Gloria Witt Ahead in Cash-on-Hand in VA5; Youngkin Admin Removing Eligible Voters?; Voting Flashback; Harris' Black Policy Push
🚩 There are 20 days until Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024
🚩 There are 17 days left to vote early in Virginia. The last day to vote early is Nov. 2, 2024
🚩 Visit http://iwillvote.com/va for info on voting in Virginia
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VA-05: Gloria Witt Ahead of John McGuire in Cash on Hand
In the midst of a Republican intra-party feud in the 5th District, the Democratic challenger for a seat held, but soon to be vacated, by MAGA Republican Rep. Bob Good has out-raised Republican nominee John McGuire in the third quarter of 2024.
Democratic nominee Gloria Witt now has $218,000 in contributions — a 141 percent increase from her Q2 fundraising. As a result, Witt now has more cash on hand than McGuire. Virginia’s 5th congressional district covers a lot of territory and stretches from Southside to the Richmond suburbs and includes the cities of Charlottesville, Danville, and Lynchburg. The Cook Political Report has the 5th rated as a +7 seat for Republicans. But in a presidential year featuring the historic candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris, a turnout spike that leans blue is likely.
“While Republicans are in disarray in the 5th District, Gloria Witt is laser-focused on running a winning campaign. Her impressive surge in fundraising is proof that Virginians in the 5th District know that she will stand up for them. There’s a reason John McGuire isn’t raising money–he still doesn’t have the support of his own party,” said Virginia Democratic Party Chair Susan Swecker in a statement on Oct. 16.
WRIC: Is the Youngkin Administration Removing Eligible Voters?
Days after the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Virginia alleging voters were being improperly purged from the voting rolls, WRIC Richmond reporter Tyler Englander is reporting that eligible voters could also be removed from the voting rolls improperly.
“Newly obtained data shows Virginia’s process for taking non-citizens off the state’s voter rolls could be wrongfully identifying eligible voters for removal. The process in question came to light after Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order in August directing the Department of Elections to make “daily updates” to the state’s voter rolls and remove individuals who fail to verify that they are citizens to the DMV,” reported Englander on Oct. 15. READ ENTIRE
Flashback: 6 Ways Glenn Youngkin's GOP is Targeting Voters for Removal or Making Voting Harder in Virginia
Below is a repost from September 2023, because fooling around with voting never gets old, particularly in the South
Black Virginia News, Sept, 23, 2023: Control of the Virginia House and Senate is on the line as is the future of democracy as the many members of the GOP embrace government intervention in personal health decisions, book bans, deliberate misinformation and election interference.
Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin is pushing Republican voters to vote early — a complete policy 360 degree switch for the GOP. But alternatively, Youngkin and Virginia Republicans are pushing several under the radar policies that take voters off the rolls and/or make it more difficult for Virginia’s citizens to vote.
Black voters who often support the Democratic Party are a specific target for Republican policy makers when it comes to making it harder to vote.
REPUBLICANS CLOSING LOCATIONS, ENDING SOULS TO THE POLLS. A Republican controlled electoral board moved to close early voting locations in South Richmond in July. What city in Virginia has the highest population of Black people: Richmond. The Republican push to close voting locations in Black cites was seen in Richmond, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.
Republicans closed eight early voting locations in Chesapeake and ended Sunday voting in eight localities around Virginia — therefore eliminating Souls to the Polls events used by Black voters to encourage voter turnout and participation.
RELATED: Electoral board closes downtown and South Richmond early voting locations (Axios/July 2023)
RELATED: GOP electoral board’s move to cut Richmond early voting sites may have been illegal (Virginia Mercury/July 2023)
🚩 RELATED: Chesapeake OKs plan to cut 2 early voting locations, despite concerns about impact on minority communities (Virginian-Pilot: Aug. 17, 2023)
NEW WAYS TO KILL A VOTE AFTER RESTORATION? The Youngkin Administration is apparently taking away the voting rights of Virginia citizens who have already had their rights restored. But is the Youngkin Administration treating parole violations as “convictions” as well? If so, that could explain the high number of individuals (10,558?) whose voting rights have been killed as listed in the annual Virginia Department of Elections report. Are parole violations being defined as “new” convictions? This would be a new previously undeclared way to reverse rights restoration. Perhaps a lawsuit featuring someone with standing could unpack that question.
From the annual Virginia Department of Elections report:
LEAVING ERIC. For no reason explained publicly by Youngkin, Gov. Youngkin’s Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals removed Virginia from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) in May. With no evidence presented, several Republican governors have linked ERIC to unsubstantiated MAGA-drived conspiracy theories to discredit ERIC. Data security experts have questioned Youngkin’s move to disconnect Virginia from the Electronic Registration Information Center.
🚩 RELATED: Virginia joins list of GOP states leaving bipartisan effort to combat voter fraud amid conspiracies (AP: May 12, 2023)
A HOST OF VOTING RELATED SCREW UPS. In October 2022, Virginia Commissioner of Elections Susan Beals took “responsibility for the mistakes” after her office, the Virginia Department of Elections, mistakenly sent 176,000 voting location change cards to people’s listed residence, rather than the P.O. Box they specified (often used in rural Virginia) as their listed mailing address.
RELATED: Printer takes responsibility for incorrect voter postcards sent to thousands of Virginians
In late 2022, the Virginia Department of Elections sent 3,500 voters the wrong information regarding their voting status that included the line, “you are ineligible to vote because you did not declare yourself a United States citizen.” This was also blamed on an IT issue. In the summer of 2022 there was yet another alleged “IT glitch” that prompted 107,000 voter registration files sent to the Department of Motor Vehicles left unprocessed.
YOUNGKIN ENDS RESTORATION. In March 2023, Gov. Glenn Youngkin ended the policy of automatically restoring voting rights to Virginia residents who had completed their felony sentences. Virginia is now the only state in the nation that kills voting rights for everyone who commits a felony. The only way to get back voting rights for those individuals is Youngkin’s approval. The policy was a reversal from the last three Virginia Governors.
“In Virginia, governors have used their constitutional powers to restore the vote to more than 300,000 former felons since Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, first made restoration automatic for some in 2013,” wrote the New York Times in April 2023. Currently the process of rights restoration in Virginia is a mystery under Youngkin, including how people have actually had their rights restored and what the process is.
The link between disproportionate incarceration, arrests and traffic stops of Black Virginians and then targeting voting rights has been a clear strategic way to eliminate Black voters from the rolls for decades. The enterprise of damaging individuals voting rights based on felonies has a long history in Virginia and the South and is connected to the Republican push to increase the number of felonies in the Virginia code.
RELATED: Youngkin administration now requires felons to apply to get their voting rights back
260,653 VOTERS INACTIVE… PERMANENT ABSENTEE LIST GAMES? According to the National Council of State Legislators, “five states and Washington, D.C., allow any voter to join a permanent absentee/mail ballot list and will mail that voter an absentee ballot for each election going forward: Arizona, District of Columbia, Maryland, Montana, New Jersey and Virginia.” From the Virginia Department of Elections report:
But in Virginia under the Youngkin Administration, voters are being marked as “inactive” and they are being purged from the permanent absentee voter list if they move or failed to respond to a letter
October 14: Above, Virginia’s Governor Glenn Youngkin talks to Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Oct. 14 about voting laws in Virginia. The Commonwealth was sued by the Department of Justice on Oct. 11 for purging voters from the rolls.
VP Harris Focuses on Policy on Black Men, Does Media Tour
Over the last three days, Vice President Kamala Harris has been taking questions interviews on policy focused on Black men. Interviews with Roland Martin, Charlamagne Tha God and The Shade Room were used by Harris to discuss policy objectives focused on Black men and the Black community in general. Today at 6 p.m. Vice President Kamala Harris will be interviewed on Fox News by Bret Baier.
📍Harris’ campaign put out a list of social media links related to the last few days of media interviews and messaging around Black policy objectives.
V103: Kamala Harris Speaks Directly To Black Americans In Audio Town Hall
The Independent: Harris lays into ‘weak and unfit’ Trump as she defends her record in Charlemagne tha God interview
Black Information Network: Kamala Harris Speaks Directly To Black Americans In Audio Town Hall
@Bakari_Sellers: Charlemagne is strong and substantive, this is a good interview
@MagicJohnson: I tuned into the live audio town hall in Detroit featuring Vice President Kamala Harris and radio host Charlamagne tha God who has a popular podcast “The Breakfast Club” on iHeart Radio. Vice President Harris continues to demonstrate she's ready to lead our nation, strengthen our economy, and unify our nation in every one of her appearances! Vice President Harris clarified that the stimulus packages during the pandemic originated from the Democratic Party members in Congress, not the former President. She answered each question thoroughly and clearly articulated her plans for border control and the economy, including a $50,000 tax break proposal for small business owners and $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-generation homebuyers. Vice President Kamala Harris is being intentional with the agenda she is setting forth for every citizen in our country. For as long as I’ve known her for over 20 years, she’s always done great things in the Black community. I loved how Vice President Harris emphasized her track record and longstanding support for our community, sharing her roots in and initiatives for the Black church and Black entrepreneurs!
@TheSource: VP Kamala Harris on Black Male Voters: 'It's My Responsibility To Earn Their Support' only on http://thesource.com
#WeGotUs #SourceLove
@keithboykin: A lot of people don’t realize how important message discipline is for a candidate, but it’s even more important for a president. Loose words can move markets or missiles. Kamala Harris knows this. Trump does not.
@GeoffRBennett: CNN is simulcasting this decidedly substantive conversation between VP Kamala Harris and Charlamagne
@atrupar: Kamala Harris explains to Charlamagne tha God why Trump's fondness for dictator is actually a reflection of his weakness, not his strength
@KatiePhang: What a GREAT response from @KamalaHarris
@KamalaHQ: Vice President Harris breaks down her plan to help Black Americans by capping drug prices, providing down payment assistance for homebuyers, expanding the Child Tax Credit, and more
@atrupar: Harris links Trump saying he'll terminate the Constitution to his racism: "Most of those amendments, one thing or another was about a movement by Black people to ensure we'd be equally protected under the law."
@IsaacDovere: Harris in radio town hall making her case to Black men: “You can’t let anyone take you out of the game by not voting.”
@KamalaHQ: Vice President Harris: Let's talk about the contrast here. Trump is selling $60 Bibles or tennis shoes and trying to play people as though that makes him more understanding of the Black community.
@atrupar: Here's Kamala Harris's full remarks to Charlamagne tha God on how the Trump campaign is rooted in fear.
@joeygarrison: "You know who does that? Dictators do that. Other countries do that," VP Harris tells Charlamagne tha God when asked about Trump's threats to lock up his enemies.
@atrupar: Kamala Harris on Charlamagne tha God's show hits Trump for sending covid tests to Putin.
@GeoffRBennett: VP Harris to Charlamagne: "This is a margin-of-error race. It's tight. I'm gonna win. I'm gonna win, but it's tight."
@IsaacDovere: Two very meaty, at times challenging interviews today from two very different questioners — John Micklethwait and @cthagod — from two very different presidential candidates talking very different positions and responding in very different ways to being pressed.
@KamalaHarris: I have a plan to help Black Americans by capping drug prices, providing down payment assistance for homebuyers, expanding the Child Tax Credit, and more.
@Acyn: Kamala Harris: He is running full-time on a campaign that is about instilling fear not about hope.. Look what he did and saying that those legal immigrants in Springfield Ohio were eating their pets.
@PhilipWegmann: A caller during Charlamagne tha God's town-hall worries that Trump will put "anyone who doesn't look white into camps." Harris replies, "you've hit on a really important point and expressed it I think so well, which is he is achieving his intended effect--to make you scared."
@KamalaHQ: Vice President Harris: Ask Donald Trump what his plan is for Black America. I'll tell you what it is. Project 2025 wants to implement stop-and-frisk. It wants to make it more difficult for workers to receive overtime pay. He wants to terminate the Constitution, which includes amendments that protect the rights of Black Americans
@jeneps: “Can you all believe [Trump] trashed our city while he was in our city, while he was trying to get our people to vote for him?” founder of Detroit vs. Everybody brand says. “It’s Detroit vs. Donald Trump.”
@wrmcduff: Detroit📍Kamala Harris, on Detroit: “This is a town of people who have grit, who have determination, and who have optimism and ambition and apply to that a lot of hard work, which makes Detroit a first-class city in the United States of America, now and always has.”
The video of Vice President Harris’ interview with Charlamagne Tha God can be seen below:
Unions: Rep. Scott Talks to Boilermakers
Virginia Courts rolls out new website📍 https://www.vacourts.gov/
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