Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - April 20, 2020

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April 20, 2020

Biden, America First Action air dueling China ads   April 20, 2020:  Joe Biden and America First Action are airing dueling ads on China. Donald Trump commented on protesters in Minnesota, Michigan, and Virginia. Share the latest from the campaign trail.         Ballotpedia is monitoring changes made to election dates and procedures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. When did the Electoral College grow to its current size of 538 members? a. 1928→ b. 1952→ c. 1964→ d. 1976→ Notable Quote of the Day “The pandemic may have robbed Donald Trump of a growing economy. It may have trapped Joe Biden in his basement. But it may yet do something even worse to the Libertarian and Green party nominees: Keep them off the ballot in many of this year’s key states. ... For America’s third parties, this is nothing less than an existential crisis. Without ballot access, national pollsters won’t feel obligated to include Green and Libertarian candidates in their surveys; voters will be less aware of their nominees and platforms; journalists will be less likely to pay any attention to them; and the probability diminishes that either the Libertarians or Greens can reach the holy grail of 5 percent of the popular vote—the point at which they would finally qualify for federal campaign matching funds.” – Bill Scher, Politico Democrats The Joe Biden campaign is airing an ad in battleground states that says Donald Trump should have sent a CDC team to China and did not properly prepare the United States for the epidemic. Biden won the Wyoming Democratic caucuses with 72% of the vote, the state party announced on Sunday. In-person caucus events were canceled in response to the coronavirus outbreak, and the Democratic Party encouraged voters to participate by mail. The deadline for receiving completed ballots was April 17. Former Jay Inslee presidential campaign staffers, who are part of the new organization Evergreen Action, have pitched a revised climate change proposal to the Biden campaign. Republicans Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will use the Defense Production Act to order the production of 20 million more coronavirus testing swabs. Trump encouraged protesters demonstrating against lockdowns in certain states in a series of tweets and his press conference on Friday. He wrote, “LIBERATE MINNESOTA,” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN,” and “LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!” Trump said the protesters were “people expressing their views" and "they seem to be very responsible people to me, you know, they’ve been treated a little bit rough.” America First Action released three ads in a series titled #BeijingBiden as part of its $10 million ad campaign in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. The narrator in one clip says, “Now more than ever America must stop China and to stop China you have to stop Joe Biden.” What We’re Reading Fast Company: These behavioral science tweaks could boost voter turnout during a pandemic election (even if it’s voting by mail) NBC News: Coronavirus turns China into 2020 election issue Politico: Will the Pandemic Keep Third Parties Off the 2020 Ballot? Flashback: April 20, 2016 Ted Cruz criticized Donald Trump for not participating in any Republican primary debates in 41 days.