Election Updates for November 1, 2021
It is the last day before the pivotal 2021 elections. Plenty of last-minute news has broken regarding those races, along with continuing developments for the 2022 election. Below are the latest updates.
State
In Washington, long-time Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman is resigning to take an election security job with President Joe Biden’s administration.
In Indiana, state Republicans are considering changing the laws to make school board elections partisan.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis is seeking to stop a subpoena against a member of DeSantis’s staff to testify in a trial to challenge the state election law.
In Wisconsin, amidst the controversial Republican-led audit of the 2020 election, a non-partisan audit found that the 2020 elections were free of fraud and any irregularities. A report also discovered that a tech group’s election spending largely benefited Democrats in Wisconsin.
In New York, the candidates for Mayor of New York City are holding closing rallies. Democrat nominee for Mayor Eric Adams and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa recently participated in another debate. Meanwhile, in the Staten Island Borough President election, disgraced former Congressman Vito Fossella is attempting a comeback.
In Texas, on Tuesday there will be an election on several propositions related to the state constitution. Also, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick offered to pay money for verified instances of voter fraud, and was forced to pay money to a liberal from Pennsylvania who caught a Republican voting twice. Voting rights activists are suing Texas over its new redistricting maps. Meanwhile a judge threw out a lawsuit concerning drive thru voting in a county in the state.
In Virginia, early voting turnout is hitting record numbers. Former President Barack Obama campaigned for Democrat nominee for Governor former Governor Terry McAuliffe, as did Biden. Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin is seeking to have a campaign rally outside early voting places and is facing some pushback. The NAACP is holding events to increase Black voter turnout. Democrats are suing the United States Postal Service over delays in the delivery of mail-in ballots. Former President Donald Trump’s unpopularity is serving as an issue for Youngkin, so much so that he tried to distance himself from a visit that former Vice President Mike Pence made to the state. When former State Senator and former Democrat nominee for Governor in Georgia, Stacey Abrams, was in Virginia, she made a claim of voter fraud, and was not called out for it in the way Republicans have been. Both the candidates for Lieutenant Governor in Virginia are African-American women, so whomever wins will be the first African American female to win statewide in Virginia.
In New Jersey, early voting has been underway. Obama campaigned in New Jersey for the incumbent Democrat Governor Phil Murphy. Though Democrats are favored in the race, polls appear to be tightening. Even in the left leaning state of New Jersey, Biden’s unpopularity is a liability for Murphy. Additionally, the whole state legislature in New Jersey is facing re-election on Tuesday. A member of the controversial “Oath Keeper” group, who was at the Capitol on January 6, is running for New Jersey Assembly. Like in Virginia, the NAACP is running a “get out the vote” campaign for Black voters in New Jersey.
In Nevada, a Republican voter is being charged with voter fraud for voting on behalf of his decreased wife.
In Colorado, election clerks are trying to combat misinformation in order prevent voters from losing faith in elections.
In Minnesota, on Tuesday, Minneapolis voters will decide whether to dismantle the city’s police department.
In Georgia, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell endorsed Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker, which is a sign that the GOP is fully coalescing around Walker.
Culture
A local state house race in Texas is testing whether Republicans can continue to make gains with Latino voters.
The President of Liberty University is under fire over a leak where he allegedly said that one of the goals of the university is to elect Republicans.
Both the Virginia and New Jersey election results could have major implications for national politics. Virginia in particular will test if Democrats can continue to turn out Black voters in large numbers, and if Republicans can make progress in the suburbs.
The San Francisco Supervisors have voted to allow non-citizens to vote in school board elections.
Biden has expressed an openness to changing the filibuster to allow for a voting rights bill to pass. This past week there was a rally for voting rights near the Capitol
The New Yorker has this profile on Andrew Yang’s aim to create a third party.
Corporate
Internal Facebook papers have revealed that the company ignored concerns over how the social network could harm elections.
Mother Jones has a report that says a major Democrat data firm is also helping elect far right Republicans.
Rolling Stone is taking issue that some corporations are continuing to donate to politicians that the publication believes were involved in the January 6 riot.
The New Yorker has a piece taking aim at West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s ties to corporations.
Todd Carney is a writer based in Washington, DC. The views in this piece are his alone and do not reflect the views of his employer.
