Impact2020: March 24, 2020

Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Tuesday, March 24. Today was supposed to be an election day, but now it looks like we won’t have another one of those for at least two weeks. Meanwhile, Michael Bloomberg is facing a lawsuit and another member of Congress’ stock sales are under scrutiny.

On the Ground

Yet another primary calendar update

More states (and one U.S. territory) are making changes to their elections because of concerns about the coronavirus.

Alaska Democrats will hold their presidential primary entirely by mail. The state party canceled “in-person voting sites planned for April 4,” the local AP reports. “Originally, ballots were to be postmarked by Tuesday. The party now says they must be received in Anchorage no later than April 10 to be counted.” The move means there will no longer be in-person presidential voting anywhere in the country on April 4, when several states were originally scheduled to hold elections.

In Puerto Rico, Gov. Wanda Vázquez is pushing the primary from March 29 to April 26, the Miami Herald’s Jim Wyss reports.

And in Rhode Island, Gov. Gina Raimondo is moving the primary from April 28 to June 2, Katherine Gregg writes for the Providence Journal. Raimondo also instructed state officials to come up with a “plan to hold a predominantly mail ballot primary.”

To recap: we’re now up to 11 states and one territory that have altered their nominating contest in some form since the COVID-19 outbreak.

Bloomberg fallout

Credit: Joshua Komer/The Charlotte Observer

Michael Bloomberg’s former presidential campaign staffers are suing for breach of contract after being abruptly laid off, the Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill reports.

“The suit … claims that workers were promised pay and benefits through November regardless of whether Bloomberg won the nomination,” Morrill writes. “The campaign has said its staff in North Carolina and five other battleground states will be paid through the first week in April and have full benefits through April. They can apply to the Democratic Party for jobs in what the Bloomberg officials called a ‘competitive hiring process.’”

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Anna M. Tinsley has more on this story from Texas.

“Mike Bloomberg went back on his word and is engaging in Donald Trump business tactics, leaving those who helped him most high and dry during this COVID-19 crisis,” said Jason Smith, the Fort Worth attorney who filed the lawsuits in Tarrant County.

More stocks sold

Democratic Rep. Susan Davis of California joins a group of members of Congress under scrutiny for selling stocks after receiving classified briefings on the coronavirus threat.

McClatchy’s Kate Irby and Shirsho Dasgupta report Davis and her husband sold stocks related to travel and tourism less than two weeks after a briefing.

“McClatchy’s analysis of financial disclosure reports of members of Congress found that Davis, a retiring Democrat who represents the San Diego area, sold part of her stocks of Miami-based cruise line giant, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and her husband sold his stocks of Alaska Air on Feb. 11, 2020 ⁠— 13 days after the briefing. On the same day, her husband purchased stocks in California-based high-speed broadband service-provider, ViaSat, Inc., and Baidu, the Chinese counterpart of Google.”

A spokesman for Davis said a third party handles her portfolio.

Trail Mix

March Madness

• One state that is still voting this month: Arkansas. Voters are beginning to cast ballots early in the primary runoff elections ahead of March 31. “The Arkansas Constitution provides no mechanism for postponing the election,“ the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Bill Bowden and Dale Ellis note.

• Could Ohio have an ‘Election Period’ instead of an Election Day? Rick Rouan of the Columbus Dispatch looks into that possibility as Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office “analyzed what it would take to move to an all-mail primary.”

• Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is defending his decision not to order people to stay home. “You simply cannot lock down our society with no end in sight,’’ the Republican said at a teleconference. The Miami Herald‘s Mary Ellen Klas, Samantha J. Gross and Lawrence Mower have more.

Battle for Congress

• “Allowing members of Congress to vote remotely during the coronavirus pandemic would raise ‘serious security, logistical and constitutional challenges,’ according to a new report commissioned by House Democratic leadership.” McClatchy’s Emma Dumain lays out the ramifications here.

• If members of Congress get sick, they have a special doctor to call. The Miami Herald’s Alex Daugherty explains how a taxpayer-funded medical office exclusively for lawmakers in Washington helped Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida when he became ill and tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

• Voters in California’s 25th congressional district will receive mail-in ballots before the May 12 special election for Rep. Katie Hill’s seat. There will be a limited number of polling places for voters in need of day-of assistance or replacement ballots, Sam Metz reports for the Ventura County Star.

Convention Watch

• Democratic National Convention officials say they are “exploring a range of contingency options” amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Bill Glauber reports.

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Number of the Day

72 percent

That’s how many Americans who say their state’s governor has done a “good job” handling the coronavirus outbreak, according to a new Monmouth University Poll. By comparison, 50 percent said the same for President Donald Trump.

For Planning Purposes

April 4

The Alaska, Hawaii and Wyoming contests will now be held exclusively by mail.

April 7

The Wisconsin primary is still scheduled to take place as planned.

‘At least I’m not doing it from a public beach’

Seth Meyers admits that recording his “Closer Look” segment from the hallway of his house is odd, but he points out that the location could be worse. Touché. His bite remains strong in this clip.

Text about the 2020 election

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This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Impact2020: March 24, 2020."