THE PORT ANGELES GLOBE: 01/30/21

Saturday, January 30, 2021

Cantwell, Wyden, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Expand Voting Access, Allow Every American to Safely & Easily Vote By Mail.

New legislation comes after record vote-by-mail participating in 2020 election; bill includes automatic voter registration and pre-paid envelopes for ballots

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today joined Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) and 12 Senate colleagues to introduce legislation that would give every American voter the option to vote by mail. The Vote At Home Act would build on the advances made during the 2020 election, which saw record vote-by-mail participation, by massively expanding vote-by-mail ballot access, providing voters with pre-paid ballot return envelopes, and enacting automatic voter registration.

In the November 2020 election, nearly 50 percent of voters nationwide cast their ballots by mail, an all-time high. 30 states adopted or changed their laws for the 2020 general election, allowing voters to cast their ballots from home in order to provide greater accessibility and to protect public health.

“Mail-in voting has played an important role in American elections, and we can increase the participation the voting public if we give them the opportunity to vote by mail. It has worked in Washington,” Cantwell said in a floor speech in July 2020.

Specifically, the Vote At Home Act would:

Promote the Ability of Voters to Vote by Mail – All registered voters would receive ballots in the mail weeks before Election Day, allowing them to carefully research candidates and issues well ahead of Election Day to inform their vote.

Expand Options for Casting Ballots – All registered voters would have the ability to cast their ballot through the mail or a drop-off site. Voters residing in states with in-person, same-day registration would still have the option to vote at a polling station in lieu of voting at home.

Fund the United States Postal Service – The legislation would provide the USPS funding to cover costs associated with mailing ballots both to and from voters in federal elections. This would allow states to save money by transitioning away from polling stations and reduce a major barrier for voters with the federal government absorbing the cost associated with USPS delivery.

Enact Automatic Voter Registration – States would be required to ensure that each citizen who provides identifying information to the state motor vehicle authority is automatically registered to vote. Voters are given 21 days to “opt out” if they do not wish to remain registered.

Editorial Note: Cantwell's invention for more possible voter fraud.

Inslee announces metric changes to Healthy Washington Roadmap to Recovery.

From the governor's medium page 1/28/21

Gov. Jay Inslee today announced several changes to the state’s Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery. The governor first announced the regional, phased reopening plan Jan. 6.

The plan will be changed in two ways; first, the evaluation criteria for regions to move from Phase 1 to Phase 2, and the timeframe in which regions can progress.

“We are getting closer to finding our way out of this mess, but we aren’t there yet,” Inslee said during a press conference Thursday. “We have sacrificed too much to let our frustrations get the best of us now when the finish line is in sight, however distant that may seem in our field of vision.”

The changes come after further conversations with public health partners and the state’s increasing vaccination rates.

Phase 2

In accordance with the roadmap, several regions will be eligible to enter Phase 2 beginning Monday. The progression is contingent on whether their metrics continue their positive trends.

Regions moving to Phase 2 effective Monday are:

West (Grays Harbor, Pacific, Thurston, Lewis)

Puget Sound (Snohomish, King, Pierce)

“The fact that these two regions are moving into Phase 2 is encouraging news,” said Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, secretary of health. “As we continue our community efforts, we hope more such progress will be made. Ultimately our goal remains ensuring the health and safety of all of Washington.”

Metrics

Under the new plan, regions will only be required to meet three of the four public health metrics to progress to Phase 2. The original roadmap required regions to meet all four.

The four metrics remain the same. They are:

Trend in case rate: Trend in 14-day rate of new COVID-19 cases per 100K population;

Trend in hospital admissions rate: Trend in 14-day rate of new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100K population;

Percent ICU occupancy: Average 7-day percent occupancy of ICU staffed beds; and

Percent positivity: 7-day percent positive of COVID-19 tests.

The metrics provide an overview of current COVID-19 trends and health care system readiness in

each region, ensuring that health care systems will efficiently and equitably respond to potential future outbreaks.

The requirement to maintain three metrics to remain in Phase 2 remains unchanged. If any region fails to meet any two metrics, they will still regress to Phase 1.

Timeframe

The governor also announced that the Department of Health’s timeline for region’s evaluation will change. Beginning next week, regions metrics will be evaluated every two weeks instead of every week.

STATE NEWS HEADLINES:

Inslee statement on Biden climate plan.

Gov. Jay Inslee issued a statement today following a series of executive actions on climate change taken by President Joe Biden Wednesday.

AG FERGUSON FILES LAWSUIT AGAINST NATIONAL SORORITY FOR CHARGING AND THREATENING UW STUDENTS IN VIOLATION OF EVICTION MORATORIUM

Ecology adopts three updated watershed plans.

OLYMPIA –

Updated plans for the Chehalis, Okanogan, and Little Spokane watersheds will help protect water levels and habitat around those rivers, while also ensuring water remains available for rural development. The Washington Department of Ecology adopted the addendums today, ahead of the legislative deadline.

Initial regular unemployment claims decreased while continued claims increased during week of January 17-23.

OLYMPIA – During the week of January 17-23, there were 16,461 initial regular unemployment claims (down 14.3 percent from the prior week) and 482,158 total claims for all unemployment benefit categories (up 2.8 percent from the prior week) filed by Washingtonians, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).

DFI Shares New Resource Page for Educators and Parents to Explore Financial Education with K-12 Students.

Web-based, printable documents, video and games provide variety of access methods to address multiple learning styles.

WDFW seeks public comments on second round of 2021-2023 hunting season proposals.

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking comments on the second round of proposed alternatives for 2021-23 hunting seasons.

Statement on crossing state lines for vaccine

Given the limited supply of vaccine that is available at this time and our state’s commitment to equitable and fair access to vaccine, the state of Washington is requiring that those seeking COVID-19 vaccines in its four mass vaccination sites (Ridgefield, Spokane, Kennewick, and Wenatchee) must either live or work in Washington state.--DOH

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IN OTHER NEWS HEADLINES...

WORLD:

‘Imminent’ Iran execution must be halted, urges UN human rights office.

The imminent execution in Iran of a man who was allegedly tortured into confessing that he belonged to a jihadist group must be stopped, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Friday.

Myanmar: UN chief following developments ‘with great concern’

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for restrain in Myanmar, amid reports of rising tensions over the outcome of last year’s general elections.

Guterres welcomes US decision to restore funding to UNFPA.

The United Nations Secretary-General, on Thursday, welcomed the United States administration’s announcement to restore funding to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), calling it a “powerful message” for women and girls globally.

Asylum seekers subject to systematic pushbacks at Europe’s borders, says UNHCR.

UN refugee agency, UNHCR, called on Thursday for an end to “systematic” expulsions and pushbacks of refugees and asylum-seekers at Europe’s land and sea borders.

NATIONAL:

FACT SHEET: President Biden to Sign Executive Orders Strengthening Americans’ Access to Quality, Affordable Health Care--WH

The Biden-Harris Administration will open a Special Enrollment Period for Americans to sign up for health coverage and roll back attacks on the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, and access to reproductive health care.

DOD Official Hopes For Quick Confirmation of Deputy Secretary.--DOD

Chinese National Charged with Criminal Conspiracy to Export US Power Amplifiers to China--DOJ

South Carolina detects first US cases associated with variant first detected in South Africa--CDC

BUSINESS & FINANCE:

Day One Message to Staff from Secretary of the United States Department of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen--US TREASURY DEPT.

Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement

The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals.--THE FED

IRS offers guidance to taxpayers on identity theft involving unemployment benefits.

Resilience Is an Opportunity for Early Bipartisan Success--US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

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This week's focused story:

GameStop: Gamer Culture Hits Wall Street

After a run on an obscure company, the stock market moves to protect its own.--The Patriot Post

Robinhood Protecting the Rich? GameStop Buys Halted in Massive Game Of High-Stakes Chicken--PJ Media

GameStop and Robinhood: Revenge of the Herds

When it’s outsiders trading, insiders don’t like it at all.--American Spectator

The GameStop Saga Isn’t About Finance, It’s Part Of The Ongoing War Between Elites And Populists

The rules here are simple: Heads Wall Street wins, tails you lose.--The Federalist