PLI Bulletin

Vote by Mail, Sick Leave, the Essential Message and More

Posted on April 22, 2020

Vote by Mail Act: We need to increase voting by mail as much as possible to prevent coronavirus infections and save lives. The Vote by Mail Act requires that all registered voters be mailed a ballot and that they can vote by returning that ballot by mail, by voting at an early voting center, or by voting at a polling place on Election Day.

The essential message against Trump and conservatives: Conservatives have trapped themselves in a course of action and a debate that could destroy them, if only progressives understand and engage. They are calling for Americans to risk their lives to “reopen” the economy, a natural choice for Trump because he hasn’t a drop of empathy in his body. For three reasons why this is a powerfully advantageous debate for progressives, read the latest IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

Series of excellent podcasts on politics and policy: The website Talking Points Memo offers more than one-hundred episodes of The Josh Marshall Podcast, which covers a very wide range of policy issues and a wider range of progressive political concerns.

How Can Localities Build Strong Earned Sick Leave Laws? There are very substantial variations in the earned sick leave laws among U.S. cities. The National League of Cities published a policy brief on paid leave by CityHealth that includes a set of statistics, research and resources.

State Options to Shore up Revenues and Improve Tax Codes amid Pandemic: States face huge shortfalls in revenues, perhaps as much as $500 billion. This report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) provides a series of options for increasing revenues.

Preparing to Win: A guide for successful advocacy: The Public Leadership Institute published a Second Edition of its flagship advocacy manual, which is available online here.