What A Day - Naked Ballots & Afraid

Episode Date: September 23, 2020

America has passed the grim milestone of 200,000 deaths in the COVID-19 crisis, which was made far worse by Trump’s abjectly poor leadership. The FDA is expected to roll out new, more rigorous standards for approving the coronavirus vaccines following concerns that Trump would try to push out an unsafe drug. As the election approaches, there have been a deluge of legal cases seeking to address how people can vote during the pandemic. We discuss legal battles in four swing states: North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. And in headlines: a Black man in Wisconsin is suing police after being held at gunpoint in his own home, the Trump administration tries to re-impose UN sanctions on Iran against the UN’s will, and millions of dollars in mask fines for NFL coaches.Show links:"They're called 'naked ballots': Here's why they could play a pivotal role in the election"https://www.wtae.com/article/theyre-called-naked-ballots-heres-why-they-could-play-a-pivotal-role-in-the-election/34114663#Info & volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania:https://votesaveamerica.com/state/pennsylvania/

It's Wednesday, September 23rd. I'm Akilah Hughes. And I'm Gideon Resnick, and this is What Today, where we are sad to announce that Mitt Romney is no longer part of the Resistance. See, I always thought it was weird when we started including him because he has villain hair, and like, that is a red flag. He does. Although Gavin Newsom has villain hair, too. Just stating facts. I mean... On today's show, some updates on voting in key states and what the hell are naked ballots. Then some headlines. Voter suppression can't work if you double check your registration, make a plan to vote,

get all the info you need on Vote Save America. It can't work if you decide that you are determined to vote. That's how you beat voter suppression. Show up. So vote. Do it. Yeah, vote. Do it. That was Kendall Jenner talking to Crooked's very own Jon Favreau about getting registered to vote. Jon, we absolutely stan. We'll get back to voting in a moment, but first, the latest. According to official estimates, America has passed the grim milestone of 200,000 deaths in the COVID-19 crisis. The true number is likely much higher as testing at the beginning of the pandemic lagged,

and even now, as testing has ramped up, we're still only doing 16% of the recommended testing. And we got here for several reasons, the biggest of which being the absolutely abominable response from the Trump administration. Donald Trump consistently and intentionally downplayed the severity of the virus, misled Americans on when the pandemic would end, and vilified local governments that followed the guidance of actual public health officials. He set numerous bad and divisive examples, including holding an indoor rally in the midst of the worsening crisis that resulted in Herman Cain's death. And at a rally this week, speaking about the impact of the virus on young people, he said, quote, it affects virtually

nobody. It's an amazing thing. By the way, open your schools. Everybody open your schools. Since the president won't say it, I'm sorry to the 200,000 plus families who are mourning the loss of their loved ones. I'm sorry that the leader of this country doesn't cherish the lives We are more prepared to lead, that's for sure. Looking forward, Trump has claimed publicly that a vaccine would be ready before Election Day. But based on all of our reporting, that seems less than likely. So what's the latest there? So there's so much happening. I'm going to try to be succinct.

On September 15th, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar barred the nation's health agencies, including the FDA, from signing any new rules regarding the past few months, political appointees pressured by Trump have been messing with standard scientific and regulatory processes at the health agencies. For example, the CDC's website was updated to say that a COVID test wasn't necessary if you don't show symptoms after being in contact with a person infected with COVID-19. That language was not added by CDC scientists. And that language was reversed on Friday of last week. And seemingly in response to polling that suggests that people are increasingly reluctant and untrusting of the safety of a vaccine, and that's thanks to Trump's baseless promises about when a tested vaccine could be delivered, and to boost transparency, the FDA is now expected to spell out new, more rigorous standards for coronavirus vaccines.

Those are expected to come out as soon as this week and will make it exceedingly difficult for any vaccine to be cleared before Election Day. Right. So let's get into what we know about those new standards so far. Right. So the FDA would ask manufacturers seeking an emergency authorization to follow participants in late stage clinical trials for a median of at least two months, starting after they receive a second vaccine shot. This is according to individuals familiar with the situation who spoke to the Washington Post under the condition of anonymity. You may recall how quickly Donald Trump secured an FDA emergency authorization for hydroxychloroquine, a medicine not shown to alleviate COVID-19 symptoms as a COVID-19 treatment, and that authorization was later revoked. But the upshot here is that these new standards make it unlikely, then, that the FDA could approve a vaccine for public

consumption before December at the very earliest. And outside of the FDA, a group of Black physicians has created their own expert task force to independently vet regulators' decisions about COVID-19 drugs and vaccines, as well as government recommendations for curbing the pandemic. It's being organized by the National Medical Association, which was founded in 1895 as an answer to racist professional societies that excluded Black doctors. And the committee is meant to safeguard against any unscientific guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. Yeah, very important in gating public trust and having the messengers that are capable of doing just that.

Yeah, for sure. All right, well, let's switch gears back to the election. As November 3rd quickly approaches, six weeks away, we're seeing a deluge of legal cases throughout the country seeking to address how people can vote during the pandemic, specifically how and when mail-in ballots will be counted. Yesterday, there was a significant update out of North Carolina, a critical swing state. So what did we learn? So one of the major things is that election officials in the state agreed to count all the ballots they get up until November 12th, which is nine days after Election Day, so long as they are postmarked by Election Day. This, of course, means a number of things.

One, it should open the door to more votes being counted. We've, of course, discussed all the insane rules that are put in place that inevitably disenfranchise voters in many, many states. So this is a welcome sign. And it shouldn't take litigation to get here, but perhaps this year can set a precedent for how these things are done in the future. And two, it adds more credence to the idea that we could be talking about results of an election week or weeks, as opposed to election day, which is also good and fine because it's not a sporting event. And the more people that participate in this, the better. In addition to this extension,

according to Mark Elias, the attorney for the plaintiffs, North Carolina will also be setting up stations for voters to drop off their ballots and allow for a so-called cure process so that voters can correct possible mistakes on mailed-in ballots. Yeah, I mean, hopefully you guys don't make mistakes before you send them in, but yeah, I guess that's good. And this is part of a broader pattern that we've been seeing, though. Slowly but surely, states are extending that deadline. Yeah, to go through some more recent updates, on Monday, a federal judge in Wisconsin came up with a similar ruling. If you have your ballot postmarked by Election Day, it can be counted as

long as it's getting there up to six days after. Once again, this, too, is coming from litigation and stems from that disastrous April primary. But the judge in this case didn't grant other changes that Democrats were seeking, like allowing officials to start counting absentee ballots before Election Day and expanding early voting. Now, we'll have to see if there's an appeal of the decision, which would first go to the circuit court and then potentially the Supreme Court. So yes, a bridge we will cross when we get there. Yeah, well, we talked about North Carolina, we talked about Wisconsin, but there were also updates in two other swing states, Michigan and Pennsylvania. So let's go over those. There is some okay news there too. I know that's not something we often say, but it's true. A judge in Michigan decided

last Friday that if your ballot is postmarked by November 2nd, the day before election day and received within 14 days after election day, it is eligible. And let's wrap it up with Pennsylvania for now. So last week, the state Supreme Court put out a bunch of decisions. Here are a couple. One is that voters are going to be allowed to submit ballots via drop boxes. Two is that mail ballots will be accepted if they are received by 5pm on the Friday after the election and postmarked on election day. So for people counting at home, that's at least four swing states that might not have full results on election night. Great. I'm going to try to maintain my chill for several, several nights as they count these ballots.

But let's talk about naked ballots. I've been thinking about it. You said naked. What is a naked ballot? We all have it on our minds. Let's just get into it. Something else happened last week as well with the state Supreme Court in Pennsylvania. So per the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Supreme Court ordered that, quote,

naked ballots that show up without, quote, secrecy envelopes be discarded. So the state reportedly has a two-envelope mail ballot system because truly nothing in the world can be straightforward. A voter completes a ballot, pops it into the secret envelope that doesn't have identifying info, and then that goes into the mailing envelope that the voter signs and sends. Also per the inquiry, this is the first year that any voter in the state can participate by mail. So it's unclear how many people this could impact or if they would get it wrong. Yeah, I mean, honestly, voting should not be this complicated. But because we know it is, we have a link in our show notes for voters in Pennsylvania showing you how to mail your ballot. That's right. So the state legislature could now move to make changes here. And the chair of the Philadelphia city commissioners

wrote to them to request that the lobby change, saying that tens of thousands of ballots could be in jeopardy. We'll keep following that and all the other updates out of the economy that's actually doing well during the pandemic. Vintage movie shirt sales. An article in the Wall Street Journal described how some sellers are moving from flea markets to Instagram Live. One guy hosts a weekend-long virtual flea where vendors book slots to sell shirts like a vintage Aladdin tee with a big picture of the genie that just went for $6,000. So Giddy, everybody has that one vintage shirt

they wouldn't sell for any price. What is yours, movie or otherwise? I have a Jurassic Park shirt somewhere that I think doesn't fit anymore. Has been kept even though it doesn't fit, so I would not sell it. And I also have a Psycho tee from the movie that has a little Bates Motel action going on, which is something I'm going to keep when movies no longer exist and the planet is fully gone. And I tell my grandchildren that that's what

movies were like in the 1960s. So they wear a t-shirt, Grandpa? Yes. I think that's really great. I mean, when you wear them, do people react? Are they like, wow, cool, deep cut? Not really, no. And I also, I, so the thing about like reacting to clothing in public is I feel like it has to be like really subtle. If it gets us into a conversation, I don't like it. And I start to feel a little bit like, let's move on with the day. But if it's a nice little like, huh. Like I saw a guy wearing the Equemini like Outkast album cover one time leaving a concert. And we did a little like, uh-huh thing to each other and that

that felt cool but then if it had turned into a conversation it would have felt bad anyway um same question for you though what's your go-to vintage shirt item yeah well i would say the first thing i have to say is i love that in these tip checks we always get a glimpse of your personality because the fact that you would be uh i don't know bothered by having a long conversation about your shirt is so your personality which i love um but yes i do have several shirts that i i could never part with i have a luther vandross vintage shirt that is like the best vintage tee i've ever gotten and quite frankly people have offered money and i'm like no no you're never gonna get this one and either like my kids won't have it like i'm being buried vintage tee I've ever gotten. And quite frankly, people have offered money and I'm like, no,

no, you're never going to get this one. And either like my kids won't have it. Like I'm being buried in that Luther Vandross shirt. And then, you know, I got a gift from a friend for my birthday once. So she's from Toronto and she got me a Degrassi t-shirt. Well, she didn't get it for me. She had this Degrassi t-shirt that was signed by the cast, including Drake. Wow. And so it is just like sitting folded in my storage unit. And don't look for my storage unit because I will show up. No one is getting that Drake shirt either. Yeah, we are actually leaving right now to guard it. Just in fact, anybody gets any fresh ideas, you've been warned.

There you go. Well, just like that, we've checked our temps. Stay safe. Put on a t-shirt. And we'll be back with another tip check tomorrow. Let's wrap up with some headlines. Headlines. A black man in Wisconsin is suing the Monona City Police Department after he was falsely arrested and held at gunpoint in his own home.

23-year-old Keontae Furge was arrested in June after a neighbor called the police because they were suspicious of him for, you guessed it, sitting on his own patio in a mostly white neighborhood. So according to the lawsuit, two officers entered furge's home without knocking or getting a warrant after drawing their guns and handcuffing furge the officers released him and said there had been a misunderstanding the suit makes claims for false arrests unlawful entry and excessive force among other things then in kentucky the family of david mcatee a restaurant owner who was fatally shot by the state's national guard during protests in june filed a lawsuit against the Louisville Police Department and the Kentucky National Guard.

The names of the individuals who shot McAtee have not been released, and no one has been charged in the killing so far. The Trump administration made the unilateral declaration this weekend that the United Nations would re-impose sanctions on Iran, leading the UN chief and several other countries to clarify over the past few days that they actually were not doing that. The White House said they were entitled to make the move because Iran failed to fully comply with the Iran nuclear deal. But the rest of the world says the move is illegal because Trump withdrew from that deal two years ago. Iran's foreign minister said that the sanctions won't really have any effect on the country and that this all felt like a

publicity stunt for Trump before his election. Honestly, at this point, what isn't? True. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo painted the decision as an action to further the administration's Middle East peace plan, which, as we know, is the brainchild of ghost child Jared Kushner. Okay. Today's mask laws are tough but fair. The NFL just fined five coaches a total of $1.75 million for neglecting to wear face coverings at games. Coaches from the Seahawks, 49ers, Broncos, Raiders, and Saints will be charged $100,000 each, while their teams each have to pay $250,000. Many of the coaches were wearing gaiters, but like scarves instead of masks, they looked like they were off to a lovely autumn

stroll in the park when they should have looked like they were protecting themselves and others against an infectious disease. The NFL's rules on face coverings are very clear, requiring everyone in the bench area except players to wear masks at all times. Counting down the days until someone starts running ads saying $1 million mask fines are part of Joe Biden's plan for America. At least he has plans. Well, get ready to expand your definition of personal protective equipment. New reporting has shown that the Pentagon spent millions of dollars meant to fund production of coronavirus-related medical supplies on defense priorities like drones, aircraft parts, and army dress uniforms. The Department of Defense received $1 billion through the CARES Act, which Congress earmarked for masks, gloves, etc. Then

the DOD decided that the real priority when fighting off coronavirus should be protecting defense contractors, so they funneled most of that money to companies like GE Aviation, which was maybe building airplanes that could blow up COVID aerosols using little missiles. We don't know. The worst part is that the CARES Act already included appropriations for COVID-affected businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program, and 10 of the approximately 30 defense contractors that got money from the DOD also received that funding. A representative for the Pentagon defended the spending, but the Democratic led House Appropriations Committee said it went against their intentions. Representatives Mark

McCann and Barbara Lee are calling for a formal investigation. Personally, I have started wearing a huge jet turbine from the government in front of my face, which I spin whenever I am within six feet of a stranger. Inventive and effective. Yep. Those are the headlines. That's all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, put some clothes on your naked ballots for Christ's sake and tell your friends to listen.

And if you're into reading and not just NFL rules on face coverings like me, What A Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at cricket.com slash subscribe. I'm Akilah Hughes. I'm Gideon Resnick. And thanks for pitching in, Kendall Jenner. This is one campaign that you're doing that we can really get behind. It's true. It's true.

I'm off to drink a cold Pepsi. What a Day is a Crooked Media production. It's recorded and mixed by Charlotte Landis. Sonia Tan is our assistant producer. Our head writer is John Milstein and our senior producer is Katie Long. Our theme music is by Colin Gilliard and Kashaka. Thank you.