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Judge Reinstates New York’s June Presidential Primary

Published

3 years ago

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  • A US District Judge said New York must hold the Democratic Presidential Primary on June 23 as previously scheduled. 
  • The state’s Board of Elections had canceled the event citing coronavirus concerns; however, the primaries would still go forward in the counties with other issues on the ballot.
  • Former candidate Andrew Yang filed a lawsuit against the Board, saying that it suppressed voters’ rights and violated the rights of candidates who qualified to be on the ballot. 
  • The judge sided with Yang, saying voters should have the right to vote for candidates who share their viewpoints, and that candidates should not be deprived of their ability to get delegates heading into the convention. 
  • Governor Andrew Cuomo has signed an executive order to mail absentee ballots to every voter in the state so they can participate in the election via mail. In-person polls will still remain open. 

Presidential Primary Reinstated

A United States District Judge ruled that New York’s presidential primary election is to go forward on June 23 as scheduled.

At the end of April, New York’s State Board of Elections canceled the primary citing concerns over the coronavirus. The board voted to remove all candidates who had suspended their campaigns from the ballot, leaving only the presumptive nominee Joe Biden, and eliminating the need for a Democratic presidential primary. Not all primaries were canceled, though. Counties with other elections on their ballots were still to cast their votes. 

This decision was met with criticism from many in the Bernie Sanders campaign and others involved in the primaries. Former candidate Andrew Yang ended up hitting the election board with a lawsuit, claiming that this choice suppressed voters in the state and violated his right as a qualified candidate to appear on the ballot. 

U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres agreed with Yang. Torres wrote that by “removing Yang, Sanders, and eight other Democratic presidential candidates from the ballot deprived them of associational rights under the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.”

She also claimed that Yang was able to prove that he and his delegates had “suffered an ‘injury’” as a result of the election board’s decision. Yang, and the other former candidates, chose to suspend their campaigns rather than terminate them so they could continue to appear on ballots and collect delegates in the remaining states. Torres said that not only did the decision to cancel the election deprive candidates of their shot at the bid for presidency, but it also “deprived their pledged delegates of the opportunity to run for a position where they could influence the party platform” at the August convention.

Torres also added that it took voter’s chance to elect delegates that represent their points of view away from them. As a result, Yang and Sanders, as well as Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bennet, Amy Klobuchar, Tulsi Gabbard, Michael Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Deval Patrick and Tom Steyer will appear on the presidential primary ballot alongside Biden.

Responses 

Yang released a statement on Twitter celebrating the decision. He said he was “glad that a federal judge agreed that depriving millions of New Yorkers of the right to vote was wrong.

Faiz Shakir, Sanders’ campaign manager, also gave a statement applauding the order. 

“We’re glad Judge Torres has restored basic democracy in New York,” Shakir said. “People in every state should have the right to express their preference in the 2020 Democratic primary.”

Others online were also happy with the news, prompting #YangSavesDemocracy to trend on Twitter for a moment.

The race may not be over, though. Douglas A. Kellner, a co-chair of the New York Board of Elections, told the New York Times that the board is “reviewing the decision and preparing an appeal.” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also said that while the elections are set to go ahead in June per the court’s order, an appeal is possible. 

What Comes Next?

Many, however, are concerned about how the state will vote during the COVID-19 pandemic. In his initial reasoning for canceling the elections, Kellner said that holding this presidential primary right now would “essentially a beauty contest that, given the situation with the public health emergency, seems to be unnecessary and, indeed, frivolous,”

New York City has become the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States, and has one of the worst outbreaks globally. The state has over 300,000 cases and almost 20,000 deaths. New York City makes up roughly half of the state’s case totals. 

While states like Wisconsin have held their primary elections during this, that choice sparked a lot of outrage among voters and others throughout the country. Several reports indicate that some Wisconsin voters have tested positive for the coronavirus. 

Because of this, mail-in voting will be prioritized. In April, Governor Cuomo signed an executive order directing the Board of Elections to mail all New York voters absentee ballot applications. This will allow any and all voters who want to vote by mail to do so, potentially limiting long lines and close contact at polling stations.

Polls will still remain open for those who fail to apply for an absentee ballot and for those who need assistance requiring in-person voting. 

See what others are saying: (New York Times) (Gothamist) (Bloomgberg)

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U.S.

White Supremacist Propaganda Reached Record High in 2022, ADL Finds

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2 weeks ago

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March 9, 2023

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 “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said.

White supremacist propaganda in the U.S. reached record levels in 2022, according to a report published Wednesday by the Anti-Defamation League’s Center of Extremism.

The ADL found over 6,700 cases of white supremacist propaganda in 2022, which marks a 38% jump from the nearly 4,900 cases the group found in 2021. It also represents the highest number of incidents ever recorded by the ADL. 

The propaganda tallied by the anti-hate organization includes the distribution of racist, antisemitic, and homophobic flyers, banners, graffiti, and more. This propaganda has spread substantially since 2018, when the ADL found just over 1,200 incidents. 

“There’s no question that white supremacists and antisemites are trying to terrorize and harass Americans with their propaganda,” ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “We cannot sit idly by as these extremists pollute our communities with their hateful trash.” 

The report found that there were at least 50 white supremacist groups behind the spread of propaganda in 2022, but 93% of it came from just three groups. One of those groups was also responsible for 43% of the white supremacist events that took place last year. 

White supremacist events saw a startling uptick of their own, with the ADL documenting at least 167, a 55% jump from 2021. 

Propaganda was found in every U.S. state except for Hawaii, and events were documented in 33 states, most heavily in Massachusetts, California, Ohio, and Florida.

“The sheer volume of white supremacist propaganda distributions we are documenting around the country is alarming and dangerous,” Oren Segal, Vice President of the ADL’s Center on Extremism said in a statement. “Hardly a day goes by without communities being targeted by these coordinated, hateful actions, which are designed to sow anxiety and create fear.”

“We need a whole-of-society approach to combat this activity, including elected officials, community leaders, and people of good faith coming together and condemning this activity forcefully,” Segal continued. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (The Hill) (The New York Times)

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Adidas Financial Woes Continue, Company on Track for First Annual Loss in Decades

Published

2 weeks ago

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March 8, 2023

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Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

Yeezy Surplus 

Adidas’ split with musician Kanye West has left the company with financial problems due to surplus Yeezy products, putting the sportswear giant in the position to potentially suffer its first annual loss in over 30 years. 

Adidas dropped West last year after he made a series of antisemitic remarks on social media and other broadcasts. His Yeezy line was a staple for Adidas, and the surplus product is due, in part, to the brand’s own decision to continue production during the split.

According to CEO Bjorn Gulden, Adidas continued production of only the items already in the pipeline to prevent thousands of people from losing their jobs. However, that has led to the unfortunate overabundance of Yeezy sneakers and clothes. 

On Wednesday, Gulden said that selling the shoes and donating the proceeds makes more sense than giving them away due to the Yeezy resale market — which has reportedly shot up 30% since October.

“If we sell it, I promise that the people who have been hurt by this will also get something good out of this,” Gulden said in a statement to the press. 

However, Gulden also said that West is entitled to a portion of the proceeds of the sale of Yeezys per his royalty agreement.

The Numbers 

Adidas announced in February that, following its divergence from West, it is facing potential sales losses totaling around $1.2 billion and profit losses of around $500 million. 

If it decides to not sell any more Yeezy products, Adidas is facing a projected annual loss of over $700 million.

Outside of West, Adidas has taken several heavy profit blows recently. Its operating profit reportedly fell by 66% last year, a total of more than $700 million. It also pulled out of Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine last year, which cost Adidas nearly $60 million dollars. Additionally, China’s “Zero Covid” lockdowns last year caused in part a 36% drop in revenue for Adidas compared to years prior.

As a step towards a solution, Gulden announced that the company is slashing its dividends from 3.30 euros to 0.70 euro cents per share pending shareholder approval. 

Adidas has labeled 2023 a “transition year” for the company. 

“Adidas has all the ingredients to be successful. But we need to put our focus back on our core: product, consumers, retail partners, and athletes,” Gulden said. “I am convinced that over time we will make Adidas shine again. But we need some time.”

See what others are saying: (The Washington Post) (The New York Times) (CNN)

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Immigration Could Be A Solution to Nursing Home Labor Shortages

Published

2 weeks ago

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March 7, 2023

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98% of nursing homes in the United States are experiencing difficulty hiring staff. 

The Labor Crisis 

A recent National Bureau of Economic Research paper has offered up a solution to the nursing home labor shortage: immigration. 

According to a 2022 American Health Care Association survey, six in ten nursing homes are limiting new patients due to staffing issues. The survey also says that 87% of nursing homes have staffing shortages and 98% are experiencing difficulty hiring. 

The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) outlined in their paper that increased immigration could help solve the labor shortage in nursing homes. Immigrants make up 19% of nursing home workers.

With every 10% increase in female immigration, nursing assistant hours go up by 0.7% and registered nursing hours go up by 1.1% And with that same immigration increase, short-term hospitalizations of nursing home residents go down by 0.6%.

The Solution 

Additionally, the State Department issued 145% more EB-3 documents, which are employment-based visas, for healthcare workers in the 2022 fiscal year than in 2019, suggesting that more people are coming to the U.S. to work in health care. 

However, according to Skilled Nursing News, in August of 2022, the approval process from beginning to end for an RN can take between seven to nine months. 

Displeasure about immigration has exploded since Pres. Joe Biden took office in 2021. According to a Gallup study published in February, around 40% of American adults want to see immigration decrease. That is a steep jump from 19% in 2021, and it is the highest the figure has been since 2016.

However, more than half of Democrats still are satisfied with immigration and want to see it increased. But with a divided Congress, the likelihood of any substantial immigration change happening is pretty slim. 

See what others are saying: (Axios) (KHN) (Skilled Nursing News)

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