Lawmakers Struggle To Agree On Solutions To Pandemic’s Threat To Voters And Election
The Associated Press looks at how basic access to the ballot is at the core of debates over steps that could be taken to facilitate safe and fair elections during the pandemic. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump continues to rail against expanding mail-in voting. In other election news, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden evolves when it comes to LGBTQ rights.
The Associated Press:
Access To Ballot, Seal Of Democracy's Covenant, Under Attack
The ballot is deployed to replace the bullet, to decide peacefully who will lead, to resolve divisive issues and to empower individual citizens. Whether by voice or shards of pottery in ancient Greece, by ball, by corn and beans, lever and gear machines or touch screens, ballots were often cast in public until the United States and many other nations adopted the Australian model and allowed people to vote in private. (Tackett, 6/21)
Politico:
‘My Biggest Risk’: Trump Says Mail-In Voting Could Cost Him Reelection
President Donald Trump called mail-in voting the biggest threat to his reelection and said his campaign's multimillion-dollar legal effort to block expanded ballot access could determine whether he wins a second term. In an Oval Office interview Thursday focusing on the 2020 election, the president also warned his party in blunt terms not to abandon him and cast Hillary Clinton as a more formidable opponent than Joe Biden, despite Biden's commanding lead in polls. (Isenstadt, 6/19)
The New York Times:
Behind Joe Biden’s Evolution On L.G.B.T.Q. Rights
Joseph R. Biden Jr. voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, blocking federal recognition of same-sex marriages. Two years earlier, he voted to cut off federal funds to schools that teach the acceptance of homosexuality. In 1973, Mr. Biden, in an off-handed response to a question, wondered if homosexuals in the military or government were potential security risks. But today, Mr. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has so completely identified himself with positions embraced by L.G.B.T.Q. leaders that his history on gay rights has faded into the mist. If he is elected president, said Chad Griffin, a political consultant and longtime gay rights leader, Mr. Biden, the former vice president, will be the “most pro-equality president we have ever had.” (Nagourney and Kaplan, 6/21)
