Notable Quote of the Day

“There isn’t the same degree of rancor as there was four years ago; the Biden/Sanders task forces formed to create a unified approach to writing the platform, while producing a document not wholly satisfying to progressives, was still a good-faith effort to bridge differences.

But leaving grassroots delegates in the dark as to how the convention will work—and reducing their role to passive online viewers—runs the risk of producing a massive letdown that could leave hundreds of delegates alienated. What this may mean is that at the conclusion of the party confab, many first-time Sanders delegates (and some old-timers, as well), instead of being energized and engaged, may turn off their computers feeling deflated and dejected. The unity so necessary for victory will not have been achieved.”

– James Zogby, The Nation

Election Updates

• Joe Biden reserved $280 million in advertising—$220 million for television and $60 million for digital—that will target Donald Trump on his response to the coronavirus pandemic. The ads are airing in 15 states, including 10 that Trump won in 2016:  Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Iowa, and Ohio.

• Biden issued his agenda for the Latino community on Tuesday. It is based on the following five pillars: invest in Latinos’ economic mobility, make investments to end health disparities by race, expand access to high-quality education, combat hate crimes and gun violence, and modernize the immigration system.

• Vote Common Good and the Lincoln Project are launching an initiative on Wednesday to mobilize faith voters against Trump.The partnership is focusing on white evangelicals and Catholics.

• In an interview with Axios released on Monday, Trump discussed U.S. coronavirus deaths, Black Lives Matter, and the Russian bounty file, among other issues.

• Trump said that he supported mail-in voting in Florida. “Over a long period of time, they’ve been able to get the absentee ballots done extremely professionally. Florida is different from other states,” he said. His campaign filed a lawsuit against Nevada for its plan to expand mail-in voting on Tuesday.

• Illustrating the difference between each candidate’s canvassing approach, the Trump campaign said it knocked on over 1 million doors in the past week, while the Biden campaign reported zero.

• The Sixth Circuit ruled on Monday that ballot access laws in Ohio were not unconstitutionally burdensome given the coronavirus pandemic. Howie Hawkins and independent candidate, Dario Hunter, had filed the suit for ballot access relief.

Flashback: August 5, 2016

U.S. Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) endorsed Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson, becoming the first member of Congress to do so.