[EL] State-level continuity of governance-

[Jeff Wice]

The National Conference of State Legislature's (NCSL) website is posting information on what state  governments are doing on the shutdowns and emergency measures. About 15 state legislatures have already suspended or delayed sessions. The website can be accessed via www.ncsl.org or 

NCSL Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resources ( https://share.polymail.io/v1/z/b/NWU2ZTljOWVhMGFl/s4dBQpSrMVfFYqbI_NNIGRwDqvMEPeZyIlOkqer9uBCpiRzijtpmAnPsIyweKoYI8BJ2_17KFk7Y9HfWy8tZkdift-X7o93DqF4lwn27QsZmS2tdkqpOFdf0nxDA0wYrX6qrjPFfXcL5CeqLHcnD8Gxjasaosq7V_MDcIZLLI3G-21SjbiAf1LGbUZabFLa3nemkGuw_FyZyCeClYWC4yaoMb6GAWJOhsL1FBEojmRvyBZxd-8YrU2Lz4MXl ) The spread of the coronavirus continues to be a top concern and, while the federal government leads the national response to COVID-19, state lawmakers are taking extra steps to respond to and anticipate impacts of the virus. NCSL is committed to providing our members with timely responses to state research requests and the essential knowledge needed to guide state action. This page is updated daily to reflect new resources in policy areas ranging from education to health care costs and access. ( https://share.polymail.io/v1/z/b/NWU2ZTljOWVhMGFl/s4dBQpSrMVfFYqbI_NNIGRwDqvMEPeZyIlOkqer9uBCpiRzijtpmAnPsIyweKoYI8BJ2_17KFk7Y9HfWy8tZkdift-X7o93DqF4lwn27QsZmS2tdkqpOFdf0nxDA0wYrX6qrjPFfXcL5CeqLHcnD8Gxjasaosq7V_MDcIZLLI3G-21SjbiAf1LGbUZabFLa3nemkGuw_FyZyCeClYWC4yaoMb6GAWJOhsL1FBEojmRvyBZxd-8YrU2Lz4MXl ) WWW.NCSL.ORG ( https://share.polymail.io/v1/z/b/NWU2ZTljOWVhMGFl/s4dBQpSrMVfFYqbI_NNIGRwDqvMEPeZyIlOkqer9uBCpiRzijtpmAnPsIyweKoYI8BJ2_17KFk7Y9HfWy8tZkdift-X7o93DqF4lwn27QsZmS2tdkqpOFdf0nxDA0wYrX6qrjPFfXcL5CeqLHcnD8Gxjasaosq7V_MDcIZLLI3G-21SjbiAf1LGbUZabFLa3nemkGuw_FyZyCeClYWC4yaoMb6GAWJOhsL1FBEojmRvyBZxd-8YrU2Lz4MXl )

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I'll update the listserv on NCSL's activities regarding election law and state law/process changes as soon as I have the information.

Jeff Wice

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On Sun, Mar 15th, 2020 at 12:29 PM, Rob Richie <rr at fairvote.org> wrote:

> 
> I am surprised by the silence on David's very reasonable query.
> 
> 
> AEI's Norm Onstein has addressed the issue of continuity of governance
> with important thinking and reports for years. He had this piece in the
> Atlantic (
> https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/congress-needs-contingency-plan-right-now/607933/
> ) a couple days addressing this issue through the lens of Congress. It
> includes: "There is no plan in place for Congress to hold remote meetings
> or otherwise conduct its business if it becomes impossible for its members
> to meet together, face to face in the Capitol or at another site in the
> District of Columbia. And that needs to change, right now."
> 
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone might know what other nations are doing with this
> challenge as well.
> 
> 
> 
> Rob
> 
> 
> 
> Rob
> 
> 
> On Sat, Mar 14, 2020 at 10:34 PM David Segal < david at demandprogress.org >
> wrote:
> 
> 
>> Two NY lawmakers just tested positive. This is all about to spiral.
>> 
>> 
>> https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/14/nyregion/coronavirus-ny.html
>> 
>> 
>> On Sat, Mar 14, 2020 at 8:39 PM David Segal < david at demandprogress.org >
>> wrote:
>> 
>> 
>>> Hi, everybody-
>>> 
>>> 
>>> One thing I'm trying to sound the alarm about:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Many, or perhaps most, state legislatures have no contingencies in place
>>> to allow for things like remote voting by lawmakers.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> This could be disastrous, as it will be harder and harder to get quorums
>>> to meet in person. And such meetings will be necessary to pass things like
>>> budgets -- *and changes to voting laws to help make sure that elections
>>> take place at scale and with integrity. *
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I'd urge anybody who has contacts with state officials to raise this issue
>>> with them ASAP so they can seek to make changes to their own procedures to
>>> allow for continuity of governance. It's disconcerting, but not shocking,
>>> that there's been almost no thought put into this here in RI.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> (This is also a concern for Congress, but I know they are at least
>>> thinking about it now.)
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -David
>>> 
>> 
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>> Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
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> 
> 
> 
> 
> --
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Rob Richie
> President and CEO, FairVote  
> 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 240
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> 
> 
> 
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> 
>
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