is here .
More than one grew up homeless and never want another child to live that way .
One is a DACA recipient who knows that a reelected Donald Trump will continue his crusade to end that amnesty for undocumented people brought to the United States as children .
Through their participation in union activism , many have come to understand that workers really can beat the boss when they organize -- and Trump , they say , is the biggest boss of all .
Through years of political campaigning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that voters may think about issues , but they 're moved to vote by what they feel about them .
The goal of every conversation at those doors right now is to make a brief but profound personal connection with the voter , to get each of them to feel just how important it is to vote this year .
Canvassers do this by asking how a voter is doing in these difficult times and listening -- genuinely listening -- and responding to whatever answer they get .
And they do it by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stories that lie behind their presence at the voter 's front door .
One canvasser lost his home at the age of seven , when his parents separated .
He and his mother ended up staying in shelters and camping for months in a garden shed on a friend 's property .
One day recently he knocked on a door and found a Trump supporter on the other side of it .
He noticed a shed near the house , pointed to it , and told the man about living in something similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to cry .
He began talking about how he 'd had just the same experience and the way , as a teenager , he 'd had to hold his family together when his heroin-addicted parents could n't cope .
He 'd never talked to any of his present-day friends about how he grew up and , in the course of that conversation , came to agree with our canvasser that Donald Trump was n't likely to improve life for people like them .
He was , he said , changing his vote to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And that canvasser will be back to make sure he actually votes . )
Harvard University Professor Marshall Ganz pioneered the `` public narrative , '' the practice of organizing by storytelling .
It 's found at the heart of many organizing efforts these days .
The 2008 Obama campaign , for example , trained thousands of volunteers to tell their stories to potential voters .
The It Gets Better Project has collected more than 50,000 personal messages from older queer people to LGBTQ youth who might be considering suicide or other kinds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own lives did , indeed , get better .
Being the sort of political junkie who devours the news daily , I was skeptical about the power of this approach , though I probably should n't have been .
After all , how many times did I ask my mother or father to `` tell me a story '' when I was a kid ?
What are our lives but stories ?
Human beings are narrative animals and , however rational , however versed in the issues we may sometimes be , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ give me information on issues I care about , but it ca n't tell me what issues I should care about .
In the end , I 'm concerned about racial and gender justice as well as the climate emergency because of the way each of them affects people and other creatures with whom I feel connected .
Perhaps the most inspiring aspect of UNITE-HERE !
's electoral campaign is the union 's commitment to developing every canvasser 's leadership skills .
The goal is more than winning what 's undoubtedly the most @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's also to send back to every hotel , restaurant , casino , and airport catering service leaders who can continue to organize and advocate for their working-class sisters and brothers .
This means implementing an individual development plan for each canvasser .
Team leaders work with all of them to hone their stories into tools that can be used in an honest and generous way to create a genuine connection with voters .
They help those canvassers think about what else they want to learn to do , while developing opportunities for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spreadsheets and databases .
There 's a special emphasis on offering such opportunities to women and people of color who make up the vast majority of the union 's membership .
Precious hours of campaign time are also devoted to workshops on how to understand and confront systemic racism and combat sexual harassment , subjects President Trump is acquainted with in the most repulsively personal way .
The union believes its success depends as much on fostering a culture of respect as on the hard-nosed negotiating it 's also famous for .
After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years of what has objectively been the worst , most corrupt , most incompetent , and possibly even most destructive presidency in the nation 's history , it 's a relief to be able to do something useful again .
And sentimental as it may sound , it 's an honor to be able to do it with this particular group of brave and committed people .
Sí , se puede .
Yes , we can .
Rebecca Gordon , a TomDispatch regular , teaches at the University of San Francisco .
She @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The U.S. Officials Who Should Stand Trial for Post-9/11 War Crimes and is now at work on a new Dispatch book on the history of torture in the United States .
Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook .
Check out the newest Dispatch Books , John Feffer 's new dystopian novel ( the second in the Splinterlands series ) Frostlands , Beverly Gologorsky 's novel Every Body Has a Story , and Tom Engelhardt 's A Nation Unmade by War , as well as Alfred McCoy 's In the Shadows @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Decline of U.S .
Global Power and John Dower 's The Violent American Century : War and Terror Snce World War II .

"Look, folks, the air quality is in the red zone today. The EPA says that means people with lung or heart issues should avoid prolonged activity outdoors."
That was J.R. de Vera, one of two directors of UNITE-HERE!'s independent expenditure campaign to elect Biden and Harris in Reno, Nevada. UNITE-HERE! is a union representing 300,000 workers in the hospitality industry -- that world of hotels and bars, restaurants and caterers. Ninety percent of its members are now laid off because of Trump's bungling of the Covid-19 pandemic and many are glad for the chance to help get him out of the White House.
"So some of you will want to stay in your hotel rooms and make phone calls today," JR continues. Fifty faces fall in the 50 little Zoom boxes on my laptop screen. Canvassers would much rather be talking to voters at their doors than calling them on a phone bank. Still, here in the burning, smoking West, the union is as committed to its own people's health and safety as it is to dragging Donald Trump out of office. So, for many of them, phone calls it will be.
My own job doesn't change much from day to day. Though I live in San Francisco, I've come to Reno to do back-room logistics work in the union campaign's cavernous warehouse of an office: ordering supplies, processing reimbursements, and occasionally helping the data team make maps of the areas our canvassers will walk.
Our field campaign is just one of several the union is running in key states. We're also in Arizona and Florida and, only last week, we began door-to-door canvassing in Philadelphia. Social media, TV ads, bulk mail, and phone calls are all crucial elements in any modern electoral campaign, but none of them is a substitute for face-to-face conversations with voters.
We've been in Reno since early August, building what was, until last week, the only field campaign in the state supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. (Just recently, our success in campaigning safely has encouraged the Democratic Party to start its own ground game here and elsewhere.) We know exactly how many doors we have to knock on, how many Biden voters we have to identify, how many of them we have to convince to make a concrete voting plan, and how many we have to get out to vote during Nevada's two-week early voting period to win here.
We're running a much larger campaign in Clark County, where close to three-quarters of Nevada's population lives (mostly in Las Vegas). Washoe County, home of the twin cities of Reno and Sparks, is the next largest population center with 16% of Nevadans. The remaining 14 counties, collectively known as "the Rurals," account for the rest. Washoe and Clark are barely blue; the Rurals decidedly red.
In 2018, UNITE-HERE!'s ground campaign helped ensure that Jacky Rosen would flip a previously Republican Senate seat, and we helped elect Democrat Steve Sisolak as governor. He's proved a valuable union ally, signing the Adolfo Fernandez Act, a first-in-the-nation law protecting workers and businesses in Nevada from the worst effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Defying a threatened Trump campaign lawsuit (later dismissed by a judge), Sisolak also signed an election reform bill that allows every active Nevada voter to receive a mail-in ballot. Largely as a result of the union's work in 2018, this state now boasts an all-female Democratic senatorial delegation, a Democratic governor, and a female and Democratic majority in the state legislature. Elections, as pundits of all stripes have been known to say, have consequences.
Door-to-Door on Planet A
"¿Se puede, o no se puede?"
"¡Sí, se puede!"
("Can we do it?" "Yes, we can!")
Each morning's online canvass dispatch meeting starts with that call-and-response followed by a rousing handclap. Then we talk about where people will be walking that day and often listen to one of the canvassers' personal stories, explaining why he or she is committed to this campaign. Next, we take a look at the day's forecast for heat and air quality as vast parts of the West Coast burn, while smoke and ash travel enormous distances. Temperatures here were in the low 100s in August (often hovering around 115 degrees in Las Vegas). And the air? Let's just say that there have been days when I've wished breathing were optional.
Climate-change activists rightly point out that "there's no Planet B" for the human race, but some days it seems as if our canvassers are already working on a fiery Planet A that is rapidly becoming unlivable. California's wildfires -- including its first-ever "gigafire" -- have consumed more than four million acres in the last two months, sending plumes of ash to record heights, and dumping a staggering amount of smoke into the Reno-Sparks basin. Things are a little better at the moment, but for weeks I couldn't see the desert mountains that surround the area. Some days I couldn't even make out the Grand Sierra Reno casino, a quarter mile from the highway on which I drive to work each morning.
For our canvassers -- almost every one a laid-off waiter, bartender, hotel housekeeper, or casino worker -- the climate emergency and the Covid-19 pandemic are literally in their faces as they don their N95 masks to walk the streets of Reno. It's the same for the voters they meet at their doors. Each evening, canvassers report (on Zoom, of course) what those voters are saying and, for the first time I can remember, they are now talking about the climate. They're angry at a president who pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord and they're scared about what a potentially searing future holds for their children and grandchildren. They may not have read Joe Biden's position on clean energy and environmental justice, but they know that Donald Trump has no such plan.
Braving Guns, Germs, and Smoke
In his classic book Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond suggested that the three variables in his title helped in large part to explain how European societies and the United States came to control much of the planet in the twentieth century. As it happens, our door-to-door canvassers confront a similar triad of obstacles right here in Reno, Nevada (if you replace that final "steel" with "smoke.")
Guns and Other Threats
Nevada is an open-carry state and gun ownership is common here. It's not unusual to see someone walking around a supermarket with a holstered pistol on his hip. A 2015 state law ended most gun registration requirements and another allows people visiting from elsewhere to buy rifles without a permit. So gun sightings are everyday events.
Still, it can be startling, if you're not used to it, to have a voter answer the door with a pistol all too visible, even if securely holstered. And occasionally, our canvassers have even watched those guns leave their holsters when the person at the door realizes why they're there (which is when the campaign gets the police involved). Canvassers are trained to observe very clear protocols, including immediately leaving an area if they experience any kind of verbal or physical threat.
African American and Latinx canvassers who've campaigned before in Reno say that, in 2020, Trump supporters seem even more emboldened than in the past to shout racist insults at them. More than once, neighbors have called the police on our folks, essentially accusing them of canvassing-while-black-or-brown. Two days before I wrote this piece, the police pulled over one young Latino door-knocker because neighbors had called to complain that he was walking up and down the street waving a gun. (The "gun" in question was undoubtedly the electronic tablet he was carrying to record the results of conversations with voters.) The officer apologized.
Which reminds me of another apology offered recently. A woman approached an African-American canvasser, demanding to know what in the world he was doing in her neighborhood. On learning his mission, she offered an apology as insulting as her original question. "We're not used to seeing people like you around here," she explained.
Germs
Until the pandemic, my partner and I had planned to work together with UNITE-HERE! in Reno during this election, as we did in 2018. But she's five years older than I am, and her history of pneumonia means that catching Covid-19 could be especially devastating for her. So she's stayed in San Francisco, helping out the union's national phone bank effort instead.
In fact, we didn't really expect that there would be a ground campaign this year, given the difficulties presented by the novel coronavirus. But the union was determined to eke out that small but genuine addition to the vote that a field campaign can produce. So they put in place stringent health protocols for all of us: masks and a minimum of six feet of distance between everyone at all times; no visits to bars, restaurants, or casinos, including during off hours; temperature checks for everyone entering the office; and the immediate reporting of any potential Covid-19 symptoms to our health and safety officer. Before the union rented blocks of rooms at two extended-stay hotels, our head of operations checked their mask protocols for employees and guests and examined their ventilation systems to make sure that the air conditioners vented directly outdoors and not into a common air system for the whole building.
To date, not one of our 57 canvassers has tested positive, a record we intend to maintain as we add another 17 full-timers to our team next week.
One other feature of our coronavirus protocol: we don't talk to any voter who won't put on a mask. I was skeptical that canvassers would be able to get voters to mask up, even with the individually wrapped surgical masks we're offering anyone who doesn't have one on or handy. However, it turns out that, in this bizarre election year, people are eager to talk, to vent their feelings and be heard. So many of the people we're canvassing have suffered so much this year that they're surprised and pleased when someone shows up at their door wondering how they're doing.
And the answer to that question for so many potential voters is not well -- with jobs lost, housing threatened, children struggling with online school, and hunger pangs an increasingly everyday part of life. So yes, a surprising number of people, either already masked or quite willing to put one on, want to talk to us about an election that they generally see as the most important of their lifetime.
Smoke
And did I mention that it's been smoky here? It can make your eyes water, your throat burn, and the urge to cough overwhelm you. In fact, the symptoms of smoke exposure are eerily similar to the ones for Covid-19. More than one smoke-affected canvasser has spent at least five days isolated in a hotel room, waiting for negative coronavirus test results.
The White House website proudly quotes the president on his administration's testing record: "We do tremendous testing. We have the best testing in the world." Washoe County health officials are doing what they can, but if this is the best in the world, then the world is in worse shape than we thought.
The Power of a Personal Story
So why, given the genuine risk and obstacles they face, do UNITE-HERE!'s canvassers knock on doors six days a week to elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris? Their answers are a perfect embodiment of the feminist dictum "the personal is political." Every one of them has a story about why she or he is here. More than one grew up homeless and never want another child to live that way. One is a DACA recipient who knows that a reelected Donald Trump will continue his crusade to end that amnesty for undocumented people brought to the United States as children. Through their participation in union activism, many have come to understand that workers really can beat the boss when they organize -- and Trump, they say, is the biggest boss of all.
Through years of political campaigning, the union's leaders have learned that voters may think about issues, but they're moved to vote by what they feel about them. The goal of every conversation at those doors right now is to make a brief but profound personal connection with the voter, to get each of them to feel just how important it is to vote this year. Canvassers do this by asking how a voter is doing in these difficult times and listening -- genuinely listening -- and responding to whatever answer they get. And they do it by being vulnerable enough to share the personal stories that lie behind their presence at the voter's front door.
One canvasser lost his home at the age of seven, when his parents separated. He and his mother ended up staying in shelters and camping for months in a garden shed on a friend's property. One day recently he knocked on a door and found a Trump supporter on the other side of it. He noticed a shed near the house, pointed to it, and told the man about living in something similar as a child. That Trumpster started to cry. He began talking about how he'd had just the same experience and the way, as a teenager, he'd had to hold his family together when his heroin-addicted parents couldn't cope. He'd never talked to any of his present-day friends about how he grew up and, in the course of that conversation, came to agree with our canvasser that Donald Trump wasn't likely to improve life for people like them. He was, he said, changing his vote to Biden right then and there. (And that canvasser will be back to make sure he actually votes.)
Harvard University Professor Marshall Ganz pioneered the "public narrative," the practice of organizing by storytelling. It's found at the heart of many organizing efforts these days. The 2008 Obama campaign, for example, trained thousands of volunteers to tell their stories to potential voters. The It Gets Better Project has collected more than 50,000 personal messages from older queer people to LGBTQ youth who might be considering suicide or other kinds of self-harm -- assuring them that their own lives did, indeed, get better.
Being the sort of political junkie who devours the news daily, I was skeptical about the power of this approach, though I probably shouldn't have been. After all, how many times did I ask my mother or father to "tell me a story" when I was a kid? What are our lives but stories? Human beings are narrative animals and, however rational, however versed in the issues we may sometimes be, we still live through stories.
Data can give me information on issues I care about, but it can't tell me what issues I should care about. In the end, I'm concerned about racial and gender justice as well as the climate emergency because of the way each of them affects people and other creatures with whom I feel connected.
A Campaign Within a Campaign
Perhaps the most inspiring aspect of UNITE-HERE!'s electoral campaign is the union's commitment to developing every canvasser's leadership skills. The goal is more than winning what's undoubtedly the most important election of our lifetime. It's also to send back to every hotel, restaurant, casino, and airport catering service leaders who can continue to organize and advocate for their working-class sisters and brothers. This means implementing an individual development plan for each canvasser.
Team leaders work with all of them to hone their stories into tools that can be used in an honest and generous way to create a genuine connection with voters. They help those canvassers think about what else they want to learn to do, while developing opportunities for them to master technical tools like computer spreadsheets and databases.
There's a special emphasis on offering such opportunities to women and people of color who make up the vast majority of the union's membership. Precious hours of campaign time are also devoted to workshops on how to understand and confront systemic racism and combat sexual harassment, subjects President Trump is acquainted with in the most repulsively personal way. The union believes its success depends as much on fostering a culture of respect as on the hard-nosed negotiating it's also famous for.
After months of pandemic lockdown and almost four years of what has objectively been the worst, most corrupt, most incompetent, and possibly even most destructive presidency in the nation's history, it's a relief to be able to do something useful again. And sentimental as it may sound, it's an honor to be able to do it with this particular group of brave and committed people. Sí, se puede. Yes, we can.
Rebecca Gordon, a TomDispatch regular, teaches at the University of San Francisco. She is the author of American Nuremberg: The U.S. Officials Who Should Stand Trial for Post-9/11 War Crimesand is now at work on a new Dispatch book on the history of torture in the United States.
Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook. Check out the newest Dispatch Books, John Feffer's new dystopian novel (the second in the Splinterlands series) Frostlands, Beverly Gologorsky's novel Every Body Has a Story, and Tom Engelhardt's A Nation Unmade by War, as well as Alfred McCoy's In the Shadows of the American Century: The Rise and Decline of U.S. Global Power and John Dower's The Violent American Century: War and Terror Snce World War II.
Copyright 2020 Rebecca Gordon


alternet--2020-10-20--Economist Paul Krugman: Biden needs to ‘go big on stimulus right away’ if he wins

With the 2020 presidential election only two weeks away , Paul Krugman is among the many blistering critics of President Donald Trump who is hoping that former Vice President Joe Biden will be victorious on Tuesday , November 3 .
And the liberal economist/New York Times columnist , in an October 20 Twitter thread , stresses that if Biden wins , he needs to `` go big on stimulus right away . ''
Krugman opens his thread by linking to a New York Times article by author Neil Irwin , who also covers economic issues for the Times .
Irwin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warns that whoever is inaugurated on January 20 — whether Biden wins or Trump is reelected — will face an `` economic mess . ''
And Irwin encourages an aggressive economic stimulus program .
Krugman , similarly , has been stressing that because the coronavirus pandemic has taken a brutal toll on the U.S. economy , more stimulus is needed — not less .
And Krugman recalls that back in 2009 , during the Great Recession , he urged President Barack Obama to ignore Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other Republicans in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recalls that back in 2009 , he wrote , `` I see the following scenario : a weak stimulus plan , perhaps even weaker than what we 're talking about now , is crafted to win those extra GOP votes… .
And then , Mitch McConnell says , 'See , government spending does n't work . '
Let 's hope I 've got this wrong . ''
Eleven years later , Krugman tweets , `` Back in 2009 , I was tearing my hair out , warning about exactly the scenario that in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his thread by stressing that Obama should n't have listened to Republicans in Congress who , in 2009 , discouraged a strong economic stimulus plan — and that if Biden wins in November , he needs to make stimulus a top priority regardless of what Republicans say .
`` I think the Biden team has learned that lesson , '' Krugman writes .
`` But I do worry that some of his advisers will urge caution , when that 's exactly the wrong approach to take . ''

With the 2020 presidential election only two weeks away, Paul Krugman is among the many blistering critics of President Donald Trump who is hoping that former Vice President Joe Biden will be victorious on Tuesday, November 3. And the liberal economist/New York Times columnist, in an October 20 Twitter thread, stresses that if Biden wins, he needs to "go big on stimulus right away."
Krugman opens his thread by linking to a New York Times article by author Neil Irwin, who also covers economic issues for the Times. Irwin, in his October 19 piece, warns that whoever is inaugurated on January 20 — whether Biden wins or Trump is reelected — will face an "economic mess." And Irwin encourages an aggressive economic stimulus program.
Krugman, similarly, has been stressing that because the coronavirus pandemic has taken a brutal toll on the U.S. economy, more stimulus is needed — not less. And Krugman recalls that back in 2009, during the Great Recession, he urged President Barack Obama to ignore Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other Republicans in Congress who were discouraging stimulus.
Krugman recalls that back in 2009, he wrote, "I see the following scenario: a weak stimulus plan, perhaps even weaker than what we're talking about now, is crafted to win those extra GOP votes…. And then, Mitch McConnell says, 'See, government spending doesn't work.' Let's hope I've got this wrong."
Eleven years later, Krugman tweets, "Back in 2009, I was tearing my hair out, warning about exactly the scenario that in fact played out."
Krugman concludes his thread by stressing that Obama shouldn't have listened to Republicans in Congress who, in 2009, discouraged a strong economic stimulus plan — and that if Biden wins in November, he needs to make stimulus a top priority regardless of what Republicans say.
"I think the Biden team has learned that lesson," Krugman writes. "But I do worry that some of his advisers will urge caution, when that's exactly the wrong approach to take."


alternet--2020-10-20--Fox News ‘propped up’ Dr. Scott Atlas at the expense of ‘experts’ like Anthony Fauci: media expert

Dr. Sanjay Gupta , chief medical correspondent for CNN , has stressed that if the United States took a `` herd immunity '' approach to the coronavirus pandemic , millions would die .
But over at Fox News , Dr. Scott Atlas — a major proponent of the `` herd immunity '' argument — has received a lot of favorable coverage .
And Media Matters ' Matt Gertz , this week , argues that Fox News has endangered the public 's health by encouraging President Donald Trump to make Atlas more prominent on the White House 's coronavirus task force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Anthony Fauci and other government experts on public health and infectious diseases , and he has derailed their efforts to slow the spread of the virus , '' Gertz explains .
`` This is what governance by Fox News looks like .
The White House plucked a purveyor of the network 's coronavirus happy talk from its green room , and his view has overwhelmed those who have actual expertise on the subject — with potentially disastrous results . ''
Hosts at Fox News , Gertz notes , have `` denounced public health @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up Atlas '' — who , Gertz stresses , now `` dominates '' the White House coronavirus task force despite his `` lack of qualifications in public health or infectious diseases . ''
Atlas , who joined the task force in August , is a neuroradiologist .
But unlike Fauci , he is n't an immunologist .
Fauci is one of the United States ' leading experts on infectious diseases .
Gertz quotes a report from the Washington Post , noting that Atlas `` has pushed a baseless theory inside the task force @ @ @ @ @ @ @ herd immunity — the point at which enough people become immune to a disease either by becoming infected or getting vaccinated that its spread slows — despite a scientific consensus that the United States is nowhere close . ''
Atlas , Gertz points out , has argued against social distancing measures , saying , `` All restrictions should be lifted , schools should be opened and only the most vulnerable populations , such as nursing home residents , should be sheltered . ''
And when Fox hosts praise Atlas , according to Gertz @ @ @ @ @ @ @ `` Fox hosts dictated the pandemic response through their shows and in meetings with Trump and his top advisers , until they finally managed to place one of their own within his ranks , '' Gertz explains .
`` The result has been a calamity : hundreds of thousands of Americans are dead , the economy is in shambles , and the virus is still out of control . ''

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, chief medical correspondent for CNN, has stressed that if the United States took a "herd immunity" approach to the coronavirus pandemic, millions would die. But over at Fox News, Dr. Scott Atlas — a major proponent of the "herd immunity" argument — has received a lot of favorable coverage. And Media Matters' Matt Gertz, this week, argues that Fox News has endangered the public's health by encouraging President Donald Trump to make Atlas more prominent on the White House's coronavirus task force.
"Atlas seized control from Dr. Anthony Fauci and other government experts on public health and infectious diseases, and he has derailed their efforts to slow the spread of the virus," Gertz explains. "This is what governance by Fox News looks like. The White House plucked a purveyor of the network's coronavirus happy talk from its green room, and his view has overwhelmed those who have actual expertise on the subject — with potentially disastrous results."
Hosts at Fox News, Gertz notes, have "denounced public health officials like Fauci" but "propped up Atlas" — who, Gertz stresses, now "dominates" the White House coronavirus task force despite his "lack of qualifications in public health or infectious diseases." Atlas, who joined the task force in August, is a neuroradiologist. But unlike Fauci, he isn't an immunologist. Fauci is one of the United States' leading experts on infectious diseases.
Gertz quotes a report from the Washington Post, noting that Atlas "has pushed a baseless theory inside the task force that the U.S. population is close to herd immunity — the point at which enough people become immune to a disease either by becoming infected or getting vaccinated that its spread slows — despite a scientific consensus that the United States is nowhere close."
Atlas, Gertz points out, has argued against social distancing measures, saying, "All restrictions should be lifted, schools should be opened and only the most vulnerable populations, such as nursing home residents, should be sheltered." And when Fox hosts praise Atlas, according to Gertz, Trump is paying close attention.
"Fox hosts dictated the pandemic response through their shows and in meetings with Trump and his top advisers, until they finally managed to place one of their own within his ranks," Gertz explains. "The result has been a calamity: hundreds of thousands of Americans are dead, the economy is in shambles, and the virus is still out of control."


alternet--2020-10-20--Aviation companies laid off thousands of workers while taking coronavirus relief funds: congressiona

Aviation companies laid off thousands of workers while taking coronavirus relief funds: congressional report

Passed by Congress earlier this year as part of the CARES Act of 2020 , a coronavirus relief program was created to `` preserve aviation jobs '' in the United States .
But according to a congressional investigation , thousands of aviation jobs have been lost nonetheless .
Business Insider reporter Tyler Sonnemaker explains , `` The Trump Administration 's mismanagement of a coronavirus bailout program that Congress created to 'preserve aviation jobs ' has instead led to 16,655 layoffs across the industry while overpaying companies that fired workers , a congressional investigation concluded earlier this month . ''
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the CARES Act , expired on October 1 .
The day before that , on September 30 , Business Insider 's Lauren Frias reported that American Airlines and United Airlines were expecting to furlough thousands of workers — 19,000 at American , roughly 13,000 at United .
The Payroll Support Program , Sonnemaker notes , `` tasked the U.S. Treasury Department with allocating $ 3 billion to aviation contractors to help them avoid unnecessary layoffs as the pandemic ground travel to a halt .
The money was intended to cover companies ' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30 — and in exchange , recipients were supposed to keep workers employed for those six months .
But the Treasury Department 's 'delays ' and 'perverse ' approach to implementing the PSP encouraged companies to fire workers while they waited to receive funds , the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis concluded in a report published on October 9 . ''
According to the report , `` These delays led at least 15 different aviation contractors to lay off or furlough at least 16,655 employees before the agreements took effect — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ aviation contractor workforce . ''
Sonnemaker points out that the U.S. Treasury Department `` let companies continue to lay off workers while their PSP applications were pending . ''
And according to the report , this decision `` had the perverse effect of incentivizing companies to lay off or furlough workers before executing the agreement '' and encouraged the companies to `` stockpile the money rather than rehire laid-off workers . ''
Swissport , Gate Gourmet and Flying Food Fare were among the companies connected to the aviation industry that , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accepting coronavirus relief funds — and some companies used the funds to pay their top executives .
The report found that Flying Food , for example , received more than $ 85 million in taxpayer dollars and `` restored senior executives and management to full pay '' even when many others at the company were being laid off .

Passed by Congress earlier this year as part of the CARES Act of 2020, a coronavirus relief program was created to "preserve aviation jobs" in the United States. But according to a congressional investigation, thousands of aviation jobs have been lost nonetheless.
Business Insider reporter Tyler Sonnemaker explains, "The Trump Administration's mismanagement of a coronavirus bailout program that Congress created to 'preserve aviation jobs' has instead led to 16,655 layoffs across the industry while overpaying companies that fired workers, a congressional investigation concluded earlier this month."
The Payroll Support Program, which was part of the CARES Act, expired on October 1. The day before that, on September 30, Business Insider's Lauren Frias reported that American Airlines and United Airlines were expecting to furlough thousands of workers — 19,000 at American, roughly 13,000 at United.
The Payroll Support Program, Sonnemaker notes, "tasked the U.S. Treasury Department with allocating $3 billion to aviation contractors to help them avoid unnecessary layoffs as the pandemic ground travel to a halt. The money was intended to cover companies' payroll for six months, until September 30 — and in exchange, recipients were supposed to keep workers employed for those six months. But the Treasury Department's 'delays' and 'perverse' approach to implementing the PSP encouraged companies to fire workers while they waited to receive funds, the House Select Committee on the Coronavirus Crisis concluded in a report published on October 9."
According to the report, "These delays led at least 15 different aviation contractors to lay off or furlough at least 16,655 employees before the agreements took effect — more than 15% of the existing aviation contractor workforce."
Sonnemaker points out that the U.S. Treasury Department "let companies continue to lay off workers while their PSP applications were pending." And according to the report, this decision "had the perverse effect of incentivizing companies to lay off or furlough workers before executing the agreement" and encouraged the companies to "stockpile the money rather than rehire laid-off workers."
Swissport, Gate Gourmet and Flying Food Fare were among the companies connected to the aviation industry that, according to the report, laid off workers while accepting coronavirus relief funds — and some companies used the funds to pay their top executives. The report found that Flying Food, for example, received more than $85 million in taxpayer dollars and "restored senior executives and management to full pay" even when many others at the company were being laid off.


alternet--2020-10-20--New poll reveals the disturbing extent of the delusional QAnon cult

As outlandish as QAnon 's beliefs are , the conspiracy cult has been gaining ground in the Republican Party .
A Yahoo News/YouGov poll finds that roughly 50 % of President Donald Trump 's supporters now embrace at least some of QAnon 's claims .
QAnon believes that the United States ' federal government has been infiltrated by an international cabal of pedophiles , Satanists and cannibals and that Trump was put in the White House to lead the fight against the cabal .
According to the fictional belief set , an anonymous figure named Q is providing updates on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ QAnon 's beliefs is that R & B superstar Beyoncé is n't really African-American but rather , is really an Italian woman named Ann Marie Latrassi who is passing herself off as Black as part of the conspiracy .
The Yahoo/YouGov poll , conducted October 16-18 , asked participants , `` Do you believe that top Democrats are involved in elite child sex trafficking rings ? ''
— and 50 % of Trump supporters said `` yes '' compared to only 5 % of former Vice President Joe Biden 's supporters .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ believe that President Trump is working to dismantle an elite child sex trafficking ring involving top Democrats ? ''
— to which 52 % of Trump supporters responded `` yes , '' while only 4 % of Biden supporters said `` yes . ''
Yahoo News reporters Andrew Romano and Caitlin Dickson note that only 16 % of Trump supporters who were familiar were QAnon were willing to dismiss the entire movement as conspiracy nonsense that has no basis in fact .
The inroads that QAnon has made in the GOP were evident @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Marjorie Taylor Greene won a Republican congressional primary in Georgia .
Because her district is overwhelmingly Republican , Greene will likely win the general election on November 3 and be sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2021 .
Well-known Republicans who have made donations to Green 's campaign include Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows .
And after her primary win , Trump congratulated Greene on Twitter and exalted her as a `` future Republican star . ''
Nina Jankowicz of the nonpartisan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's `` really crazy '' that `` such a high number '' of Trump supporters embrace QAnon 's conspiracy theory .
Jankowicz explained , `` It seems , increasingly , like we 're dealing with two different sets of facts in this country , sometimes more .
The fact is that QAnon is a movement , a conspiracy that has been cited by the FBI as potentially inciting terrorist and other violent extremist acts in this country .
It should n't be something that we 're this split ( on ) along partisan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hall event hosted by NBC News , moderator Savannah Guthrie grilled Trump about QAnon — and he maintained , `` I know nothing about QAnon . ''
But Trump added that from what he has heard , `` They are very strongly against pedophilia , and I agree with that . ''
Jankowicz told Yahoo News , `` The fact that we have so many political candidates who are public adherents of QAnon and a president who himself has refused to disavow the theory ( amounts to ) a tacit endorsement of a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what 's really worrisome about it . ''

As outlandish as QAnon's beliefs are, the conspiracy cult has been gaining ground in the Republican Party. A Yahoo News/YouGov poll finds that roughly 50% of President Donald Trump's supporters now embrace at least some of QAnon's claims.
QAnon believes that the United States' federal government has been infiltrated by an international cabal of pedophiles, Satanists and cannibals and that Trump was put in the White House to lead the fight against the cabal. According to the fictional belief set, an anonymous figure named Q is providing updates on Trump's battle. And one of QAnon's beliefs is that R&B superstar Beyoncé isn't really African-American but rather, is really an Italian woman named Ann Marie Latrassi who is passing herself off as Black as part of the conspiracy.
The Yahoo/YouGov poll, conducted October 16-18, asked participants, "Do you believe that top Democrats are involved in elite child sex trafficking rings?" — and 50% of Trump supporters said "yes" compared to only 5% of former Vice President Joe Biden's supporters.
The poll also asked, "Do you believe that President Trump is working to dismantle an elite child sex trafficking ring involving top Democrats?" — to which 52% of Trump supporters responded "yes," while only 4% of Biden supporters said "yes."
Yahoo News reporters Andrew Romano and Caitlin Dickson note that only 16% of Trump supporters who were familiar were QAnon were willing to dismiss the entire movement as conspiracy nonsense that has no basis in fact.
The inroads that QAnon has made in the GOP were evident when, in August, QAnon supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene won a Republican congressional primary in Georgia. Because her district is overwhelmingly Republican, Greene will likely win the general election on November 3 and be sworn into the U.S. House of Representatives in January 2021.
Well-known Republicans who have made donations to Green's campaign include Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. And after her primary win, Trump congratulated Greene on Twitter and exalted her as a "future Republican star."
Nina Jankowicz of the nonpartisan Wilson Center told Yahoo News that it's "really crazy" that "such a high number" of Trump supporters embrace QAnon's conspiracy theory.
Jankowicz explained, "It seems, increasingly, like we're dealing with two different sets of facts in this country, sometimes more. The fact is that QAnon is a movement, a conspiracy that has been cited by the FBI as potentially inciting terrorist and other violent extremist acts in this country. It shouldn't be something that we're this split (on) along partisan lines."
During a recent town hall event hosted by NBC News, moderator Savannah Guthrie grilled Trump about QAnon — and he maintained, "I know nothing about QAnon." But Trump added that from what he has heard, "They are very strongly against pedophilia, and I agree with that."
Jankowicz told Yahoo News, "The fact that we have so many political candidates who are public adherents of QAnon and a president who himself has refused to disavow the theory (amounts to) a tacit endorsement of a different set of facts. That's what's really worrisome about it."


alternet--2020-10-20--New report reveals the staggering impact of felony disenfranchisement

● Felony Disenfranchisement : The Sentencing Project has released a report with updated estimates on the number of Americans disenfranchised for a felony conviction in every state , finding that more than 5 million people overall are barred from voting .
Many of these laws have their origins in the Jim Crow era , and 6 % of Black Americans are banned from voting compared to 2 % of Americans overall .
Laws on felony disenfranchisement vary widely by state , with Maine , Vermont , and the District of Columbia not barring anyone from voting while several mostly Southern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some offenders .
Thanks to a lifetime ban on voting for a large number of felony offenses that can only be remedied by the state legislature and governor passing a bill to individually restore a voter 's rights—something the GOP state government almost never does—Mississippi leads the way with more than 1 in every 10 voters banned from voting , including one in every six Black voters , three times the rate of whites .
But Tennessee leads the way with Black disenfranchisement , with more than one in four Black citizens banned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Senate and Joe Biden become president , Congress may be poised to restore voting rights to millions of citizens who are n't currently incarcerated by ending the bans on voting that many states enforce against citizens on parole , probation , or who owe outstanding court debts even though they have completely served their sentences .
The report estimates that 43 % of those disenfranchised nationally have served any prison , parole , or probation sentence , and 75 % are no longer incarcerated and could regain their rights if Congress adopts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ With the support of Democratic state Sen. Janet Cruz and GOP state Rep. Chris Sprowls , who would become speaker if the GOP maintains their majority this November , a new lawsuit has been filed with Florida 's conservative-dominated Supreme Court asking it to invalidate an initiative that will appear on the ballot this year and would amend Florida 's constitution to create a `` top-two primary '' for state-level races if at least 60 % of voters adopt it .
The lawsuit contends that the measure violates the Florida constitution by undermining @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
If voters adopt the ballot measure , Florida would eliminate its traditional primaries closed to voters registered with a particular party and replace them by having all candidates run on the same ballot in the first round regardless of party .
From there , the top-two finishers would advance to the November general election regardless of party , meaning two candidates from the same party could advance .
As we 've noted before , this system is highly flawed because one party can get shut out of the general election simply for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ round even if they collectively won more votes than the other party , which has happened in California and Washington .
The lawsuit focuses on how top-two reduces existing opportunities for voters of color to elect their chosen candidates for state legislature , particularly since Black voters are heavily Democratic while whites lean GOP .
Currently in a district capable of electing a Democrat , Black voters do n't need to form an overall majority so long as they can form a majority of the Democratic primary electorate and can count on enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the general .
But under top-two , white Republicans who ca n't elect a Republican on their own might support a candidate backed instead by white Democrats to defeat a candidate preferred by Black Democrats .
Back in 2010 , Florida voters passed two previous ballot initiatives that added protections against both partisan gerrymandering and the dilution of voters of color in existing districts that were capable of electing the preferred candidates of such voters .
The plaintiffs therefore argue that this 2020 proposal violates the latter provision because it would almost certainly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ districts of Black voters and to a lesser extent Latinos ( who are more internally diverse both in terms of their ethnic identity and partisanship ) .
● New York : Voting advocacy organizations are appealing a recent state lower court ruling that declined to extend New York 's voter registration deadline from 25 days before Election Day to just 10 days prior .
● 2020 Census : The Supreme Court has stayed a lower court ruling that had blocked the Trump administration from ending the census ' counting operations weeks before the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to stop counting on Thursday .
Trump has pushed to short circuit the census in a likely effort to produce an undercount that would disproportionately harm communities of color , which in turn would undermine those communities ' clout in redistricting for the coming decade .
While the Census Bureau reports that they already had a 99.9 % completion rate in nearly every state before the Supreme Court issued its ruling , reporting from the New York Times details how those numbers are misleading .
That 99.9 % figure does n't cover the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the census forms and instead covers those checked off the list by any means , even via estimates .
For instance , the Times notes that instead of interviewing every individual household in a major apartment complex , enumerators may have instead entered data given to them by the apartment manager just on those individuals who signed leases , which could fail to include everyone living in each unit with more than a single occupant .
Furthermore , the statewide completion rates do n't add light to variations within states , and certain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could thus be more incomplete .
Meanwhile in a federal lawsuit over the Trump administration 's attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from census data that determines the reapportionment of congressional seats and Electoral College votes among the states after 2020 , the Supreme Court has agreed to fast-track Trump 's appeal of a lower court ruling that blocked Trump 's effort earlier this year .
The high court set oral arguments for Nov. 30 .
Please bookmark our litigation tracker for a complete summary of the latest developments in every lawsuit regarding changes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result of the coronavirus .
● Alabama : The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court ruling blocking Alabama 's requirement that absentee voters have their ballots witnessed or notarized .
However , the panel upheld another part of the ruling that barred the state from banning curbside voting .
Republican Secretary of State John Merrill has said he will appeal that portion of the decision to the Supreme Court .
● Alaska : The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling blocking the state 's requirement that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Separately , voting rights advocates have filed a lawsuit in state court asking that voters whose mail ballots are rejected be given the chance to fix any problems .
● Arizona : The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court ruling that extended Arizona 's voter registration deadline from Oct. 5 to 23 .
However , the judges did order officials to accept new registrations from voters who submitted applications by Oct. 15 .
Meanwhile , a separate panel on the 9th Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days be counted .
● Delaware : A Delaware state court has rejected a suit requesting that ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days be counted .
Separately , voting rights advocates have filed a suit in state court asking that voters who have been displaced from their homes because of the pandemic be allowed to receive ballots electronically and return them by printing them out and mailing them in .
● Georgia : In a long-running case , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Georgia officials , whose polling places have long been plagued with lengthy lines due to difficulties with electronic voting equipment , to use hand-marked paper ballots instead of new electronic voting machines .
In a separate ruling , the same judge also declined to order that officials provide paper backup ballots equivalent to 40 % of registered voters .
Under state law , officials are required to maintain backups for only 10 % of voters .
In a separate Democratic-backed lawsuit that was also seeking paper ballot and poll book backups among other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a different federal judge has dismissed the case .
● Indiana : The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court ruling requiring that Indiana officials count absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days .
Instead , ballots must be received by noon on Election Day in order to count .
● Iowa : The Iowa Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling that said that Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate exceeded his authority in barring county election officials from sending out absentee voter applications @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court said it would hear a challenge from Democrats against a law passed earlier this year by the state 's Republican-run legislature prohibiting officials from using their databases to fill in missing information on applications they receive from voters , which they 've done in past years .
Under the new law , officials are required to contact voters by phone , email , or regular mail .
● Louisiana : A state court has blocked Republican Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin 's attempt to limit officials in New Orleans to just two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Michigan : The state Court of Appeals has sided with Republicans and overturned a lower court ruling that had required mail ballots to count if postmarked by the day before Election Day and received up to two weeks afterward .
● Minnesota : A federal judge has rejected a Republican challenge to an agreement made between Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon and voting rights advocates to allow ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days to count , saying the plaintiffs had failed to show they were injured by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
● Missouri : A federal judge has stayed his own ruling allowing the in-person return of mail ballots pending an appeal by Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft .
● North Carolina : Two separate federal court rulings have resulted in a mixed outcome for voting advocates regarding absentee voting procedures .
In one case , a district court blocked part of a settlement in a separate state lawsuit that would have allowed voters to sign an affidavit in case a witness signature was missing , thus requiring a witness signature for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ district court in a separate case refused to overturn an agreement by the state to count ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 12 while also allowing voters to fix certain other problems on mail ballots regarding voter signatures or incomplete witness information .
Additionally , the second federal ruling means dropping off mail ballots at polling places remains allowed .
Republicans are appealing that second federal ruling as well as the settlement in the state lawsuit , which saw the state Court of Appeals issue a short-term stay @ @ @ @ @ @ @ until Monday to respond on whether to more permanently block it .
● Ohio : The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked a lower court ruling that forbade Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose from preventing county election officials from providing more than one drop box for ballot returns .
LaRose 's directive that each county may only set up one drop box is now back in effect .
● Pennsylvania : The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to take up Democratic Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar 's request for it to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reject mail ballots based on signatures purportedly not matching the ones on file without notifying voters and giving them a chance to correct the problem .
Boockvar had issued a directive last month telling counties that they were required to give voters a chance to fix problems , but the Trump campaign contested it in a separate federal lawsuit .
Meanwhile in that same federal case , a district court has rejected Trump 's request to ban dropboxes and allow voters to serve as poll watchers outside their home county , which opponents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intimidation in cities with large Black populations .
Trump is appealing to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals .
● Tennessee : The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling refusing to require that Tennessee officials allow mail voters a chance to fix problems with their ballots that would otherwise result in their votes being rejected .
● Texas : Latino voter advocates announced they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after three Trump-appointed judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than one location for returning mail ballots regardless of population size .
The 5th Circuit 's ruling came down even though federal courts across the country have been blocking efforts to change election rules too close to the election and GOP Gov .
Greg Abbott issued the limitation only on Oct. 1 .
Regardless of the federal litigation , a separate state lawsuit has seen a lower court block Abbott 's limitation on mail ballot return locations , though Republicans quickly vowed to appeal .
In two separate state court lawsuits over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all-GOP state Supreme Court reject right-wing activists ' challenge to Abbott 's order extending early voting by six days , leading to it beginning this week .
In the second case , a panel on the state Court of Appeals has rejected the state GOP 's request to ban curbside voting in Harris County , which is home to Houston and is the state 's most populous at 4.7 million people , but the state Republican Party will appeal to Texas ' high court .
● Wisconsin : Democrats have filed an appeal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reverse a recent 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that had blocked a lower court 's order to count ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 9 .
● Overseas Voters : A federal district court has rejected a request by voters from Georgia , Kentucky , New York , Ohio , Pennsylvania , Texas , and Wisconsin who currently reside abroad and were seeking to be able to receive and return their ballots electronically , a process that is already available to the military and even some civilians @ @ @ @

LEADING OFF
●Felony Disenfranchisement: The Sentencing Project has released a report with updated estimates on the number of Americans disenfranchised for a felony conviction in every state, finding that more than 5 million people overall are barred from voting. Many of these laws have their origins in the Jim Crow era, and 6% of Black Americans are banned from voting compared to 2% of Americans overall. Laws on felony disenfranchisement vary widely by state, with Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia not barring anyone from voting while several mostly Southern states impose lifetime bans for at least some offenders.
Thanks to a lifetime ban on voting for a large number of felony offenses that can only be remedied by the state legislature and governor passing a bill to individually restore a voter's rights—something the GOP state government almost never does—Mississippi leads the way with more than 1 in every 10 voters banned from voting, including one in every six Black voters, three times the rate of whites. But Tennessee leads the way with Black disenfranchisement, with more than one in four Black citizens banned from voting there.
Should Democrats retake the Senate and Joe Biden become president, Congress may be poised to restore voting rights to millions of citizens who aren't currently incarcerated by ending the bans on voting that many states enforce against citizens on parole, probation, or who owe outstanding court debts even though they have completely served their sentences. The report estimates that 43% of those disenfranchised nationally have served any prison, parole, or probation sentence, and 75% are no longer incarcerated and could regain their rights if Congress adopts Democrats' proposal.
BALLOT MEASURES
●Florida: With the support of Democratic state Sen. Janet Cruz and GOP state Rep. Chris Sprowls, who would become speaker if the GOP maintains their majority this November, a new lawsuit has been filed with Florida's conservative-dominated Supreme Court asking it to invalidate an initiative that will appear on the ballot this year and would amend Florida's constitution to create a "top-two primary" for state-level races if at least 60% of voters adopt it. The lawsuit contends that the measure violates the Florida constitution by undermining existing protections for Black and Latino representation.
If voters adopt the ballot measure, Florida would eliminate its traditional primaries closed to voters registered with a particular party and replace them by having all candidates run on the same ballot in the first round regardless of party. From there, the top-two finishers would advance to the November general election regardless of party, meaning two candidates from the same party could advance. As we've noted before, this system is highly flawed because one party can get shut out of the general election simply for having too many candidates in the first round even if they collectively won more votes than the other party, which has happened in California and Washington.
The lawsuit focuses on how top-two reduces existing opportunities for voters of color to elect their chosen candidates for state legislature, particularly since Black voters are heavily Democratic while whites lean GOP. Currently in a district capable of electing a Democrat, Black voters don't need to form an overall majority so long as they can form a majority of the Democratic primary electorate and can count on enough support from a minority of whites in the general. But under top-two, white Republicans who can't elect a Republican on their own might support a candidate backed instead by white Democrats to defeat a candidate preferred by Black Democrats.
Back in 2010, Florida voters passed two previous ballot initiatives that added protections against both partisan gerrymandering and the dilution of voters of color in existing districts that were capable of electing the preferred candidates of such voters. The plaintiffs therefore argue that this 2020 proposal violates the latter provision because it would almost certainly dilute the existing voting strength in several districts of Black voters and to a lesser extent Latinos (who are more internally diverse both in terms of their ethnic identity and partisanship).
VOTER REGISTRATION AND VOTING ACCESS
●New York: Voting advocacy organizations are appealing a recent state lower court ruling that declined to extend New York's voter registration deadline from 25 days before Election Day to just 10 days prior.
2020 CENSUS
●2020 Census: The Supreme Court has stayed a lower court ruling that had blocked the Trump administration from ending the census' counting operations weeks before the original Oct. 31 deadline, enabling Trump to stop counting on Thursday. Trump has pushed to short circuit the census in a likely effort to produce an undercount that would disproportionately harm communities of color, which in turn would undermine those communities' clout in redistricting for the coming decade.
While the Census Bureau reports that they already had a 99.9% completion rate in nearly every state before the Supreme Court issued its ruling, reporting from the New York Timesdetails how those numbers are misleading. That 99.9% figure doesn't cover the number of households that have filled out the census forms and instead covers those checked off the list by any means, even via estimates.
For instance, the Times notes that instead of interviewing every individual household in a major apartment complex, enumerators may have instead entered data given to them by the apartment manager just on those individuals who signed leases, which could fail to include everyone living in each unit with more than a single occupant. Furthermore, the statewide completion rates don't add light to variations within states, and certain populations that are the hardest to count could thus be more incomplete.
Meanwhile in a federal lawsuit over the Trump administration's attempt to exclude undocumented immigrants from census data that determines the reapportionment of congressional seats and Electoral College votes among the states after 2020, the Supreme Court has agreed to fast-track Trump's appeal of a lower court ruling that blocked Trump's effort earlier this year. The high court set oral arguments for Nov. 30.
ELECTION CHANGES
Please bookmark our litigation tracker for a complete summary of the latest developments in every lawsuit regarding changes to elections and voting procedures as a result of the coronavirus.
●Alabama: The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court ruling blocking Alabama's requirement that absentee voters have their ballots witnessed or notarized. However, the panel upheld another part of the ruling that barred the state from banning curbside voting. Republican Secretary of State John Merrill has said he will appeal that portion of the decision to the Supreme Court.
●Alaska: The Alaska Supreme Court has upheld a lower court ruling blocking the state's requirement that absentee voters have their ballots witnessed. Separately, voting rights advocates have filed a lawsuit in state court asking that voters whose mail ballots are rejected be given the chance to fix any problems.
●Arizona: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court ruling that extended Arizona's voter registration deadline from Oct. 5 to 23. However, the judges did order officials to accept new registrations from voters who submitted applications by Oct. 15. Meanwhile, a separate panel on the 9th Circuit has upheld a lower court ruling that rejected a request by the Navajo Nation that mail ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days be counted.
●Delaware: A Delaware state court has rejected a suit requesting that ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days be counted. Separately, voting rights advocates have filed a suit in state court asking that voters who have been displaced from their homes because of the pandemic be allowed to receive ballots electronically and return them by printing them out and mailing them in.
●Georgia: In a long-running case, a federal judge has declined to order Georgia officials, whose polling places have long been plagued with lengthy lines due to difficulties with electronic voting equipment, to use hand-marked paper ballots instead of new electronic voting machines. In a separate ruling, the same judge also declined to order that officials provide paper backup ballots equivalent to 40% of registered voters. Under state law, officials are required to maintain backups for only 10% of voters.
In a separate Democratic-backed lawsuit that was also seeking paper ballot and poll book backups among other measures to prevent long voting lines, a different federal judge has dismissed the case.
●Indiana: The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned a lower court ruling requiring that Indiana officials count absentee ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days. Instead, ballots must be received by noon on Election Day in order to count.
●Iowa: The Iowa Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling that said that Republican Secretary of State Paul Pate exceeded his authority in barring county election officials from sending out absentee voter applications with information pre-filled.
Separately, the court said it would hear a challenge from Democrats against a law passed earlier this year by the state's Republican-run legislature prohibiting officials from using their databases to fill in missing information on applications they receive from voters, which they've done in past years. Under the new law, officials are required to contact voters by phone, email, or regular mail.
●Louisiana: A state court has blocked Republican Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin's attempt to limit officials in New Orleans to just two ballot return drop box locations.
●Michigan: The state Court of Appeals has sided with Republicans and overturned a lower court ruling that had required mail ballots to count if postmarked by the day before Election Day and received up to two weeks afterward.
●Minnesota: A federal judge has rejected a Republican challenge to an agreement made between Democratic Secretary of State Steve Simon and voting rights advocates to allow ballots postmarked by Election Day and received within seven days to count, saying the plaintiffs had failed to show they were injured by the law. Plaintiffs say they will appeal.
●Missouri: A federal judge has stayed his own ruling allowing the in-person return of mail ballots pending an appeal by Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.
●North Carolina: Two separate federal court rulings have resulted in a mixed outcome for voting advocates regarding absentee voting procedures. In one case, a district court blocked part of a settlement in a separate state lawsuit that would have allowed voters to sign an affidavit in case a witness signature was missing, thus requiring a witness signature for all such ballots.
However, a district court in a separate case refused to overturn an agreement by the state to count ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 12 while also allowing voters to fix certain other problems on mail ballots regarding voter signatures or incomplete witness information. Additionally, the second federal ruling means dropping off mail ballots at polling places remains allowed.
Republicans are appealing that second federal ruling as well as the settlement in the state lawsuit, which saw the state Court of Appeals issue a short-term stay of the settlement and give the parties until Monday to respond on whether to more permanently block it.
●Ohio: The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked a lower court ruling that forbade Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose from preventing county election officials from providing more than one drop box for ballot returns. LaRose's directive that each county may only set up one drop box is now back in effect.
●Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to take up Democratic Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar's request for it to clarify whether state law allows counties to reject mail ballots based on signatures purportedly not matching the ones on file without notifying voters and giving them a chance to correct the problem. Boockvar had issued a directive last month telling counties that they were required to give voters a chance to fix problems, but the Trump campaign contested it in a separate federal lawsuit.
Meanwhile in that same federal case, a district court has rejected Trump's request to ban dropboxes and allow voters to serve as poll watchers outside their home county, which opponents argued was an attempt to encourage voter intimidation in cities with large Black populations. Trump is appealing to the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.
(Note: Daily Kos Elections contributing editor Arjun Jaikumar is representing a party in this case. He took no part in the production of this writeup.)
●Tennessee: The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling refusing to require that Tennessee officials allow mail voters a chance to fix problems with their ballots that would otherwise result in their votes being rejected.
●Texas: Latino voter advocates announced they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court after three Trump-appointed judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a lower court ruling that had blocked a limitation on counties having more than one location for returning mail ballots regardless of population size. The 5th Circuit's ruling came down even though federal courts across the country have been blocking efforts to change election rules too close to the election and GOP Gov. Greg Abbott issued the limitation only on Oct. 1.
Regardless of the federal litigation, a separate state lawsuit has seen a lower court block Abbott's limitation on mail ballot return locations, though Republicans quickly vowed to appeal.
In two separate state court lawsuits over voting access, the first saw the all-GOP state Supreme Court reject right-wing activists' challenge to Abbott's order extending early voting by six days, leading to it beginning this week. In the second case, a panel on the state Court of Appeals has rejected the state GOP's request to ban curbside voting in Harris County, which is home to Houston and is the state's most populous at 4.7 million people, but the state Republican Party will appeal to Texas' high court.
●Wisconsin: Democrats have filed an appeal with the Supreme Court asking it to reverse a recent 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that had blocked a lower court's order to count ballots that are postmarked by Election Day and received by Nov. 9.
●Overseas Voters: A federal district court has rejected a request by voters from Georgia, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin who currently reside abroad and were seeking to be able to receive and return their ballots electronically, a process that is already available to the military and even some civilians in other states.


alternet--2020-10-20--Democrats may 'never win another national election': SCOTUS mail-in voting ruling raises alarm

Adivided Supreme Court rejected a Pennsylvania Republican effort to curtail mail-in voting , but experts say the Democratic victory may be short-lived — and confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett would be a `` disaster for Democrats . ''
With Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court 's three liberals , the court split 4-4 to reject a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to block an order from the state 's Supreme Court allowing mail-in ballots to be counted if they are received within three days of Election Day — even if they do not have a clear postmark .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ place , which Democratic lawyers hailed as `` great news for voting rights . ''
The four conservative justices , who would have blocked the state court ruling , did not issue a dissenting opinion to explain their votes .
`` The unfathomable thing about the four justices siding [ with ] PA Republicans tonight : they would 've stripped a state supreme court of the authority to say what the law is in their own state , '' Bard College Professor Steven Mazie wrote on Twitter .
`` That 's way beyond @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on steroids . ''
If the conservatives had prevailed , the decision `` would create legal chaos over a wide range of issues , '' attorney Max Kennerly added .
Some Supreme Court reporters called the split `` really scary '' and `` terrifying . ''
If Barrett is confirmed next week as expected , the court 's conservatives could potentially upend the election .
`` Tonight four conservative Supreme Court justices indicated their support for a radical , anti-democratic theory that would stop state Supreme Courts from enforcing state election laws to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mark Joseph Stern wrote .
`` And Barrett could soon give them a fifth vote .
.
.
The 2020 election may be in her hands . ''
Though the court allowed the state order to stand , `` that victory may only last a matter of days , '' Vox 's Ian Millhiser reported .
`` Indeed , the GOP may be able to raise this issue again after Barrett is confirmed , potentially securing a court order requiring states like Pennsylvania to toss out an unknown number of ballots that arrive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is close , that could be enough to change the result . ''
Some legal experts said it was possible , but unlikely , that the court would take the same case up again .
`` It 's possible that Republicans can renew their application if and when Judge Barrett is confirmed , in the hopes that she 'd side with them , '' Steve Vladeck , a law professor at the University of Texas , wrote .
`` That said , that close to the election , it 's hard to imagine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would want to upset the status quo . ''
Even if the case does not return to the high court , Barrett could be the deciding vote in numerous other challenges brought by Republicans or President Donald Trump 's campaign in Pennsylvania and other states , according to Rick Hasen , a professor at the University of California Irvine School of Law .
In the meantime , the Supreme Court 's split decision leaves many questions unanswered only14 days before the election .
`` We have no guidance from the court as to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can rely on a state Constitution when it expands or changes state voting rules in a presidential election , '' Hasen wrote .
`` Even though Democrats opposed the stay sought by Republicans in the case , they begged the court to fully take the case and give an explanation as to the scope of state court power in this case .
This lack of guidance could be a huge problem in the two battleground states — North Carolina and Pennsylvania — with Democratic state Supreme Courts and Republican legislatures who could battle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump has repeatedly said he wants Barrett on the court in time for the election , because it `` will end up in the Supreme Court . ''
He declared that he was `` counting on them to look at the ballots '' at the first presidential debate .
And other Republicans have echoed the president 's rhetoric .
Sen. Ted Cruz , R-Texas , who opposed Merrick Garland 's nomination months ahead of the 2016 election , has argued that it is imperative to confirm Barrett before the election .
Senate Judiciary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ likewise opposed Garland , also argued that it was necessary to speed through the confirmation , because `` the court will decide '' litigation about `` who won the election . ''
Barrett , who has not ruled on any election-related cases on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals , demurred when asked during her confirmation hearings if she would recuse herself from cases that could determine the outcome of the presidential election despite precedent possibly requiring her to do so .
`` I commit to you to fully and faithfully applying the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the law is to consider any appearance questions , '' Barrett told Sen. Pat Leahy , D-Vt. `` And I will apply the factors that other justices have before me in determining whether the circumstances require my recusal or not .
But I ca n't offer a legal conclusion right now about the outcome of the decision I would reach . ''
All of this potentially makes Monday 's ruling a disaster `` for anyone who cares about democracy , '' Millhiser wrote .
`` If Democrats win this election , and they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' he added , `` they could very well never win a national election again . ''

Adivided Supreme Court rejected a Pennsylvania Republican effort to curtail mail-in voting, but experts say the Democratic victory may be short-lived — and confirming Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett would be a "disaster for Democrats."
With Chief Justice John Roberts joining the court's three liberals, the court split 4-4 to reject a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to block an order from the state's Supreme Court allowing mail-in ballots to be counted if they are received within three days of Election Day — even if they do not have a clear postmark. The tie left the state decision in place, which Democratic lawyers hailed as "great news for voting rights."
The four conservative justices, who would have blocked the state court ruling, did not issue a dissenting opinion to explain their votes.
"The unfathomable thing about the four justices siding [with] PA Republicans tonight: they would've stripped a state supreme court of the authority to say what the law is in their own state," Bard College Professor Steven Mazie wrote on Twitter. "That's way beyond right field. It's judicial activism on steroids."
If the conservatives had prevailed, the decision "would create legal chaos over a wide range of issues," attorney Max Kennerly added.
Some Supreme Court reporters called the split "really scary" and "terrifying." If Barrett is confirmed next week as expected, the court's conservatives could potentially upend the election.
"Tonight four conservative Supreme Court justices indicated their support for a radical, anti-democratic theory that would stop state Supreme Courts from enforcing state election laws to protect the franchise," Slate's Mark Joseph Stern wrote. "And Barrett could soon give them a fifth vote . . . The 2020 election may be in her hands."
Though the court allowed the state order to stand, "that victory may only last a matter of days," Vox's Ian Millhiser reported. "Indeed, the GOP may be able to raise this issue again after Barrett is confirmed, potentially securing a court order requiring states like Pennsylvania to toss out an unknown number of ballots that arrive after Election Day. If the election is close, that could be enough to change the result."
Some legal experts said it was possible, but unlikely, that the court would take the same case up again.
"It's possible that Republicans can renew their application if and when Judge Barrett is confirmed, in the hopes that she'd side with them," Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, wrote. "That said, that close to the election, it's hard to imagine that all four of tonight's dissenters would want to upset the status quo."
Even if the case does not return to the high court, Barrett could be the deciding vote in numerous other challenges brought by Republicans or President Donald Trump's campaign in Pennsylvania and other states, according to Rick Hasen, a professor at the University of California Irvine School of Law.
In the meantime, the Supreme Court's split decision leaves many questions unanswered only14 days before the election.
"We have no guidance from the court as to when and whether a state Supreme Court can rely on a state Constitution when it expands or changes state voting rules in a presidential election," Hasen wrote. "Even though Democrats opposed the stay sought by Republicans in the case, they begged the court to fully take the case and give an explanation as to the scope of state court power in this case. This lack of guidance could be a huge problem in the two battleground states — North Carolina and Pennsylvania — with Democratic state Supreme Courts and Republican legislatures who could battle over any post-election voting rules."
Trump has repeatedly said he wants Barrett on the court in time for the election, because it "will end up in the Supreme Court." He declared that he was "counting on them to look at the ballots" at the first presidential debate.
And other Republicans have echoed the president's rhetoric. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who opposed Merrick Garland's nomination months ahead of the 2016 election, has argued that it is imperative to confirm Barrett before the election. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who likewise opposed Garland, also argued that it was necessary to speed through the confirmation, because "the court will decide" litigation about "who won the election."
Barrett, who has not ruled on any election-related cases on the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, demurred when asked during her confirmation hearings if she would recuse herself from cases that could determine the outcome of the presidential election despite precedent possibly requiring her to do so.
"I commit to you to fully and faithfully applying the law of recusal, and part of the law is to consider any appearance questions," Barrett told Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt. "And I will apply the factors that other justices have before me in determining whether the circumstances require my recusal or not. But I can't offer a legal conclusion right now about the outcome of the decision I would reach."
All of this potentially makes Monday's ruling a disaster "for anyone who cares about democracy," Millhiser wrote.
"If Democrats win this election, and they don't pack the Supreme Court," he added, "they could very well never win a national election again."