Democratic Municipal Officials Digest
Week of 3/23/2020

 

DMO Update

• Access the DMO COVID-19 Resource Hub

• Watch the livestream of the DMO Breakfast, featuring Congresswomen Robin Kelly and Marcia Fudge.

• Make your annual $50 contribution at NationalDMO.org/donate.

Quick Links

• In the Age of Social Distancing, Government Meetings Go Virtual

• What the Coronavirus Stock Meltdown Could Mean for Pensions

• What About the Workers Cleaning Up Coronavirus?

Ideas for Cities

• The Virus Can Be Stopped, but Only With Harsh Steps, Experts Say

• This Is How We Can Beat the Coronavirus

• Cities Rush to Respond as Homelessness and Coronavirus Collide

Messaging – DNC on Coronavirus and the Primary Process

• The DNC is urging the remaining primary states to use a variety of critical reforms that will make voting easier and safer for voters and election officials alike
  • Vote by mail, which is already in use in a number of states and should be made available to all registered voters.
  • Proactively mailing ballots to registered voters, where feasible, and counting all ballots as long as they are postmarked by the date of the primary.
  • No-excuse absentee voting, which allows voters to drop ballots off at convenient locations or in the mail.
  • Expanding days and hours of early voting to reduce lines in states where in-person voting can still take place under public health guidelines.

• The DNC will continue to work with every state party as they adjust their delegate selection plans around coronavirus. Louisiana’s primary occuring on June 20 and Kentucky’s occuring on June 23 would violate the DNC’s rule on timing, which requires that all states hold their contests by June 9. Any violation of the DNC’s rules could result in a penalty that could include a state losing at least half of its delegates.
  • All contests must happen by June 9 and delegates must be elected by June 20, as stated in the rules passed by the full DNC.

• The DNC’s guidance to state parties is to follow the recommendations of local health officials and prioritize health and safety of all individuals. They know the situation is very different in every state and want to give state parties flexibility to change their plans to address the guidance they are getting on the ground.

• The DNC will work with any state party that needs to make adjustments as needed to their delegate selection processes so they can continue without major interruptions.

• The DNC is closely monitoring this fluid situation and is focused on planning a safe and successful convention in Milwaukee four months from now.

News for Democrats 

• Trump Has Sabotaged America’s Coronavirus Response

• Voting by Mail Is the Hot New Idea. Is There Time to Make It Work?

• Coronavirus is changing political campaigning as we know it