Notable Quote of the Day

“The Florida legislature claimed that court disputes over the Bush-Gore presidential contest had made it impossible to name electors ‘in a timely manner,’ and also that recounts had illegally changed election rules after the fact. Its arguments were never tested in federal court, but were indirectly validated by SCOTUS. So consider this scenario: After a close election and a long count (lengthened by high levels of mail ballots), with court orders and lawsuits flying through the air, one or two or three unresolved states are in a position to give Trump 270 electoral votes, and Republican-controlled legislatures announce they are intervening (much as Florida’s did in 2000) to avoid chaos and ‘election fraud’ and even civil war. No fewer than seven key battlegrounds states (Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin) have Republican-controlled legislature.

Now in this extreme scenario, could a Democratic Governor (as Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin have) veto a legislative gambit to appoint electors? That’s a murky question. If the electors are appointed by joint legislative resolution, typically governors have no power to veto such measures, and in addition, governors in North Carolina and Wisconsin have limited veto powers. Suffice it to say that any legislature moving in this direction would trigger a state, and then federal, court battle, with the whole conflict likely winding up in the U.S. Supreme Court.”

– Ed Kilgore, New York Magazine

Election Updates

• Joe Biden is holding a virtual Chicago fundraiser on Monday moderated by former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. 

• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) endorsed Biden in a video statement on Monday. “As we face coronavirus, Joe has been a voice of reason and resilience, with a clear path to lead us out of this crisis,” Pelosi said.

• Several women who are reportedly in consideration to be Biden’s running mate—former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams and Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Amy Klobuchar, and Kamala Harris—will participate in a series to town halls hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action over the next few weeks.

• Counsel for the Sanders presidential campaign sent a letter to the New York Board of Elections on Sunday requesting that he not be removed from the state’s primary ballot because a provision passed in a recent state budget bill allows the board to remove withdrawn candidates. “His involuntary erasure from the ballot, on grounds of a law that was not in effect when he announced his campaign’s limited suspension, would sow needless strife and distrust, impeding Senator Sanders’ efforts to unify the Democratic Party in advance of November elections,” counsel wrote.    

• Donald Trump did not participate in the daily coronavirus briefings over the weekend. He tweeted on Saturday, “What is the purpose of having White House News Conferences when the Lamestream Media asks nothing but hostile questions, & then refuses to report the truth or facts accurately. They get record ratings, & the American people get nothing but Fake News. Not worth the time & effort!” 

• Trump signed a $484 billion stimulus bill on Friday seeking to aid employers and hospitals. The bill will extend the Paycheck Protection Program with $250 billion, provide $100 billion for hospitals and a nationwide testing program, and offer additional assistance for community development banks and small businesses.  

• Biden and Trump have until May 3 to form a committee preparing for a possible administration transition. Congress established more specific guidelines and a timeline for any potential presidential transitions in 2010.

Flashback: April 27, 2016

Campaign manager Jeff Weaver said Bernie Sanders would continue to run for the Democratic nomination after losing four of the five Acela Primary states the day before.