2026Talks

Some states this year use ranked-choice voting. What are some of the benefits during COVID-19? Plus, President Trump and former VP Biden continue to battle over the Affordable Care Act.

Hawai'i, Alaska and Wyoming instead of delaying their in-person primaries and caucuses, cancelled them and switched to all vote-by-mail. Plus, it's Trans Day of Visibility, and the two remaining Democrats showed their support on Twitter. The Trump administration while in office has rolled back protections for the transgender community.

During the new coronavirus pandemic, many are advocating more mail-in ballots. Some say restricting voting by mail is one method of suppressing the vote.  

Campaigning from Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders has been virtual, and largely about the novel coronavirus. Sanders also spoke out about the Trump administration's Interior Department order to disestablish the Mashpee Wampanoag's reservation in Southern Massachusetts.  

3.3 million people reported being jobless last week, according to new Labor Department numbers. And Puerto Rico was supposed to hold primaries this weekend, though they pushed it back to late April, because of COVID-19.

The first person in ICE custody tested positive for the coronavirus this weekend, and advocates are worried about COVID-19 spread in detention facilities. The Senate is working to pass a stimulus package, which includes money for elections.

COVID-19 cases continue to grow, and this year's elections face many changes. There's lots of debate in Congress, though, on exactly how to proceed.

Former VP Joe Biden spoke yesterday for the first time in a week on the 10th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. The Nurses Union petitioned Congress to provide an emergency temporary standard for health workers, and stimulus funding for elections won't go to Wyoming's primary, because it's run by the party and not the state.  

Congress and the White House are working on coronavirus response, but Senators disagree on how to provide economic stimulus and relief. Bernie Sanders is using his campaign as a way to provide information about the response, and advocate for help for working people.

Tulsi Gabbard drops out of the race for president, and discussions continue on how to move forward through the coronavirus with almost half of the states' primaries still yet to occur.  

Ohio cancelled its primary this week, Florida, Arizona and Illinois went on. What are states going forward planning to do? The DNC recommends voting by mail, but there are some limitations.

Joe Biden won primaries in Arizona, Illinois and Florida yesterday. Ohio was supposed to vote in person yesterday too, but postponed at the last minute. And in Florida, Demos is filing a suit requesting a statewide extension for voting by mail.

Three states vote in primaries today, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, including Florida, where the right to vote for people with past felony convictions was restored in 2018. Ohio had planned to vote today, but the Governor declared a public health emergency and closed polls.  

Former VP Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders faced off in the first one-on-one debate of the primary season. Coronavirus showed up, in a lengthy debate discussion, plus lecterns six feet apart and no handshakes beforehand.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders address the coronavirus, and the Trump administration's response so far. In Ohio, some voting procedures have changed, like moving polling locations away from nursing homes.

Sen. Bernie Sanders didn't do so well in Tuesday's primaries, and former VP Joe Biden still has a huge lead. How have young voters and switches from caucuses to primaries played into recent contests?

Former VP Joe Biden widened his delegate lead last night, including by winning Michigan, which Sen. Bernie Sanders took in 2016. Sanders led voters under 35, but trailed Biden overall.  

Six states have primaries today, including Washington where 19 people have died from the coronavirus. The virus shouldn't affect turnout, because Washington's a vote by mail state.

Tomorrow's the Michigan primary, and both former VP Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders have scored some big endorsements. Plus, one attendee of the Conservative Political Action Conference -- also attended by President Trump and other White House officials -- has now tested positive for the coronavirus. 

Senator Elizabeth Warren drops her bid for the nomination. Some folks in states that vote next Tuesday already voted by mail-in absentee -- and some for Warren -- but Michigan gives their voters the option to "spoil" a ballot, have it destroyed and replaced by their local clerk's office. 

After disappointing results for former NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg on Super Tuesday, he dropped out of the race. Some voters in Texas faced extremely long lines and wait times to vote, due to high turnout.

Former VP Joe Biden carried eight states yesterday, and VT Sen. Bernie Sanders the other four, including California, the biggest delegate haul. Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg took American Samoa, but didn't do quite so well elsewhere.

It's Super Tuesday, and 15 states and territories vote today. MN Sen. Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race yesterday, and she along with former candidates Pete Buttigieg and Beto O'Rourke endorsed former VP Joe Biden at a Dallas rally. 

Former VP Joe Biden won the South Carolina primary, by a wide margin. Businessman Tom Steyer and former South Bend, IN Mayor Pete Buttigieg dropped out, ahead of Super Tuesday. And candidates joined marchers in Selma, AL to commemorate 55 years since police violently stopped voting rights demonstrators from crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge. 

Tomorrow are the South Carolina primaries, and former VP Joe Biden leads in the poll, followed by winner of the first three contests, Sen. Bernie Sanders and businessman Tom Steyer. Some Republican South Carolinians may vote for Sanders because they want closed primaries.