We are 16 days away from Election Day 2020 and early voters are being especially proactive this year. More than 27 million ballots have already been cast by U.S. voters.

Early voters are taking advantage of their right to vote early in such a crucial election. Compared to 2016, there is a 152% increase in votes casted by this point in the election. As of Friday, ballots are available in all 50 states.

Nevada opened early in person voting on Saturday and Georgia voters have already casted 1,450,000 ballots as of Sunday afternoon. These are record highs compared to previous years.

Early voting has been seen to increase in popularity from 2004 to 2016. Voters are are exercising their rights in this important election because there is so much at stake. Democrats are taking the lead in numbers in early voting this election.

While we are still a little over 2 weeks away from Election Day, voters are continuing to shatter records and exercise their rights. For more information on voting and the 2020 Election, visit CIMA Law Group and CIMA Blog.

At this point it seems as though Trump’s electoral magic has worn off as Biden’s lead widens the gap for a 2nd term under the current U.S. President. Now, as reports suggest that President Trump has only paid a mere total of $750 in federal income taxes, polling on the topic suggests that his conduct has further hindered his chances for re-election.  A recent polling conducted  by the Economist and YouGov had asked the question, “Does it make you angry if this is all Trump paid ($750) in federal income taxes?”. The results expose a remarkable disproportionality in answers, with 68% of American answering “Yes” and 24% answering “No”. This signifies that even many members within President Trump’s own base have found the news behind these tax leaks to be considered unacceptable and grossly unfair.

However, this unearthing should not be entirely surprising with the consideration of a 2018 study dubbed “The Triumph of Injustice”. Conducted by University of California at Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, they presented claims which for the first time in history, U.S. Billionaires paid a lower tax rate than the working class in 2018. Asserting how the average effective tax rate paid by America’s wealthiest 400 families was 23%, whereas the bottom half of households paid 24.2%; effectively forming a regressive tax system. These leaks are uncovered in an tremendously inopportune time for President Trump, especially with election day arriving in less than a months time. Yet, even in the instance where the current U.S. president were to lose this coming election, revelations detail that Trump is personally liable for more than $400 million in debt. This includes more than $300 million in loans that will come due in the next four years. Leaving many questions and posing extreme scrutinization of his coming actions.

Proposition 207 – Marijuana Legalization Initiative

This proposition aims to legalize the use, purchase, and transport of marijuana for people who are 21 years of age or older. People also have the ability to grow marijuana plants, although there are restrictions on the quantity and location. Smoking marijuana in public and driving under the influence of marijuana are still illegal under this provision. Section 3 of the initiative appropriates money within the medical marijuana fund that was collected from fees, civil penalties, and private donations to a variety of causes. These include teen suicide prevention, maternal morality prevention, posion control, substance abuse prevention, and reducing impaired driving. 

Institutions such as employers, schools, healthcare facilities, and government properties have the right to restrict the use of marijuana on their property at their discretion. Additionally there are clear restrictions against the use of marijuana for individuals under the age of 21. For example, underage people who possess, consume, transport, or transfer marijuana will pay a fine and receive drug counseling for their first violation. For a second violation, the person will be charged with a petty offense and required to attend more drug counseling. For a third or subsequent violation, the individual will be charged with a misdemeanor. Underage people who grow marijuana or lie about their age to acquire marijuana will face slightly more severe consequences, beginning with a petty offense on the first violation. 

There are also strict licensing requirements for the establishment of dispensaries and pharmacies supplying marijuana, including ratios and limits on the number of establishments. The initiative also provides methods for oversight such as random inspection of marijuana facilities and requiring surveillance of vehicles being used to transport marijuana. People wishing to work as marijuana facility agents are required to be registered with the department and must fulfill certain background check requirements. Marijuana establishments have the ability to advertise, but places restrictions on the type of advertising, including an age verification requirement for ads targeted at individuals. Marketing of marijuana products is also limited in its ability to mimic familiar food, drink, and figures that appeal to children. 

Money that is collected through the excise tax and license fees is put into a Smart and Safe Arizona fund which allocates money to community colleges, municipal police and fire departments, state highway funds, the Justice Reinvestment Fund, and to the Arizona Attorney General for enforcement of marijuana regulations. The Justice Reinvestment Fund consists of funding for local public health departments and the Department of Homeland Security to create nonprofit justice reinvestment programs and to address Arizona public health issues.

Proposition 208 – Invest in Education Initiative 

Proposition 208 is known as the Tax on Incomes Exceeding $250,000 for Teacher Salaries and Schools Initiative. The purpose of this initiative is to address underfunding that has led to a shortage of school teachers and ensure that a long term plan is implemented to improve Arizona’s education system. It establishes the Student Support and Safety Fund which provides funding for school districts, charter schools, the creation of a Career Training and Workforce Fund, and teacher academies. 

The Career Training and Workforce Program expands career and technical education, hires more school counselors, creates academic acceleration programs, introduces more advanced placement and international baccalaureate classes, increases access to dual enrollment programs, minimizes absences from school, provides tutoring for students that need it, and expands mental health and mentoring resources. 

The Arizona teachers academy is a program meant to be implemented in postsecondary institutions as a way of incentivizing students to join the education profession by committing to teach in Arizona public schools after the completion of their training. There is a focus on high-demand specializations such as special education, science, technology, engineering, and math. It also develops an accelerated model for low-income students and schools located on Native American reservations. Additionally, the recruitment process places an emphasis on recreating the diversity of the state student population within the Arizona teachers academy. 

This initiative creates a 3.5% tax on income in addition to existing income tax. However, it only applies to individuals filing with an income over $250,000 or joint filing with an income over $500,000. 

California Proposition 25, the Replace Cash Bail with Risk Assessments Referendum, is on the California ballot as a veto referendum. Prop. 25 decides the fate of Senate Bill 10 which “eliminates the cash bail system, replacing it with an algorithm than determines whether a person is held in jail or let out on their own recognizance” (Edinger, 2020).

In California, the cash bail system is constructed to release detainees before their trials commence. Criminal suspects pay a cash bond that release them from jail, pending trial, with the promise to return for court hearings and trial. Regardless of the outcome, criminal suspects are repaid the cash bond after completion of criminal trials. Bail is thus used to “ensure the presence of the defendant before the court” (Judicial Council of California).

As it relates to the cash bail system, Senate Bill 10 (SB 10), signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown in 2018, sought to eliminate the cash bail system and replace it with risk assessments as determinants of whether a suspect ” should be granted pretrial release and under what conditions. The risk assessments would categorize suspects as low risk, medium risk, or high risk” regarding the risk of failing to appear in court and to public safety.

• Low-risk suspects would be released from jail while awaiting court hearings and trial
• Medium-risk suspects have the opportunity to be released from jail while awaiting court hearings and trial, depending on the local court’s rules
• High-risk suspects would remain in jail while awaiting court hearings and trial, with the opportunity to argue their release before a judge
• Important to note:
  • SB 10 would exempt misdemeanor suspects from needing risk assessment to be released

As a veto referendum, Proposition 25, if passed, would uphold SB 10, which would replace cash bail with risk assessment for criminal suspects. A “no” vote for Proposition 25 would repeal SB 10, maintaining the use of the cash bail system for detainees awaiting court hearings and trials.

Protests continue as the Armenian and Azerbaijani forces have been at war due to Azerbaijani accusing Armenia of targeting the countries cities that are past the war zone. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds of others have been wounded in result of the war.

Azerbaijani President Aliyev stated that the only way to end the conflict will require Armenia’s withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, a middle ground between the two countries. Turkey’s foreign ministry condemned the attacks on Armenia arguing that the country has no regard for the law.

Violence in Numbers:

• Nagorno Karabakh
  • 200 servicemen have been killed, 18 civilians have been killed, and 90 civilians have been wounded.
• Azerbaijan
  • 24 civilians have been killed and 111 civilians have been injured.

Turkey has publicly defended Azerbaijan calling Armenia a threat to peace. Russia has relations to both Armenia and Azerbaijan by selling military equipment to both countries in the past.

According to info from #Artsakh Defense Forces, since this afternoon #Azerbaijan Armed Forces, concentrating reserve forces & large number of mil equipment, launched large-scale attack towards southern direction of line of contact btw Artsakh & Azerbaijan.https://t.co/B15UX3umcb

— MFA of Armenia🇦🇲 (@MFAofArmenia) October 6, 2020

It seems that this tragic conflict is far from over at this point. For more information on government relations and current events, visit CIMA Law Group and CIMA Law Group Blog.

U.S. President Donald Trump has slammed the newly approved U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules which would make circumstances incredibly difficult to pass a vaccine to be approved before the election. In a tweet Tuesday night, on October 6th, Trump had posted a tweet aimed at FDA Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn stating how “New FDA Rules make it more difficult for them to speed up vaccines for approval before Election Day. Just another political hit job!”. Insider reporting has told that Trump has had multiple conversations with C.E.Os of major drug-maker and pharmaceutical companies to attempt to convince for quicker and more responsive action in accordance with the pandemic. Even going as far as to suggest moving faster than his own health advisors say would be reasonable, and continually asking and pressuring executive board members to accommodate his desire to have a vaccine before Election Day. 

However, the implications of these actions suggest concerning dilemmas by having rushed a vaccine that is not given enough time to appropriately be utilized for its intended use. With the prioritization of timeliness over quality, analysts believe that citizens would bear paranoia and uncertainty to be considered safe for widespread use. Dr. Esther Choo, an emergency physician and professor at Oregon Health and Science University, condemns the actions of the administration and has little faith in the quality assurance of the vaccine by stating “There just seems to be this huge pressure from an administration that has been very effective at getting everything wrong”. In addition, political theorists and analysts see this as an attempt for Trump to boost his election numbers in order to be known as the presidential face behind its potential eradication and containment. This rampaging of testing processes place safe-guards and restrictions previously established by the FDA and similar agencies at stake to certify the well-being of patients and the population alike. Leaving for many questions that the momentary future will have no issue in answering.

Friday, October 1, President Trump announced in a tweet his and First Lady Trump’s positive diagnosis for COVID-19, sharing,

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

– President Trump: @realDonaldTrump

Since President Trump’s announcement, his COVID-19 diagnosis and status has been questioned in regards to the date and the president’s knowledge of his diagnosis and the status of his health in the days following his diagnosis. “As a precautionary measure recommended by the president’s physician,” Dr. Sean Conley, President Trump was flown to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Friday evening (NBC, 2020). Saturday morning, Dr. Conley reported President Trump’s 72-hour span into his diagnosis despite the public’s knowledge of his diagnosis only 36 hours as of Saturday morning.

Along with Dr. Conley’s reports, mystery surrounding the exact details of the president’s health status stem from aides and the White House, especially as it concerns the timeline of President Trump’s diagnosis and treatment. For instance, Dr. Conley further disclosed the president’s health condition had “improved” despite experiencing “significant oxygen drops on Friday and Saturday and was given dexamethasone — a steroid that is typically reserved only for severely ill coronavirus patients” (Hawkins et al., 2020).

President Trump then, on Sunday, October 4, went out in a motorcade to greet supporters, in disregard of health and safety precautions such as quarantining to avoid further exposure and contagion. Dr. James Phillips, an attending physician at Walter Reed, expressed,

This is insanity. Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecesary presidential ‘drive-by’ just now has to be quarantined for 14 days. They might get sick. They may die.

Dr. James Phillips

Such sentiments, as well as others, call into question President Trump’s mentality about the virus and how many others, including high-level government officials, have been exposed to the virus since knowledge of the president’s positive diagnosis. Significant developments include:

• Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, testing negative since possible exposure at the first presidential debate. However, Biden is still a candidate for a positive diagnosis due to 14-day incubation period for testing positive for COVID-19 or developing symptoms
• President Trump’s assertion of having to risk his health, to which a vast amount of Americans disagree
• President Trump’s prospective early hospital discharge mystifying doctors
• The White House giving more than 200 names to officials tracing attendees at a campaign fundraiser held at Trump’s New Jersey golf club hours before the president’s diagnosis became public