To Avoid Pandemic Crowds, 2020 Elections Saw Big Rise In Mail-In Votes

AP: Report Shows Big Spike In Mail Ballots During 2020 Election
Fewer than one-third of voters casting ballots in last year’s U.S. presidential election did so at a polling place on Election Day as the coronavirus pandemic led states to greatly expand mail-in balloting and early voting, according to a federal report released Monday. The report by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission captures just how much the electorate embraced non-traditional voting methods despite repeated attempts by former President Donald Trump to undermine mail voting. (Cassidy, 8/16)

In other public health news —

CBS News: Nationwide Shrimp Recall Expanded Amid More Salmonella Illnesses
More than two dozen shrimp products sold nationwide by retailers including Target and Whole Foods are now being recalled in a salmonella outbreak that has stricken nine people in four states, hospitalizing three, federal authorities say. Avanti Frozen Foods Private Limited India agreed to recall additional packages, sizes and brands of frozen cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp, some sold with cocktail sauce, according to a notice posted Friday by the Food and Drug Administration. Three separate recalls related to the potentially tainted crustacean were then announced by the FDA on Saturday. (Gibson, 8/16)

Politico: Suffering Landlords Are Washington’s New Eviction Problem 
Washington’s pandemic response is battering the finances of independent landlords, most of whom haven’t received federal rental aid designed to keep them whole during a nearly year-long eviction ban that has forced some property owners to house tenants for free. The distress is acute for so-called mom-and-pop landlords — those who own fewer than 10 properties, which typically have between one and four units. They supply about half the housing stock in the country, and they’re more likely than corporate property managers to have lower-income tenants who’ve fallen behind on their rent as a result of Covid-19. About 30 percent have household incomes below $90,000 a year. (O'Donnell, 8/14)

In mental health news —

AP: Mental Health Clinics Angle For A Spot In Biden Budget Bill
An innovative program to help people with mental health and substance abuse problems is being primed for a major expansion as the COVID-19 pandemic deepens struggles with drug use, depression and anxiety for many Americans. Community behavioral health clinics offer 24/7 services to catch people falling into crisis and pull them back. One tactic involves deploying peer counselors who have lived and survived their own trauma. Launched in the Obama administration, the clinics actually got scaled up under President Donald Trump. That’s not typical for a government health program in politically polarized times. Now, as Democrats haggle over the details of how to deliver on President Joe Biden’s domestic agenda, some backers see that mammoth bill as the best vehicle for a major expansion of the clinics. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 8/15)

Axios: Mental Health Is The Next Big Workplace Issue 
Employees' mental health is quickly becoming a top concern for companies as they try to hold on to workers through the pandemic. The firms that confront mental health are poised to win the war for talent. "These days there are worker shortages everywhere," says Chris Swift, CEO of The Hartford, a financial services and insurance company. Mental health is a massive contributor to that, he says. (Pandey, 8/16)

Axios: Naomi Osaka Leaves First News Conference Since French Open In Tears 
Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka broke down in tears and had to briefly step away on Monday during her first news conference since withdrawing from the French Open. Cincinnati Enquirer journalist Paul Daugherty referenced the world No. 2's withdrawal from May's French Open on Monday following her decision to not attend press conferences at the tournament to protect her mental health. (Falconer, 8/16)