Over the past twelve hours:
— New Jersey legalized marijuana
— Illinois adopted a law ending the use of cash bail
— The Virginia legislature sent to the governor a bill abolishing the death penalty
🔥
If you’re not watching state governments, you’re only getting half the story.
Obviously this is also very true, just in a different way, when it comes to voting rights:
The Houston DA is getting a mountain of Eyes today for prosecuting a doctor.
She was up for re-election in 2020, & challenged by a few progressive candidates in a Dem primary that just didn't generate that much buzz & attention.
(Which is just to say, local elections matter!!)
ALSO, are you paying attention to 2021 elections for DA yet? Because things are starting to heat up. theappeal.org/criminal-justi…
Houston's Ogg secured the nomination in March with 55%, avoiding runoff. I've wondered how well she'd have fared in July runoff (after attn to George Floyd, police, inequality) had she dipped below 50%.
Austin's DA went from being down 44/41 in March to losing 68/32 in July.
exactly 2 weeks ago , at around this hour, Ted Cruz voted to disenfranchise every single voter of Pittsburgh (a city that went for Biden) by throwing out their state's electoral votes.
And this is not just happening in *federal* elections & policy.
Yes, the state is run by the GOP, still. But locally, just since Nov., there've been huge flips & changes toward Dems in general & toward progressive policy in particular.
A big day in Georgia today: The new sheriff of Cobb County terminated the county's (287g) contract with ICE.
This used to be Newt Gingrich's base; it had a longtime GOP sheriff who targeted immigrants. But in 2020 a Black Dem ran on this, flipped office: theappeal.org/politicalrepor…
"Let me be clear: there’s a new day and a new era in Cobb County," the new sheriff (Craig Owens) said today. ajc.com/news/atlanta-n…