NY Ballot Battles

ERA Wording Worries, Reparation Payments, Trump Race Attack

Author

Jack O’Donnell
August 05, 2024

Election Day is November 5.

Good morning from Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts. 

The New York State Board of Elections (BOE) formally approved the draft language for a State constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot in November, known as the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). The proposal will enshrine the right to reproductive care, as well as other anti-discriminatory measures that are already guaranteed by the federal ERA, however, advocates have said the State-level amendment is necessary given the prospect of former president Donald Trump returning to office. 

The BOE was inundated with over 1,500 public comments that called for a rework of the language and noted that, under a new State law, these types of ballot referendums must be written at an eighth-grade reading comprehension level. The formula set forth in the law rated the language at a 15th-grade level, which the BOE has said is due to its desire to reflect the actual language in the federal ERA, which uses terms like “reproductive health care” and “bodily autonomy” rather than “abortion.” Democratic BOE Chair Henry Berger offered, “I’m going to vote for this proposal because it’s our obligation to do so, but I understand that our word might not be the last word on this,” suggesting a possible lawsuit to settle the question. Democrats are hoping the proposal will help with Democratic turnout, especially in targeted Congressional races, but for that to happen, voters need to be able to understand the proposal.

Another electoral issue that is set to be decided by the courts is the fate of New York’s new early mail-in voting law. The Democratic-controlled State Legislature passed a law last year allowing mail-in voting without needing an excuse as to why an individual cannot vote in person, and the law went into effect for the first time in New York’s June Primary Election. The legal challenge, brought by Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of the North Country, argues that State lawmakers drastically expanded voting access without constitutional authority, a claim that has been rejected by trial and appellate-level judges. A 1966 Constitutional Amendment removed language that stated voters must be “in the election district” where they live when voting, which Democrats have used to justify the constitutionality of the new law. A panel of judges from the Third Appellate Division succinctly summarized the issues, writing in their opinion, “The fact remains that, in its current form, the New York Constitution contains no requirement—express or implied—mandating that voting occur in-person on Election Day.” Nonetheless, the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court, is set to hear oral arguments on Tuesday. 

Last week, the State commission assigned to explore potential reparations payments in New York met for the first time. The Community Commission on Reparations Remedies has a mandate to explore “racial and economic discrimination against people of African descent” and suggest corrective measures by July 2025. At the inaugural meeting, the Commission elected Seanelle Hawkins, the president of the Urban League of Rochester, as Chair. Assembly Member Michaelle Solages, who authored the Assembly version of the bill that established the commission offered, “Now that the process is beginning, there’s going to be a lot of education and outreach. This is a process that people can actually participate in, and express their concerns or agreement with what reparations should look like in New York State.” Any recommendations from the commission would have to be approved by the State Legislature before being enacted, and anything with a significant price tag could face budgetary concerns from some members and the public. 

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“Nobody wants a government shutdown during an election cycle.”

House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.)

In Washington, D.C., lawmakers on both sides of the aisle seem content passing a Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded ahead of the October 1st shutdown deadline. Fiscal conservatives typically use the threat of a government shutdown to extract concessions and budget cuts, but as House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) put it, “Nobody wants a government shutdown during an election cycle.” That is not to say that averting a shutdown will be problem free, especially given that lawmakers are not scheduled to return to Washington until after Labor Day. 

The House is currently in a district work period. The next recorded votes in the House are expected Monday, September 9.

Some Republicans are sure to take issue with any supplemental funding attached to the CR, and the White House has already requested an additional $3.7 billion to address the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, the ongoing recovery effort in Maui, and other natural disasters around the country. Adding another wrench to the discussions is the last-minute announcement from the Department of Veterans Affairs that the agency is facing a $15 billion budget gap and that some benefits and coverage could lapse as early as October 1st without intervention from Congress. Cole said, “We haven't given up quite on getting more approps bills passed,” in reference to the twelve annual appropriations bills that Congress must pass to fund the government, but so far efforts have stalled on the House side. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) promised to have all twelve bills passed before the August recess, but GOP opposition resulted in the House only passing five of them. 

Legislation to protect kids online passes Senate by overwhelming majority.

In an exceedingly rare display of bipartisan governance, the Senate voted 91-3 to pass a pair of children’s internet safety bills that represent the most substantial Congressional action to regulate social media’s impact on children. The first bill—known as the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA)—restricts certain features, such as autoplay, for users under the age of 17 and expands parental control over the content that minors are viewing. The Children’s and Teens Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the second bill in the package, prevents targeted advertising to users under age 17 and requires companies to allow users to permanently delete personal information from social media platforms.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer worked with the sponsors of the legislation as well as major tech companies to address concerns, resulting in the overwhelmingly bipartisan vote and support from platforms like Microsoft and Snapchat. “Today, after a lot of hard work and a lot of twists and turns, we will pass KOSA and COPPA,” said Schumer from the Senate floor on Tuesday before the vote. “KOSA and COPPA will be perhaps the most important updates to federal laws protecting kids on the internet in decades. And it’s a very good first step.” Speaker Johnson has said he agrees with the “purpose” of the legislation, but has not indicated if he will hold a vote on the bill when the House returns in September. Stay tuned.

Arizona, whose status as a swing state has been cemented in recent elections, held Congressional primary elections last week. Republican Kari Lake won her primary election by over 15 points and will run against Congressman Reuben Gallego in the race to replace outgoing Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema. Lake, a former evening news anchor, lost her bid for Governor to Democrat Katie Hobbs in 2022, but rose to national prominence in GOP circles by shamelessly promoting Trump’s meritless claims about widespread election fraud in the 2020 election. Democrats see Arizona as a key seat to win if they are retain their majority come January, and the Cook Political Report currently lists the contest as “Likely Democrat.”  

Vice President and presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris has kept up her campaign’s momentum with now just 91 days left until the election. Harris held a star-studded campaign event in Atlanta last week where she drew her largest campaign crowd ever and her fundraising now totals well over $300 million since becoming the presumptive nominee—66% of which came from first time donors in the 2024 cycle. A wide variety of pro-Harris campaigns and grassroots coalitions have sprung up in the last ten days, including the “White Dudes for Harris” group that raised $4 million during their inaugural Zoom call last Monday night. 

A CBS News poll released over the weekend shows the presidential race tightening with VP Harris having a slight edge over Trump nationally and the candidates tied across battleground states.

Our Jack O’Donnell joined WBEN’s Hardline for analysis. Listen at the 10:30 a.m. mark here.

Harris will likely enjoy another boost when she announces her running mate. Her vetting team, led by former Obama Administration Attorney General Eric Holder, has met with and requested vetting material from Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Harris is expected to make her announcement at some point before Tuesday where she is scheduled to appear at a rally in Philadelphia. The Harris campaign has said the location has no bearing on the VP selection and does not suggest the pick will be the state’s governor, Josh Shapiro. That said, Shapiro appears to have cancelled a weekend of fundraisers. Perhaps that has some bearing on the VP selection? 

Trump Speaks at Black Journalists Conference and Attacks Harris on Race

While Harris continued her upward trend, Trump and his campaign are dealing with the fallout from his appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists. Trump was openly hostile to the panel and made a string of offensive comments, including suggesting that Kamala Harris is not actually Black saying, “I don’t know, is she Indian or is she Black? I respect either one, but she obviously doesn’t, because she was Indian all the way, and then all of a sudden, she made a turn and she went—she became a Black person.” The appearance, which was cut short just over halfway through by the Trump team backstage, drew condemnation from Democrats and Republicans alike. Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said, “Childless cat women, DEI candidates; now, ‘Is she Black? Is she Indian? Maybe they don’t know how to handle the campaign, and so you default to issues that just should simply not be an issue.”  That said, it was one way to get back into the news cycle, something Trump does very well. Whether Trump is able to exercise more discipline in an attempt to win over undecided voters could very well determine the election in November. 

Farewell to one of Ireland’s most celebrated authors, Edna O’Brien, who passed away last week at the age of 93. A favorite quote: “When anyone asks me about the Irish character, I say look at the trees. Maimed, stark, and misshapen, but ferociously tenacious.” I especially recommend her novel, House of Splendid Isolation. 

Finally…

One former Teletubby is finally ready to share the good, the bad, and the creepy about growing up as one of television’s most beloved furry characters. 

Programming note: Monday Morning Memo will be off on August 19th & 26th. We will be back in your inbox on September 2nd for what is sure to be an exciting Election Season! 

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Clients in the News

Empire AI Gains Momentum as Officials Visit Potential Sites at UB

New York’s Empire AI consortium gained ground this week as members of the State’s think tank on artificial intelligence visited OD&A client, University at Buffalo to view potential sites for the AI supercomputing hub to be housed on its North Campus.

OD&A client, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum drew more people in its first year than in nearly a half-century. [Read more.]

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