Voting From Home: How COVID-19 is Changing The Vote

In some states, primary voting during COVID-19 has been off to a rocky start. Long lines and crowds at the polls aren’t great for social distancing. And as cases continue to spike across the US, some states are looking to expand their ‘vote by mail’ options ahead of November. We’ll break down what voting for president could look like in a global pandemic and what experts say election officials and lawmakers should start doing now to prepare us.  Also: ahead of the fourth of July, some lawmakers are pushing to add a 51st state to the union. We’ll explain the (long) history of Washington DC’s quest for statehood and why it’s coming up again.  And finally, the new documentary “(In)Visible Portraits” has been described as “a love letter to Black women, from Black women.” We sat down with the filmmaker to discuss how she’s looking to reveal history you may not have learned about in school.  On this episode, you’ll hear from:  Myrna Pérez, Director, Voting Rights & Elections Program, Brennan Center for Justice  Oge Egbuonu, director of “(In)Visible Portraits” Let us know what questions you have about what’s going on in the news right now. Email us at audio@theskimm.com or call and leave us a voicemail at: 646-461-6370. You might hear your message on the show.  If you want to add theSkimm to your daily routine, sign-up for our free newsletter the Daily Skimm. It’s everything you need to know to start your day, right in your inbox.