Court allows UNC digital IDs for 2024 election

 

Thursday, September 19 Recently purchased our merch? We’d love to see how you’re rocking it! Reply to this email with your pictures or selfies, and you could be highlighted on our socials! SHOP NOW! North Carolina judge allows UNC mobile voter IDs and rejects RNC lawsuit In a huge win for voters, a North Carolina judge rejected the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) request to prohibit University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill affiliates from using their state-approved digital university IDs to vote. In a new YouTube video, Marc and Democracy Docket’s Paige Moskowitz break down the lawsuit, lies about noncitizen voting and how the RNC filing this case was just a move to suppress student voters. Arizona GOP only cares about proof of citizenship for Democrats The voting rights of nearly 100,000 Arizonans, the majority of whom are Republicans, are in question right now. The Arizona GOP is urging the state Supreme Court to do all it can to protect affected voters' ballot access, a complete contradiction of the party's prior legal actions and arguments.  Pennsylvania undated and misdated mail-in ballot case dismissed The Pennsylvania Supreme Court granted the RNC's request to dismiss the lawsuit claiming undated and misdated mail-in ballots should be counted, maintaining that the lower court lacked jurisdiction. This concludes this case, and as of now, mail-in ballots missing a correct handwritten date on the outer envelope will not count during the November election. THE SCOREBOARD Since Jan. 1, 2023 House rejects budget bill containing SAVE Act as government shutdown looms The House rejected Speaker Mike Johnson's (R) funding bill last night as the deadline to avert a government shutdown looms. The bill included controversial legislation imposing a national proof of citizenship requirement to vote, something President Joe Biden said he'd veto. Meet the Rep. whose U.S. House race could flip party control Oregon Rep. Janelle Bynum (D) is running for reelection in a key race that could flip the U.S. House. We spoke with her about the importance of voter engagement, the threats Project 2025 poses and what voting rights bills she hopes to see Congress pass. Read and watch it now.

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POLITICO Nightly: Biden’s New Hampshire surprise

 

BY CHARLIE MAHTESIAN Presented by Steuben County Industrial Development Agency Supporters of President Joe Biden greet voters on Jan. 23, 2024 in Loudon, New Hampshire. | Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images JOE-MENTUM — The New Hampshire primary largely went as expected Tuesday, but we learned a few important things. On the heels of a weak Iowa performance, the architecture of Nikki Haley’s 11-point defeat last night all but confirms there’s no real path forward to the GOP nomination. She remains a formidable candidate, and can continue on through March amassing delegates, but it’s a zombie campaign so long as she’s losing 3 out of every 4 Republican voters to Donald Trump, as she did in New Hampshire. On the Democratic side, we learned something, too — Joe Biden is in better shape, at least within his own party, than many assumed. With close to 12,000 write-in votes still unprocessed, he has won an impressive 56 percent against challenger Rep. Dean Phillips, who could only muster 20 percent. When all the write-in ballots are counted, Biden seems likely to finish with over 60 percent of the vote. In an ordinary primary, a 55 or 60 percent performance by an incumbent would be a sure sign of weakness. But New Hampshire was no ordinary primary this year. Since Biden’s name didn’t actually appear on the ballot, all of his votes are write-ins. That’s an accomplishment in itself, but what makes Biden’s showing all the more impressive is that New Hampshire had good cause to give him a comeuppance. After all, the president eliminated the state’s prized first-in-the-nation primary status and put South Carolina in the lead-off spot this year, largely to suit his own political purposes. When New Hampshire decided to hold its primary anyway, Biden’s campaign shunned the state and the Democratic National Committee dismissed its unauthorized primary as “meaningless.” New Hampshire had never truly embraced him. While he won the state against Trump in 2020, in his unsuccessful 2008 presidential bid, Biden was polling at a mere 3 percent in New Hampshire before he dropped out of the race one week before the primary. In 2020, he finished an anemic 5th there, more than 50,000 votes behind first-place finisher Sen. Bernie Sanders. THIS IS AN OUTDATED EXIT POLL FROM 2022 Through the 2022 midterm elections, New Hampshire’s electorate continued to hold Biden in low regard: 67 percent said they would not like to see him run for president in 2024 , according to exit polls. (66 percent said that of Trump.) In other words, New Hampshire — even its Democrats — had motive and opportunity to throw a brushback pitch at Biden, not to mention a history of sending bruising messages to wayward or weak incumbent presidents. There was Eugene McCarthy, who won 42 percent against Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, enough to convince LBJ to announce several weeks later that he would “neither seek nor accept” the Democratic nomination. In 1992, Pat Buchanan’s 37 percent against George H.W. Bush in the GOP primary presaged Bush’s eventual defeat. Phillips, a Minnesota congressman, was a decided longshot, but no pushover. He spent nearly $3 million on TV, radio and digital ads in the state , bolstered by another $2.6 million in spending by super PACs backing him. Unlike Biden, who hasn’t been seen in New Hampshire since April 2022 , Phillips campaigned vigorously in the hopes of a McCarthy-like performance. Yet it hardly mattered. Phillips will finish with somewhere around 20 percent of the vote, respectable enough for a little-known congressman but not nearly enough to sustain a narrative that Biden has lost the support of the Democratic grassroots or that there will be a competitive primary. If anything there were signs of a rallying effect around Biden, enabling him to execute a clean pivot to the general election. The result was a news cycle featuring accounts of a decisive victory, followed by additional momentum for Biden’s campaign this morning — a key endorsement from the United Auto Workers union. Welcome to POLITICO Nightly. Reach out with news, tips and ideas at nightly@politico.com . Or contact tonight’s author at cmahtesian@politico.com on X (formerly known as Twitter) at @PoliticoCharlie .   A message from Steuben County Industrial Development Agency: President Biden, Buy America is not just policy, it’s real jobs in places like Hornell, part of Steuben County in upstate New York where we’re busy building America’s high-speed trains. We’re counting on your support to ensure that we retain hundreds of jobs and add new ones to build the new trainsets for Brightline West. Don’t allow a waiver to build trainsets overseas. Let’s build the trains and keep those jobs here in America.   WHAT'D I MISS? — Arizona GOP chair resigns following leaked recording: Arizona GOP Chair Jeff DeWit resigned today amid controversy over a leaked audio recording in which he appeared to attempt to bribe former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake to not to run for Senate. DeWit, who had served in the role since January 2023, said in a statement that Lake’s team had issued him an ultimatum: “resign today or face the release of a new, more damaging recording.” —  Dems intensify their pushback against Netanyahu with public defense of Palestinian state: Congressional Democrats today delivered their latest rebuke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , aligning behind a symbolic declaration that the U.S. remains staunchly supportive of a Palestinian state as part of any ultimate resolution to unrest in the Middle East. As the Senate prepares to take up a potential emergency spending package with funds for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and border security, a group of 49 Senate Democratic caucus members led by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) offered an amendment reiterating that U.S. policy favors a two-state solution. The proposal is a clear pushback against Netanyahu’s recent rejection of that approach, giving Democrats a fresh opportunity to channel their frustration with his conservative government. WATCH THE MONEY! DON'T BE FOOLED! — Uber to counter California’s labor muscle with $30M political spend: Uber, the ride-hailing and delivery giant that launched in San Francisco, is prepping a massive cash infusion to shake up politics in California , according to plans revealed first to POLITICO. The company is dropping $30 million into its existing state committee — called the Uber Innovation PAC — all of which it plans to spend on candidates and causes in 2024, people familiar with its plans said.   JOIN 1/31 FOR A TALK ON THE RACE TO SOLVE ALZHEIMER’S: Breakthrough drugs and treatments are giving new hope for slowing neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease and ALS. But if that progress slows, the societal and economic cost to the U.S. could be high. Join POLITICO, alongside lawmakers, official and experts, on Jan. 31 to discuss a path forward for better collaboration among health systems, industry and government. REGISTER HERE .     NIGHTLY ROAD TO 2024 NOT HELPFUL — A Russian-American businessman based in Miami is suspected of making nearly $23 million from alleged insider trading involving former President Donald Trump’s media company , according to the Miami Herald. The businessman, Anton Postolnikov, is the owner of a Caribbean bank that caters to the porn industry and also reportedly loaned $8 million to Trump’s media company. Postolnikov, who owns a few residences on exclusive Fisher Island in Miami, is the nephew of a former high-ranking Russian government official who at one time was a staffer for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to media reports. START YOUR ENGINES — The United Auto Workers endorsed President Joe Biden for reelection today, after holding off a decision for months despite historic support from the White House for the union’s agenda, POLITICO reports. EVERY DELEGATE COUNTS — Before the race for the Republican nomination reaches Super Tuesday, on March 5, contests will be held in Nevada and South Carolina. And yet the next chance for Donald Trump and Nikki Haley to scoop up delegates will not come in any of those places, but somewhere that won’t even get to vote in the November presidential election: the U.S. Virgin Islands. Republicans in the U.S. territory will hold caucuses on Feb. 8, the same day as Nevada , although that state is in a later time zone. The contest might not be circled on many calendars, but Trump and Haley are not overlooking it, writes the New York Times. Haley addressed a meeting of Republican leaders in the territory virtually today, a day after finishing second to Trump in New Hampshire. Trump will send Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas, a member of the House committee that oversees U.S. territories, to campaign there this week. SOFT SUPPORT — Two members of Senate Republican leadership today offered Donald Trump soft support as the party’s likely presidential nominee — but also urged him to view his New Hampshire victory as a nudge to do more to court independent voters, POLITICO reports. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the conference’s No. 2 leader, said that he’d support Trump if the former president wins the party’s nod, but gave no hint he’ll endorse before the primary is officially over. Thune, who faced tension with Trump ahead of his 2022 reelection bid to the Senate, acknowledged after Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary that voters are “breaking heavily” for Trump, who is “in a commanding position.”   A message from Steuben County Industrial Development Agency: In 2015 there were 250 train manufacturing jobs at Alstom’s plant in Hornell, NY. Today, thanks to strong Buy America provisions there are nearly 700 men and women building high-speed trains. Today the Biden-Harris administration has a decision – keep supporting Buy America and creating more jobs in upstate New York and small towns across the country, or allow trains for Brightline West to be made in Germany. The choice should be clear. Buy America works for places like Steuben County but only when it is upheld consistently. Steuben County workers stand ready to build high-quality high-speed trains for Brightline West and deliver them in an ambitious timeframe to meet the goals of Brightline West and the nation. Let’s build America’s high-speed trains in America, not overseas.   AROUND THE WORLD A tractor with a banner that reads "angry farmer" blocks a section of the A64 highway in France. | Valentine Chapuis/AFP via Getty Images PROTEST RISING — Farmers in France are demanding the government take action to reduce regulation and taxes on fuel they say are making margins in their sector razor thin, reports POLITICO EU. They want other French workers — including truckers and medical workers — to join in. They’re aiming to start a movement like the massive Yellow Jacket protests that rocked France in 2018. They’ve begun to blockade highways in protest, and despite the illegality of some of the blockades, French police have not moved in to break them up. The farmers enjoy widespread support. The movement is backed by 82 percent of people in France, according to one poll; seven out of 10 people said they support the blockades and would oppose police intervention. This is likely the reason why French President Emmanuel Macron has sounded sympathetic to the farmers. Earlier this month, he vowed to help them make the transition to more environmentally friendly practices and promised to ensure “they are never left without a solution.” Macron’s cabinet members have also voiced understanding for the farmers; the president is considering a pro-farmer lead candidate for his liberal party ahead of the European election in June. By showing his support, Macron is likely also hoping to ward off a challenge from the far right, which is seeking to co-opt the farmer protests. More radical protests have been staged in cities across France, many of which have been dominated by members of Coordination Rurale, a farmers’ union close to the French far right. Those protestors, many of whom wear signature yellow hats, have set hay and tires on fire in front of government buildings and banks.   YOUR GUIDE TO EMPIRE STATE POLITICS : From the newsroom that doesn’t sleep, POLITICO's New York Playbook is the ultimate guide for power players navigating the intricate landscape of Empire State politics. Stay ahead of the curve with the latest and most important stories from Albany, New York City and around the state, with in-depth, original reporting to stay ahead of policy trends and political developments. Subscribe now to keep up with the daily hustle and bustle of NY politics.      NIGHTLY NUMBER $1.6 billion The amount that the Pentagon estimates the U.S. military buildup in the Middle East since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel will cost , a bill the department is unable to pay due to lawmakers’ inability to pass a budget, according to two U.S. officials. RADAR SWEEP HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM — NASA finally opened a canister containing asteroid collections after being unable to open the capsule for four months. The canister — which contains asteroid rock and dust collections from the asteroid Bennu — landed back on Earth in September after launching in 2016. NASA had already analyzed “bonus” material attached to the outside of the capsule, but remained unable to open the part containing the main asteroid sample due to two stuck fasteners. Will Sullivan writes for Smithsonian Magazine the story of researchers developing new tools and working for months to get asteroid samples from a mission almost eight years in the making — and where the asteroid collections will go from here. PARTING IMAGE On this date in 1989: The body of mass murderer Ted Bundy arrives at the medical examiner's office in Gainesville, Fla., after electrocution. | Mark Foley/AP Did someone forward this email to you?  Sign up here .   Follow us on Twitter Charlie Mahtesian @PoliticoCharlie Calder McHugh @calder_mchugh Mia McCarthy @Reporter_Mia   FOLLOW US

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Raskin roasts Boebert to her face on House floor

OD Action is now atAdvocacy!

Today’s Action: Tell Congress to deliver federal LGBTQ+ protections!

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Blinken and Lavrov meet face to face for first time since Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Daily Dose of Democracy:

VIDEO OF THE DAY: Jamie Raskin humiliates Lauren Boebert to her face at House hearing
BOOM! Rep. Raskin roasted Boebert and all her colleagues with a clever and hilarious turn of phrase.

Take Action: Reject the GOP's plan to ban Women and Gender Studies from Florida colleges!

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Video shows Texas anti-drag bill author dressed in drag
A video surfaced on Twitter and TikTok this week showing Texas State Rep. Nate Schatzline, a Republican, skipping, running, and dancing in a park while donning a black sequined dress and a red eye mask. This is the same state lawmaker who authored a bill that would classify venues that host drag performances as "sexually oriented" busineses and ban minors from entering them. We all know by now that most things Republicans do is pure projection, but this is so on the nose it's breathtaking.

Take Action: Tell Congress to defend Medicaid and CHIP!

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Republicans caught pulling DISGUSTING stunt over train derailment
No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen Unbelievable. Brian Tyler Cohen's videos are now in Spanish! If you have friends or family who speak Spanish and want to keep up with politics, please send them this link to subscribe to my channel. And if you want to help support the Spanish effort, you can also watch and subscribe just to get things moving in the algorithm. Every bit helps!

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Arkansas bill restricting bathroom access in presence of minors advances
A new anti-trans bill in Arkansas marks a terrifying escalation of the GOP's war against trans people by essentially criminalizing their existence in public spaces or being proximate to minors, because they clearly represent a threat to kids just by existing. Republicans won't stop until trans people are excluded from society all together — and legislating hateful conspiracies into law only puts more trans lives at risk.

Take Action: Tell Congress to reform Supreme Court ethics!

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Eli Lilly to offer $25 insulin
Pressure works! President Biden's push to lower prices of insulin — with an assist from well-intentioned, online pranksters — has successfully convinced the major insulin maker to lower the price of its insulin products to just $25 and expand its insulin value program so that an existing $35 cap on some insulins will now apply in about 85% of US pharmacies. For far too long, pharmaceutical corporations have reaped obscene amounts of money by holding the lives of sick Americans hostage, forcing them to pay outrageous prices in exchange for live-saving medicine. It's now time for the Biden team to demand reasonable price caps for ALL other drugs!

Take Action: Demand Congress make tax preparation free!

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FBI reportedly pushed back against Mar-a-Lago raid
The Washington Post released a disturbing new report that claims the FBI was "timid" about the prospect of a raid on Mar-a-Lago and instead wanted to simply ask the disgraced ex-president to politely to turn over the documents. Some agents even wanted to stop the investigation and take Trump at his word. Thankfully, prosecutors fought back and got their way — but it's clear there are some serious pockets of pro-Trump support in the FBI, putting not just their loyalty but also their willingness to enforce the law into serious question.

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Arizona GOP torn apart by wild cartel accusations
Drama reigns in Phoenix after a QAnon-devoted lawmaker brought an insurance agent to give a presentation to both houses of the state legislature. That agent, Jaqueline Breger, publicly accused Gov. Katie Hobbs, several Maricopa County supervisors, a dozen Maricopa County Superior Court judges, and the mayor of Mesa of taking bribes from the Sinaloa drug cartel without evidence — except, why not, a soon-to-be-released book written by her boyfriend. Now the GOP is busy playing the blame game for the deeply embarrassing spectacle. Just the kind of dedicated public service we've come to expect from the Republican Party.

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The next presidential election could be at stake
Wisconsin Democrats: With the balance of the state's Supreme Court on the line, progressive champion Judge Janet Protasiewicz and radical MAGA extremist Dan Kelly have emerged as the nominees for the vacated all-important swing seat. This April 4th election is an absolute MUST-WIN for everything we hold dear — abortion rights, LGBTQ rights, the right to vote, and potentially even a free and fair election for the next President of the United States. Can you chip in to make sure Janet has the resources she needs to win and flip Supreme Court of the most important swing state to a progressive majority?

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First Biden veto expected after two Senate Democrats join the GOP to sacrifice pension rule to corporate greed
President Biden is expected to issue his first veto after two Democrats — Sens. Joe Manchin and Jon Tester — partnered with the GOP to pass legislation that would block his administration's rule allowing retirement plan managers to consider climate and other factors in investment decisions and not simply focus on maximizing profits.

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"Havana syndrome" not caused by foreign adversary, US intel finds
We now have further confirmation from the US intelligence community that the psychogenic "Havana syndrome" that thousands of intelligence officials claimed to have suffered from was not caused by any kind of foreign technology, which raises serious questions why the agency promoted this hoax with such vigor and why the media so credulously bought into it.

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Michigan AG says she was among those targeted in threat to kill Jewish members of state government
Michigan State Attorney General Dana Nessel says she was among Jewish members of the state government targeted by Jack Eugene Carpenter III, who threatetened on Twitter to "carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is jewish in the Michigan govt ... Because I can Legally do that, right?” Uh, no, Jack. You definitely cannot do that.

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White House calls senior Republican "despicable" for wishing Biden’s dead son had been prosecuted
Rep. James Comer showed all the callous cruelty and conspiratorial delusion that has come to define conservative politics when he used a congressional hearing to lament that he would never get to prosecute President Biden's son, Beau, who died of a brain tumor — and earned a well-deserved rebuke from the White House. These people have no heart.

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Tales of the only Nobel Laureate to ever win Olympic gold for backstroke in 3 non-consecutive decades

One House Republican's unique anti-Santos pitch: Block him from profiting off his lies

Another Santos scandal? He diverted voter registration money to a GOP-allied gay rights site

Watch "Dragula" star Meatball serve George Santos realness in hilarious viral performance

McCarthy says he would have "difficulty" backing Santos for reelection

George Santos lied in court to help "family friend" who made fraudulent credit cards

FLASHPOINT: Rising fascism in Israel

Israeli government releases all suspects in rampage that burned dozens of Palestinian homes, injured hundreds

Israeli cops violently crack down on public protests against extreme right-wing judicial reforms

US condemns Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's "repugnant, disgusting" call for Israel to wipe out Palestinian village

Trump's former ambassador to Israel slams Bibi's judicial overhaul plan

McConnell says US shouldn't weigh in on Bibi's judicial overhaul plan

Hope...

Inner Mongolia to afforest over 1 million hectares of land

North Carolina Democrats elect 25-year-old party chair to lead new rural outreach in crucial election year

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson files first majority opinion at Supreme Court

Bill to ban child marriage passes in West Virginia

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Today’s Action: Tell Congress to deliver federal LGBTQ+ protections!

Despite Democrats’ best effort to pass the Equality Act last congressional session, our elected officials have yet to deliver wide-reaching protections for LGBTQ+ people. With the onslaught of laws targeting LGBTQ+ freedoms, targeted mass shootings, and the deeply troubling rise in hate crimes, we simply can’t wait any longer to secure protections for our marginalized communities. There’s no shortage of legislation being introduced to condemn the LGBTQ+ experience, designed to further promote violence against them. It’s unconscionable.

The ability to persecute others is not something that makes America “free.” What is important is the ability for all, regardless of identity, to live an equitable life. We have a very long way to go towards achieving that goal. The fact is, conservatives have been scapegoating and persecuting the oppressed for centuries — and doing so under the guise of religious freedom.

We must not allow protections for the LGBTQ+ community to fall by the wayside. Whether by reviving the Equality Act or putting forth new legislation, we must act swiftly. Every second Congress waits puts another person at risk.

Email or call (202.224.3121) your members of Congress and tell them to deliver federal LGBTQ+ protections as soon as possible!

PS — Please don't forget to sign the petition to demand DeSantis and the Florida GOP denounce the bill to ban the Democratic Party, and be sure to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

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