The Gov Hub Newsletter: September 23, 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!

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THE ACTION ITEMS

Get ‘em done from your phone

ACTION 1 – VOTER REGISTRATION

The Ask: Check the status of your voter registration. 

The Background: The last thing you want is for a deadline to pass or e-day to come around only to find out your voter registration is no dice. Take a sec and make sure you’re ready to go, then send a text in your group chat and remind your friends to do so as well.

ACTION 2 – BOOK BANS, NY STATE

The Ask: Tell your NY state school district to adopt the NYCLU policy for book removals.

The Background: Book bans are happening everywhere – not just in red states. New York state is no exception. As a result, the NYCLU has created what it dubs a model policy for what a school district should do when a book is challenged or flagged for removal. The policy framework aims to empower school districts and admin to create a transparent process that better positions schools to fight back.

ACTION 3 – CLEAN ENERGY 

This action is brought to you by Clean Energy for America Action

The Ask: Take the “I Vote for Clean Energy” pledge.

The Background: The Dems’ Clean Energy Plan is already driving the creation of more than 310K jobs - and when fully implemented will support nine million American jobs. VP Harris will build on this progress. Meanwhile, Trump will end clean energy investments - risking American jobs and energy independence. Don’t let Trump roll back the historic progress we’ve seen in the last four years.

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

• Reporting by ProPublica has shown that two Georgia women died as a result of the state’s abortion ban – details on each here and here. Kamala Harris addressed these preventable tragedies at a campaign stop in Atlanta, Georgia on Friday. 

• The yapping has begun, not just in the Yapper’s Digest, but in the campaign world about who could be tapped for cabinet positions under a Kamala Harris Admin, as well as who could be tapped in a Trump 2.0 Admin.

• There are loads of myths around voting machines and elections of the past, which this group of bipartisan election heads in six battleground states worked to debunk at the Ballots & Battlegrounds presser. Included in the convo, was how election equipment is prepped in Michigan and in Arizona. For more per state and myths debunked, follow the Girl and the Gov TikTok.

• Bravo girlies meet the Oprah girlies, and visa versa, with this chat between Summer House’s Ciara Miller and Oprah on reproductive rights and the 2024 election.

• If this isn’t how we learn about who Dem delegates are, then we don’t want it. This haircut-spoof-centric-epic good sport - TikTok featuring Brenda Pollard deserves an Oscar.

ELECTION SZN 2024

Guides, chatter, who’s who

• Mark your calendars – the vice presidential debate will be hosted on October 1, 2024 in NYC. The debate will be hosted via CBS News.

• Despite bipartisan opposition, including from Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as seen here [we were at this presser], the State Election Board passed a controversial election rule change that will require all ballots to be hand counted. The three of the 3-2 vote were all Trump allies. The rule is expected to significantly delay the results of the election in a key battleground state.

• On the topic of Trumplicans trying to change the rules, the group has been lobbying Nebraska state legislators, urging them to pass a bill that would change the state’s electoral vote allocation system. USA Today and Ben Sheehan explain what that would look like if passed, but in short, it would mean Kamala Harris would most likely lose the ability to receive one of Nebraska’s electoral college votes and need to pick it up elsewhere.

• In North Carolina, GOP candidate for Governor Mark Robinson broke the internet as his past comments on a porn site where he referred to himself as a “Black Nazi” came to the forefront, followed by his email being found on Ashley Madison, a site dedicated to playing matchmaker for married people seeking to have affairs. Albeit both insane revelations, Mark Robinson’s long history of WTFs and heinous viewpoints, including claiming that “slavery isn’t bad,” deep Holocaust denial, a claim that “some people need killing,” and so one,  – make this tbh, not surprising. Despite being pictured with Trump many a time, and endorsed by the campaign, team Trump allegedly tried to him to exit the race to no avail, when Robinson sailed right past the deadline to do so. 

• Because what’s a day/hour/minute without a scandal, Olivia Nuzzi, a political reporter for New York Magazine has been placed on leave after admitting to a personal relationship with then presidential candidate, RFK Jr. The disclosure comes after reporting on the subject, which posed a conflict of interest and a violation of the publication’s standards. While it’s been reported that the relationship wasn’t physical in nature, instead emotional and digital, it’s alleged that the dynamic came to light because RFK Jr. bragged to friends about the nudes he’d received from Olivia. 

BACK ON OUR BILLSH*T

A bill, bill, bill

FEDERAL: In the continual healthcare game that is “will this be covered or not,” one thing that isn’t covered by Medicare currently are EMS services when the patient isn’t transported to the hospital. So, if a patient lives in a rural area for example and receives on site care, but doesn’t need to be brought into the hospital, they’re on the hook for the EMS service cost. According to Senator Welch’s [VT] office, this occurrence is only increasing. Cue, the EMS ROCS bill. If passed, the bill would “amend title XVII of the Social Security Act to provide Medicare reimbursement for care provided by EMS when no transportation to the hospital is provided,” according to the bill’s fact sheet. 

HGW LISTENS

Hit play on these pods

• It’s Maryland’s decade according to Governor Wes Moore who discussed how his admin and the young people of the state have created a state focused on the future [and economic growth] on this episode of Girl and the Gov, The Podcast.

• If learning about Hillary Clinton’s new book in last week’s Gov Hub piqued your interest, then this two-part interview with Hillary on Next Question with Katie Couric likely will as well.

• How are historically Black sororities organizing this election? And what will the impact be? Congresswomen Nikema Williams and the creator behind Stroll to the Polls, Maisha Land share their insights as AKA’s on this episode of The Assignment with Audie Cornish.

GOOD NEWS BEARS

Positive political wins [yes, those do exist]

GOV. NEWSOM SIGNS PLASTIC SHOPPING BAG BAN 2.0: Right in time for Climate Week, California’s Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that bans all plastic shopping bags. The law builds on a previous ban that had banned only ‘thin plastic shopping bags’ but had left the possibility open of shoppers being able to purchase thicker, reusable plastic bags. However, what was found with the prior ban is that shoppers weren’t actually reusing or recycling those bags, so that legislation wasn’t having the depth of impact needed to meet the intended protect the environment goal. This measure will make it so that only paper bags are offered to customers should they need a bag. The legislation will take effect starting in 2026.

AZ SUPREME COURT CONFIRM 98,000 RESIDENTS CAN VOTE FOR THE FULL BALLOT IN NOV: To start this story, let’s give a bit of context – in Arizona, voters are required to prove their citizenship in order to vote in local and state races. Residents must prove said citizenship via driver’s license, birth certificate, passport, and naturalization documents. The rule had considered driver’s licenses issued after October 1996 to count as a valid form of proof. However, a database error was recently discovered, and that error had marked 98,000 voters who had gotten their licenses before 1996 as full-ballot voters. According to AP, that’s 2.5% of all registered Arizona voters. The error has since been resolved, however, it was in question whether these 98,000 would be eligible to vote on the whole ballot – the state and local races, plus ballot measures. The question was sent to the state Supreme Court which ruled in favor of the 98,000 voters voting, sharing that county officials don’t have the authority to “change the voters’ statuses because those voters registered long ago and had attested under the penalty of law that they are citizens. The justices also said the voters were not at fault for the database error and also mentioned the little time that’s left before the Nov. 5 general election,” as reported by AP.

STATE DEPT. OFFISH MAKES ONLINE PASSPORT RENEWAL A THING: Bureaucracy got a digital upgrade with the State Department officially making online passport renewal available. It’s giving fewer lines, more couch time, and a streamlined process for keeping up to date on the ever-essential travel document. For the full what you can do versus can’t do, check here – and for the renewal HQ, check here.

WAIT, WAIT UPDATE ME

A gov story to know

GOV. SHUTDOWN LIKELY AVOIDED W/ SHORT-TERM SPENDING BILL: When it comes to funding the government, it does seem as if Congress operates with a “can we reschedule this meeting for next week” mentality. And that mentality is evident in the deal cut Sunday amongst Congressional leaders that will fund the government at current levels for approximately three months – just in time for the holidays but post-election! An additional $231 million was added to the budget to enhance funding for the Secret Service, replenish disaster relief funds, and eventual presidential transition related costs. The biggest point of contention in the negotiation has been the possibility of adding the SAVE Act, a Trump-pushed bill that would’ve compelled states to require people prove their citizenship in order to register to vote. Despite Trump’s grumblings, the House Speaker hasn’t been able to get the whole GOP delegation on board with its inclusion, and so that is likely in back burner mode for now. So, what happens next? Most likely the bill being brought to the floor for a vote by Weds, with a drop dead date of needing to pass in the Senate by September 30, 2024.

KEY READS

Important stories from around the USA

• USA Today: America tested 100,000 forgotten rape kits. But justice remains elusive.

• AP: Department won’t provide election security after sheriff’s posts about Harris yard signs

• Roll Call: Proxy voting for new parents among changes pitched to House Rules panel

BEFORE YOU GO…

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