This article first appeared on The Fulcrum.

DeVore, a Republican state legislator in California from 2004 through 2010, is vice president for national initiatives at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a prominent conservative think tank.

In the midst of social turmoil and civil unrest, on top of an ongoing pandemic, the news didn’t spare much time to talk about 9 primary elections held Tuesday -- primaries that, according to vote at home advocates, prove absentee ballots work.

Four states -- Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island -- postponed their primary elections to June 2 to allow voters an extended opportunity to request absentee ballots, while DC, Iowa, Montana, New Mexico, and South Dakota largely increased their use of absentee ballots as well.

The result?

Neal Simon, the author of Contract to Unite America: Ten Reforms to Reclaim Our Republic, joined T.J. O’Hara on Deconstructed to discuss the challenges of our current partisan political environment and how to address them.
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Many Mainers, for the first time, have been confronted with what it means to have their right to vote threatened. It’s a deeply unsettling feeling. Which is why editorial boards across the state, including, on April 5, the Maine Sunday Telegram, have called for steps to be taken to ensure broad voter participation and safety.

This article was first published on The Fulcrum.

The League of Women Voters has sued Alabama to ease the rules governing absentee ballots during the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Montgomery on Thursday, claims Secretary of State John Merrill did not go far enough in March, when he waived strict excuse requirements for voting absentee — but only for primary runoffs that were then postponed to July 14.

Every week during the summer, it is traditional Jewish practice to study a chapter of a work called “Pirkei Avot.” It’s a collection of inspiring quotes and sayings by some of the most prominent Jewish leaders and sages. The first chapter contains the following universally-known quote by Hillel the Elder:

"If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?"

Voter Choice for Massachusetts 2020 (Voter Choice Mass) announced Wednesday that it has smashed the signature requirement to get ranked choice voting on the November ballot well ahead of the petition deadline. Not only that, people working with the campaign say it is on pace to collect the most signatures for a ballot initiative in Massachusetts history.

This article was first published on The Fulcrum

The GOP has sued to prevent the effort to conduct the November election almost entirely by mail in the nation's most populous state as a way to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The lawsuit, filed Sunday in federal court, says Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom exceeded his authority this month by telling county election officials to send all 20.7 million registered Californians a ballot this fall.

1. Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day

It is not clear where the traditions of Memorial Day began, but not long after the Civil War ended, several cities began holding tributes in the spring for the soldiers who fell during the war. People would honor the fallen by decorating their graves and praying.

General John A. Logan called for a nationally recognized day of remembrance to honor the soldiers who gave their lives for their country on May 5, 1862. He proclaimed May 30, 1868 to be the first Decoration Day:

This article first appeared on The Fulcrum

Shouted down as a "spoiler" for three weeks after announcing he was getting ready to run for president as a Libertarian, Justin Amash has abandoned the idea of a third-party candidacy.

The coronavirus pandemic's hindrance on his prospects was the reason offered last weekend by the Republican-turned-independent conservative congressman from Michigan. But many will fairly conclude he was bowing to the withering attacks he received.