The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on the US electoral process. However, the candidates hit hardest are third party and independent presidential and statewide candidates who face increasingly insurmountable signature gathering requirements to make the November ballot. 

However, a federal judge in Illinois has ruled that since the pandemic poses a  “nearly insurmountable hurdle” for third party candidates, the Libertarian and Green nominees for president and US Senate will automatically be added to the 2020 Illinois ballot.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act of 2020 (H.R. 748) was by far the most gargantuan emergency economic stimulus package ever passed by Congress.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, addressing the 2008 Financial Crisis and the ensuing Great Recession, was "only" $787 billion at the time of passage.

(That number later crept up-- as Washington outlays are wont to do-- to $831 billion.)

Originally published on California Globe.

On Wednesday, Governor Gavin Newsom confirmed that the state currently has no plans to reopen the state or end stay-at-home restrictions as the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread in California.

The one silver lining pro-voter reformers see in the midst of these unprecedented and troubling times is that voters are now even more aware of the weaknesses in the US political and electoral process, and they want change.

When it comes to changing the rules for gathering signatures to get on the ballot during the coronavirus crisis, some states have been more lenient than others.

In Massachusetts, a state court has loosened signature requirements for politicians this year, given the national health concerns. But a federal court in Arizona did not consider doing the same for ballot measure campaigns.

This story was originally published on The Conversation, and later re-published on The Fulcrum.

Attacks have been made from both the right and the left about the viability of vote at home systems and their potential to advantage one party over the other. In the midst of a global pandemic that continues to threaten our democratic processes, there is an immediate need to assuage these concerns.

Fake news is popping up everywhere, deep fakes are going viral, and conspiracy theories flood social media feeds. Americans want reliable sources to turn for information, but they aren't sure what sources they can trust. Meanwhile, data collection companies are profiting off people's data and the political parties are using that data to manipulate voters.

Last week President Trump announced that he will be making the "toughest decision" of not just his presidency but his life: When and how to open our Covid-ravaged country again.

Originally published on The Fulcrum.

Enactment of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 remains a celebrated landmark in American history. It's time to celebrate the law's potential anew by making some big changes in how state legislatures are elected. My home state of Virginia illustrates the merits of doing so.