Ballotpedia's Daily Presidential News Briefing - May 14, 2020

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May 14, 2020

Biden and Sanders announce joint task force members   May 14, 2020: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders announced the members of a series of joint task forces. Donald Trump will visit Allentown, Pa., today.  Share the latest from the campaign trail.         Ballotpedia is monitoring changes made to election dates and procedures in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Notable Quote of the Day “Having millions of Americans stand in crowded polling places for hours to cast a ballot on Election Day sounds like the makings of a public health disaster — especially if there is a second surge of COVID-19 infections in the fall, as some experts predict. So now, election officials are looking for ways to hold elections remotely. One option that has been proposed is voting via an app on a smartphone or electronic device, just like Grimmett did last fall (though so far, states seem to only be considering this option for certain groups of voters, such as voters with disabilities). It seems like an obvious solution: With so much of our daily lives now virtual, why couldn’t our elections be moved online too? Voting online or via an app has even been tested in small elections a handful of times, but election security experts and even the founder of one of the most prominent voting apps on the market, Voatz, say there’s a laundry list of reasons why this technology isn’t ready for prime time. (Not to mention the fact that 19 percent of Americans still don’t have a smartphone, and as many as 21.3 million Americans still lack access to broadband internet, according to the Federal Communications Commission.)” - Kaleigh Rogers, FiveThirtyEight Election Updates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders announced the members of a series of joint task forces on climate change, criminal justice reform, the economy, education, health care, and immigration. Biden tweeted, “A united party is key to winning the White House this November. The work of the task forces will be essential to identifying ways to build on our progress and not simply turn the clock back to a time before Donald Trump — but transform our country.” Donald Trump will visit an Owens and Minor medical supply distribution center in Allentown, Pa., today. According to CBS Philadelphia, he plans to announce an initiative called the Strategic National Stockpile 2.0. Earlier this week, Trump tweeted, “Looking forward to being in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Thursday. I love the State, and for very good reason!” Trump’s administration began working on potential transition plans, which are required by law to be prepared six months before the presidential election. What We’re Reading The Center for Public Integrity: Elderly workers run elections. But COVID-19 will keep many home U.S. News & World Report: How Obama Can Win the 2020 Election – for Joe Biden Los Angeles Times: Democrats wrote the playbook on digital organizing, so why is Trump dominating? Flashback: May 14, 2016 The Washington Post reported that a “band of exasperated Republicans — including 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, a handful of veteran consultants and members of the conservative intelligentsia” was “commissioning private polling, lining up major funding sources­ and courting potential contenders” in hopes of running an independent presidential candidate in the November election.