The Gov Hub Newsletter: October 7, 2024

Welcome to The Gov Hub Newsletter by Girl and the Gov®. This weekly pop of politics is designed to share action items, resources, & quick links to civic engagement tools & topics. Find a typo? Congrats, today is your lucky day!

Was this email forwarded to you? Subscribe here.

THE ACTION ITEMS

Get ‘em done from your phone

ACTION 1 – VOTING

The Ask: Check your voter registration status. Again. 

The Background: It seems basic, but we’re going to be basic AF through November 5, 2024 – pumpkin spice latte in hand – with this action item. Check your voter registration status and make sure that it’s good to go. The last thing you want [besides being seen in a Cybertruck] is to have a last-minute, day of surprise that there’s an issue with your reg.

ACTION 2 – ELECTIONS, GEORGIA

The Ask: Tell the Georgia State Board of Elections to nix their new hand-count mandate for ballots.

The Background: ICYMI, in the 11th hour of election season, the Georgia State Board of Elections passed a new mandate that will require all ballots to be hand counted – a Herculean task that will slow results and enhance the window of uncertainty. In its last minute form, even the state’s GOP Secretary of State was not in favor of this move.

ACTION 3 – SOLAR ENERGY

Brought to you by Save American Solar

The Ask: Tell the Department of Commerce to reject one-size-fits-all solar tariffs to protect jobs, and lower costs, and keep America on track for clean energy independence.

The Background: Here’s the problem: The United States doesn’t currently produce solar cells for new panel manufacturers domestically. Instead, we rely on imports to assemble solar panels locally until we can build up our domestic supply of cells. Incumbent manufacturers are pushing for tariffs to limit competition, which would increase costs, hurt consumers, and slow down the shift to clean energy. A blanket tariff on imported solar cells would raise production costs by 45-66%, increasing costs for consumers and threatening jobs. Instead, the Department of Commerce should split tariff analysis between cells [which should not face tariffs, as there’s no domestic production] and modules [which can be manufactured domestically]. This would result in a more logical approach, protecting innovation and affordability.

Looking for more action items? Check our library of past Gov Hub’s.

FULL SEND…TO A FRIEND

Just about guaranteed to make it to the group chat

• On the first anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attacks that killed 46 Americans and has resulted in other Americans continuing to be held hostage, President Biden released this statement and VP Harris released this statement.

• Trump’s lied so much about the Hurricane Helene response that CNN Politics had to publish a fact check on SIX false claims he made. Oh, and he also thinks water is wet – so glad he got that right!

• Because facts do matter – FEMA has responded to the growing rip roar of online conspiracy theories being peddled by publishing a Rumor Response page, which addresses all of grade A bull that’s been going ‘round. It’s like FAQs but with sass. The backlash to the bullsh*t has been bipartisan, BTW with TN Governor Bill Lee saying this.

• And for one more thing on the matter [for the moment], GOP House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to bring Congress back in session to approve more aid for Hurricane Helene victims via the Small Business Administration’s disaster loan program. He thinks waiting until after the election is the move, despite another massive hurricane in the forecast. Nice. 

• When we saw the headline to this article as ‘A temper tantrum from a deranged fanatic’ a surprisingly long list of people this could be referring to came to mind. It turned out to be Senator Tom Cotton having a fit about what he calls a fit, which is actually special counsel Jack Smith’s 165-page legal brief that gave the full skinny meet receipts on Trump’s alleged criminal activities that are connected to the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt. PS this is the cliff notes.

• The crew at Future Caucus released their On The Rise report, and found that “younger candidates were disproportionately eliminated from their congressional races prior to the general election.” In other words, voting in your primary is always important but esp so if you want more young people elected into office.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

NEW MARYLAND LAW CANCELS DEBT FOR PAROLE RELEASE: In a move designed to make re-entry easier and remove the financial burden put upon those released from prison by administrative fees, the Maryland corrections department will cancel the debt for:

• Mandatory, parole, and administrative fees

• Drug testing fees for those who are currently under the supervision of the agency’s parole and probation division

The total debt relieved comes to $13 million and will impact the 6,715 individual cases of administrative debt - debt that not only has historically disproportionately impacted low-income communities and people of color, but has been a barrier to those trying to get their lives back in the right direction. The debt relief is a part of a new law that took effect last week, and applies to current parolees who are under active supervision according to reporting from AP.

MEDICAL DEBT TO NO LONGER COUNT ON CREDIT REPORTS FOR CALIFORNIANS: Thanks to a new law signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, medical debt will no longer be included on consumers’ credit reports. The law comes from a bill introduced by state Senator Monique Limón, and aims to remove a credit barrier that prevents consumers from being able to access housing, amongst other things. The law also requires an increased amount of time before debt collection and reporting actions can be taken by creditors for medical debt.

ELECTION SZN 2024

Guides, chatter, who’s who

• Trump, Elon Musk, and JD Vance took their Make America Great Again hats to Butler, PA – the scene of an assassination attempt on Trump earlier this year. This was the vibe on the ground.

• In Arizona, another ballot proposition got the thumbs up to be on the November 2024 ballot – this one will have voters determine whether the state will move to an open-primary scenario for future elections.

• On the campaign trail in Idaho, a state senator told a Native American candidate to “go back where you came from.” Aside from the man clearly needing to understand history and maps, the racist comment came amidst a full menty b he had when a question was asked about discrimination in the state.

• Voting from your couch is becoming an increasingly popular method – esp, as we’re told because you can wear the full varsity voter set without any issues, duh. However, e-day officials are encouraging voters to get their ballots IN early to avoid any issues with snail mail being too snail, and resulting in your vote not being counted.

• Who are the candidates vying to be PA’s news attorney general? This guide provides the scoop on ‘em all – and shares the deats on what an AG does.

MUST-SUBSCRIBES

Newsletters worth a dabble

• Win The Middle: This newsletter from the team at  Welcome Party x Welcome Party PAC shares the 411 on how Dems and adjacent friends can win over swing voters with the collective goal of securing a pro-democracy future and majority. It’s giving insights, it’s giving welcome to the tent, and it’s giving subscribe here.

• #VIRAL: OMG #VIRAL is F R E E BAYBEEEEE!! The weekly drop of content ideas and trends for social media managers and comms professionals in the political space is now free to all subscribers. Bye, bye meeting that could’ve been an email, with this email full of easy to implement social media trends. Subscribe here and hit FWD to a social media manager friend in your contacts.

• YELLO Politics: Our middle name may be ‘rebrand,’ but it’s the YELLO newsletter’s first name, because its focus is legit on the evolution of branding in campaigns and political marketing. Give it a whirl and subscribe here.

HGW LISTENS

Hit play on these pods

• The Dem Senate majority runs through Maryland, and that’s a case and point made on this episode of Girl and the Gov, The Podcast via candidate for U.S. Senate, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks.

• Although the GATG team thought an interview father-to-father i.e. Governor Walz x Alex Cooper would further solve America’s daddy issues, this Call Her Daddy interview with VP Harris is hittin’ all the right notes on all the other issues America is working through.

• An interview worth all that smoke is this one with Kamala Harris x All That Smoke’s Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson where they chat on everything from life experiences to the economy to legalizing weed. highly rec sending to friends that say “I don’t know anything about her.”

THE VARSITY VOTER COLLECTION

New launch, who dis?

Join the varsity voting team with our new merch drop [and by checking-in with all of your friends to make sure they have a voter plan]. Perfect for voting from your couch – the Varsity Voter Collection includes cozy crewnecks and joggers, which BTW are also great to do phone banking in.

 SHOP THE CREWNECKS HERE | SHOP THE SWEATPANTS HERE

BOOKMARK IT

Save it. Send it

USA TODAY’S GET TO KNOW YOUR COUNTY TOOL: TBH, USA Today didn’t give a proper name for this tool, and we realize the one we gave it is underwhelming given how ~cool~ it is. This tool lets you pop your county into a search bar, hit return, and get easy to read data on what’s been going on in your county since 2020. How’s the economy? Answered. What’s the demo breakdown? Bam, answered. Did it get redder or bluer? Yep, handled. Pop your county in and bookmark the tool here.

KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

• The Hill: Automation takes center stage in port negotiations

• AP: Civil rights groups ask to extend voter registration deadlines in hurricane-ravaged states

• USA Today: Porn sites. Ghost guns. Transgender rights. The Supreme Court gets back to work

• Roll Call: Biden makes formal plea to Congress for disaster load funds

BEFORE YOU GO…

..say hello