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The Tap: Wednesday, July 20, 2016

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The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.

Review of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #26 of The Tap, which was published on July 23, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

  • Congressman Mark Takai (HI-01) died following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Takai had dropped his re-election bid earlier in the year and endorsed former Rep. Colleen Hanabusa after learning that the cancer had spread.
  • FROM BALLOTPEDIA IN CLEVELAND: The third night of the Republican National Convention featured vice presidential nominee Mike Pence as its keynote speaker. “You have nominated a man for president who never quits. Until now, he's had to do it all by himself against all odds, but this week, with this united party, he's got backup,” said Pence. It was U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), however, who gave the most memorable speech of the night by refusing to endorse Donald Trump and telling voters to "vote your conscience.” Cruz continued, “Vote for candidates up and down the ticket who you trust to defend our freedom and to be faithful to the Constitution.” He concluded his speech to a mix of applause and jeering. Cruz entered the arena and received some of the loudest applause and cheers during the convention. Delegates generally responded passionately and positively to the early and mid-stages of the speech, rising on several occasions for standing ovations. As some delegations realized that Cruz would not in fact be outright endorsing Trump, the mood of the arena began to shift. Several delegations turned to read the teleprompter, attempting to read ahead in the speech. By the time Cruz reached the conclusion of the speech, Trump had entered the arena and Cruz closed to a mixture of cheers and boos.
  • The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce endorsed Hillary Clinton, marking the organization’s first presidential endorsement. During an interview at the Republican National Convention, Javier Palomarez, the chamber’s president, said, "We believe she's the best person for the job. She's got experience. She's got the temperament and track record."
  • President Barack Obama signed S 1252 - the Global Food Security Act of 2016 into law. The legislation requires "the President to develop and implement a Global Food Security Strategy to promote global food security, resilience, and nutrition.” Funding from the legislation will go to Feed the Future, a global hunger and food security initiative.
    • U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack commented on the signing of the bill, saying in a statement, "Agriculture's vital role in our economic success and national security is a bond that we share with other nations all over the world. With agricultural development as a core component of his strategy, President Obama's Feed the Future initiative has achieved impressive results in combating poverty and hunger, reaching millions of small farmers with tools and technologies and delivering critical nutrition to millions of children. In effect, Feed the Future represents the best of our American values-compassion, innovation, collaboration, and progress toward a world free of hunger and inequality."
  • In a donor meeting, Donald Trump's campaign showed its support of the pro-Trump super PAC Rebuilding America Now by encouraging donors to contribute to the super PAC. Attendees of the meeting included Trump campaign members Marty Obst, Paul Manafort, and Ken McKay. Potential donors included Andy Puzder (a Trump delegate), John Rakolta (a construction billionaire), representatives for Woody Johnson (owner of the Jets football team), Harold Hamm (Texas oil billionaire), and Bernie Marcus (co-founder of Home Depot). According to Politico, McKay will be "leading the super PAC."
  • In an interview with The New York Times, Donald Trump “called into question whether, as president, he would automatically extend the security guarantees that give the 28 members of NATO the assurance that the full force of the United States military has their back. For example, asked about Russia’s threatening activities that have unnerved the small Baltic States that are among the more recent entrants into NATO, Mr. Trump said that if Russia attacked them, he would decide whether to come to their aid only after reviewing whether those nations ‘have fulfilled their obligations to us.’”
    • Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) rejected Trump’s proposal, saying, “NATO is the most important military alliance in world history. I want to reassure our NATO allies that if any of them get attacked, we'll be there to defend them.” He added, “I don't think that view would be prevalent or held by anybody he [Trump] might make secretary of state or secretary of defense."
  • In its first Upshot presidential election forecast model, The New York Times found that Hillary Clinton has a 76 percent chance of winning the presidency over Donald Trump. “Our model suggests Mrs. Clinton is a strong favorite in 14 states and the District of Columbia, enough to give her 186 of the 270 electoral votes she needs to win the White House. Add to this eight more states that polls currently show are leaning Democratic — including Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania — and Mrs. Clinton would have 275 electoral votes and the presidency,” according to The New York Times.

State

  • Illinois Independent Map Amendment:
    • A Cook County circuit judge ruled that the potential measure was unconstitutional because it would add duties to the auditor general and two supreme court justices. These new duties were not within the range of "structural and procedural" changes to the state’s legislature, to which the Illinois Constitution restricts citizen initiatives. Further, the measure would limit the state attorney general's powers in challenging the remapping of districts. Supporters said they will appeal the ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court.
    • The potential measure would allow residents to view and participate in redistricting by creating an 11-member commission to draw legislative districts. The commission would include seven members selected from a random pool of 100 registered voters. Petitioners led a similar effort in 2014 but failed to attain a referendum on the state's November ballot after Cook County Judge Mary Mikva ruled the proposal unconstitutional on June 27, 2014. The Illinois Independent Redistricting Amendment, also known as the Yes for Independent Maps campaign, was struck down after Mikva found that it prevented members of a similar commission from running for the General Assembly.
    • Since Illinois law features such narrow restrictions on citizen initiatives, initiatives in Illinois are very rare. An initiative to reduce the number of Illinois legislators from 177 to 118, which was approved in 1980, was the only legally binding citizen initiative to reach the ballot in Illinois.
  • The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ruled that Texas' voter identification law violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The case was heard by all 15 members of the court, nine of whom joined in the majority opinion. The court determined that the state's voter identification law had a "discriminatory effect" on black and Latino voters who sometimes lack the required forms of identification. The court stopped short of striking down the law as a whole. Instead, the court ordered that election officials must "ensure that any remedy enacted ameliorates [the law's] discriminatory effect, while respecting the [[[Texas_State_Legislature|Texas State Legislature's]]] stated objective to safeguard the integrity of elections by requiring more secure forms of voter identification." The appeals court also stopped short of saying whether the requirement was enacted with discriminatory intent, remanding that question to the lower court for further consideration. Texas Democrats applauded the court's decision. State Representative Trey Martinez Fischer (D) said, "The court got it right, recognizing the stink of discrimination." Meanwhile, Republicans, who have a trifecta in Texas, defended the law. Governor Greg Abbott said, "Voter fraud is real, and it undermines the integrity of the election process. Texas will continue to make sure there is no illegal voting at the ballot box."
  • A group of Latino plaintiffs sued the governor and secretary of state of Texas over the state's method of electing supreme court justices for both its high courts. The plaintiffs claim that the current at-large election method violates the federal Voting Rights Act. Currently, all nine justices of the Texas Supreme Court and all nine justices of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are elected by all voters of the state. The plaintiffs claim that Latino voters are "politically cohesive" and vote as a bloc but that this method prevents Latinos from using that bloc voting power to elect candidates of their choice because they are outnumbered by the white voters of the state. The plaintiffs' argument is that this violates the provision of the Voting Rights Act that prohibits any "standard, practice, or procedure" that "results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color." In other words, the plaintiffs claim that preventing Texas Latinos from voting as a majority bloc results in denying or abridging Texas Latinos' right to vote based on race. The plaintiffs are asking the court to declare that the at-large election practice violates the Voting Rights Act and to enjoin the state government from using it. Their suggested election method is to elect individual justices from individual districts, at least two of which would be majority Latino. The text of the complaint is available here.

Local

  • A probe into the actions of Florida Circuit Court Judge Mark Hulsey was launched. Hulsey is accused of making disparaging remarks against women and minorities. Hulsey dismissed the allegations as “dirty political tactics” as he runs for a new term in November. Hulsey was reassigned to the court’s probate division by the circuit’s chief judge while the investigation takes place. In addition to the remarks against women and minorities, Hulsey is accused of ordering his judicial assistant to perform personal tasks for him. The Fourth Judicial Circuit that Hulsey serves covers Clay, Duval, and Nassau counties.

Preview of the day

The excerpts below were compiled from issue #25 of The Tap, which was published on July 16, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.

Federal

State

  • Former N.Y. state Sen. John L. Sampson (D) is scheduled for sentencing on one count of obstructing justice and two charges of making false statements to federal agents. He was found guilty on July 24, 2015, on three of nine counts and was immediately removed from office. Prosecutors convicted Sampson of taking a $188,500 loan from real estate broker Edul Ahmad, who was arrested for mortgage fraud in 2011, to help repay foreclosure escrow accounts that he had embezzled from, then lying to the FBI about the deal. Federal prosecutors are seeking to sentence Sampson to 87 months in prison.
  • The Republican National Convention will hold its third session. Scheduled speakers include Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, astronaut Eileen Collins, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R), U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Eric Trump, and professional golfer Natalie Gulbis. The Republican vice presidential nominee also traditionally speaks during this session.




The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
March: 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
April: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
May: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
June: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
July: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
August: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
September: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
October: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7• 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
November: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30
December: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 31
January: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31
February: 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17
v • e
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