Pandemic voting access + Republicans blast vaccine lottery + So long Serra?

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert.

HOW CALIFORNIA EXPANDED VOTING DURING THE PANDEMIC

Via Lara Korte...

Even before the pandemic hit, California election officials knew 2020 was going to be of great consequence. By the time voters received their ballots, the country was dealing with a surging coronavirus, a vocal president casting doubt on the credibility of elections, and high tensions around social issues.

In spite of all this, the Golden State saw historically high turnout. A new report, from voting rights group Common Cause California, attributes the success to early actions by then-Secretary of State Alex Padilla and Gov. Gavin Newsom that automatically sent mail ballots to active voters and expanded voting access in a way that advocates say should be a model for the rest of the country.

“California is really separating itself from the pack,” said Silvia Albert, the national Common Cause director of voting and elections.

Other state Legislatures, such as Iowa and Arkansas, are passing more restrictive rules aimed at limiting access to the ballot for low-income, working class Black and brown voters, Albert said.

Kiyana Asemanfar, California Common Cause program manager and author of the new report, said California “aggressively and swiftly enacted comprehensive reforms to ensure that voters were not left behind.”

“And the key value that was guiding this move, that was shared by many elections officials and advocates alike, was to ensure that voters did not have to choose between their health and their vote, to make voting safe, easy and accessible, and more broadly to create a democracy, that includes all voices even in the most challenging of times.”

REPUBLICANS SLAM VACCINE LOTTERY AS RECALL BRIBE

Via Lara Korte...

Ten Californians will win $1.5 million for getting their vaccine.

Dozens more will win smaller cash prizes.

Gov. Gavin Newsom says it’s the best way to push the Golden State over the COVID-19 finish line. Some Republicans, however, say it’s a political bribe for voters ahead of a recall election.

“More bribes from Gavin Newsom trying to buy your votes – just like his stimulus check – too little, too late,” tweeted Caitlyn Jenner. “Californians are smarter than this, they see through it and deserve better.”

“This is a political stunt that the media has fallen for,” said former GOP Rep. Doug Ose. “What’s the science and data that says this is the most effective way to provide opportunities for people to be inoculated? $116.5M would put a lot of mobile vans in neighborhoods to pass out free shots if someone wanted one.”

Jenner and Ose are both looking to take Newsom’s job, but the question remains: how effective will the vax lottery be in California? UCLA researchers recently ran an experiment that suggests a cash incentive could raise vaccination rates. About a third of the unvaccinated population said a cash payment would make them more likely to get a shot.

“This suggests that some governors may be on the right track,” wrote the New York Times. “West Virginia’s governor, Jim Justice, for example, recently announced the state would give young people $100 bonds if they got an inoculation.”

Not all Golden State Republicans are knocking Newsom for the jab drawing. Longtime GOP consultant Rob Stutzman tweeted, “I hope Republicans resist being critical of this. Smart program. First Gov. to offer ‘vax lottery’ was GOP Governor DeWine in OH.”

BILL REPLACING SERRA STATUE CLEARS ASSEMBLY

The statue of Franciscan friar Junipero Serra is one step closer to being replaced, after the Assembly voted 64-2 to replace it with a monument created with input from local tribal nations.

AB 338, authored by Assemblyman James Ramos, D-Highland, now moves to the Senate.

“It is time to decide the future of the Serra statue and begin the fuller and more honest assessment of what the Mission period meant to California’s Native Americans. Even Pope Francis, on a trip to Bolivia in 2015, acknowledged the ‘grave sins’ of colonialism against Indigenous people in the Americas. The history and significance behind that apology have yet to be understood here in California,” Ramos said in a statement.

The statue of Serra is currently sitting in storage, after it was toppled by protesters last July 4 following the killing of George Floyd.

“A statue of Junipero Serra on Capitol grounds represents a double injury. The Miwok and Nisenan people have lived in this region since time immemorial before the hostile takeover of Native lands by settlers, land barons and gold miners who established Sacramento and the State Capitol. The statue of a figure that represents the Mission period — another earlier time of genocide, slavery, and other degradations imposed upon California Indians — strikes twice at our history. We have yet to see a full telling of what it took to build the state Capitol and who paid that cost. This bill will begin to tell that history for us and for future generations,” said Jesus Tarango, chairman of the Wilton Rancheria, whose tribe is one of the sponsors of AB 338.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“At 29, I just became the newest member of the California State Legislature. I know my Momma is proud. Now the work begins.”

- Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, via Twitter.