Year: 2021
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Union Station: Biden, AFSCME include Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act in Labor Day statements
Biden, AFSCME include Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act in Labor Day statements Over Labor Day weekend, President Joe Biden (D) and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) each reiterated their endorsements of the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act (PSFNA), congressional legislation originally introduced in response to the U.S. Supreme…
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SCOTUS grants review in capital case
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) on Sept. 8 accepted a capital case to its merits docket for the 2021-2022 term. The case, Ramirez v. Collier, originated from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, located in New Orleans. John Ramirez filed an emergency appeal with the court on Sept. 7…
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Biden withdraws Chipman from consideration for ATF director
President Joe Biden (D) announced on Sept. 9, 2021, that he was withdrawing David Chipman from consideration for director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Chipman, a former ATF agent and senior policy advisor at Giffords, had been nominated in April 2021. The Senate Judiciary Committee declined to report on Chipman’s…
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Brian Benjamin sworn in as New York’s lieutenant governor
Brian Benjamin (D) was sworn in as New York’s lieutenant governor on Sep. 9. Governor Kathy Hochul (D) had appointed Benjamin to the position on Aug. 25, after Hochul became governor in the wake of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) resignation. The Lieutenant Governor of New York is the second-ranking officer of the executive branch…
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A recent history of presidential election bellwether counties
The United States is composed of 3,143 counties or county equivalents. Of them, Clallam County, in northwest Washington, has the longest record of always voting for the winning presidential candidate. Since 1980, Clallam County has voted in every presidential election for the candidate that would go on to win the White House. Since 1920, it…
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Recent state court actions suspend state-level universal school mask requirement bans in Florida and Tennessee, uphold a ban in South Carolina
As schools have begun reopening for the 2021-2022 academic year, several states have enacted policies on mask requirements in schools. As of Sept. 9, four states banned school mask requirements, seventeen states required masks in schools, and twenty-nine states left school mask decisions up to local authorities. Recent legal actions have affected these policies in…
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Redistricting Roundup: Colorado redistricting commission releases new proposed congressional maps
Here’s a summary of the week’s noteworthy redistricting news from Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, and Texas. Colorado: The Colorado Independent Redistricting Commission staff released a proposed congressional district map on Sept. 3. This is the first proposed map the commission released since the U.S. Census Bureau distributed block-level data from the 2020 census to states on…
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Boston holds mayoral primary on Sept. 14
On Sept. 14, Boston voters will decide which two of seven mayoral candidates advance to the Nov. 2 general election. Acting Mayor Kim Janey, who succeeded former incumbent Marty Walsh after his appointment to President Joe Biden’s (D) Cabinet, is seeking election to a full four-year term. Janey also serves on the city council. Three…