As the pandemic rages, the impact it is having on all aspects of our lives becomes clearer.  Take for example, voting.  We saw the stunning scenes in Wisconsin where partisan differences blocked a voting-by-mail reform that would have allowed Wisconsin residents to avoid the risk of contagion at polling sites.

Partisan differences – in which Republicans blocked a last minute move by the Democratic Governor to allow mail-in voting – put the health of a political party ahead of the health of voters.  Moreover, as election day poll watchers dropped out of participation – to protect their own health – fewer polling sites could be opened.  The result was that the nation was stunned to see long lines of voters in Democrat-heavy Milwaukee wearing face masks as they waited – for hours in some cases – to cast their ballots.  In 2020 it shouldn’t take an act of courage to vote in the United States.

Just as the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China in December should have been a call to act to prepare the nation’s public health system, the debacle in Wisconsin should be a wakeup call that the pandemic poses a threat to American democracy. 

Yet, as the nation has learned about the Trump Administration, those calls are being ignored.  In fact, the President has taken to his twitter account to attack mail-in voting calling it corrupt – a charge that is a lie.

Mail-in voting is not new to America.  Some states and localities have allowed mail-in voting now for years.  Oregon, for example, put in place direct mail voting in 1998.

Five states currently conduct all elections entirely by mail: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah.  At least 21 other states have laws that allow certain smaller elections, such as school board contests, to be conducted by mail.  For these elections, all registered voters receive a ballot in the mail.  The voter marks the ballot, puts it in a secrecy envelope or sleeve and then into a separate mailing envelope, signs an affidavit on the exterior of the mailing envelope, and returns the package via mail or by dropping it off.

While mail-in voting means that every registered voter receives a ballot by mail, this does not preclude in-person voting opportunities on and/or before Election Day.  For example, despite the fact that all registered voters in Colorado are mailed a ballot, voters can choose to cast a ballot at an in-person vote center during the early voting period or on Election Day (or drop off, or mail, their ballot back).

As a result of these experiments, it is clear that there are some advantages and disadvantages to mail in voting.  For example, it is clear that there is an increase in voter convenience and satisfaction — Citizens can vote at home and take all the time they need to study the issues. Voters often express enthusiasm for mail-in voting elections.  During the time of a pandemic, it’s likely that enthusiasm will surge as safety is added to ease of use.  In addition to voter support, some reports indicate that because of its inherent convenience, voter participation increases.

Some disadvantages include the traditional benefits of in-person voting; the civic experience of voting with neighbors at a local school, church, or other polling place no longer exists.  Vote counts can take longer and the U.S. Postal Service does not have a uniform efficiency for all communities. 

But in a pandemic, voters would maximize their safety and still be able to act on their constitutional right to vote.  After all, shouldn’t democracy seek to promote participation and protect public safety?

Here in New York, Governor Cuomo took a step to expand voting by mail.  He has issued an Executive Order for the upcoming June primary that allows any voter to request an absentee ballot and mail it in.

The state Constitution allows for voting by absentee ballot when the voter has an excuse “because of illness or physical disability.”  The governor’s Executive Order includes the possibility of getting exposed to COVID-19 within the definition of “illness” in order to allow primary voters to obtain an absentee ballot.

The governor’s order still relies on voters to request an absentee ballot, though.  Voters can obtain an absentee ballot application online from the state Board of Elections.

The Executive Order, however, does not cover the fall general election.  Legislation has been introduced to make permanent the governor’s interpretation of New York’s Constitution.  Given the uncertainty of what things will look like in November, to protect the public’s health and safeguard democracy for all New Yorkers, let’s hope that legislative to do so gets approved before the end of the session.

Despite New York being at the epicenter of a growing pandemic, Governor Cuomo and state lawmakers were able to cobble together a budget for the fiscal year that started on April 1^st,  “cobbled together” because it was a budget assembled under unprecedented pressure and based on the understanding that many of its assumptions may be dashed by what happens over the next few months.  In that way, it is a budget more written in the sand than etched in stone.

The $177 billion budget was approved during the growing public health threat posed by coronavirus.  In fact, five legislators have tested positive.  Yet, the Legislature amended its rules in a way that allowed them to approve a budget deal hammered out by the governor and legislative leaders in near total secrecy and by waiving the normal review period for legislation.

Essentially, the approved budget mirrors the one introduced by the governor in January.  But in one major way it is different:  The final budget reflects the massive budget deficit projected as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. 

According to the governor’s office, the state is facing a deficit that is growing and could be $15 billion.  Yet, the economy could change and new federal bailout monies could flow that may alter that difficult situation.

As a result, the new budget allows the state expanded authority to borrow to “paper” over financial shortfalls in the hope that federal monies will be made available.

In addition to the borrowing power, the governor got the Legislature to agree to grant him new powers, providing the governor near-total power over budget spending until the end of the fiscal year on March 31, 2021.  Under the budget agreement, the governor can act on his own to cut spending if the state’s budget situation worsens, without waiting for the Legislature – a co-equal branch of government – to act.

The logic of the decision is more about expediency than anything else.  The formal schedule has the Legislature meeting and acting on legislation through the beginning of June.  Despite that schedule, there is a feeling that lawmakers will not return to do their work and, as such, the governor will need to act without them. 

In seeking the new budget cutting powers, the governor repeatedly said that lawmakers will be loath to cut popular programs when they are up for re-election this year.  If true, the Legislature’s abdication of their responsibilities is simply indefensible.  They are paid to act on the public’s behalf; if they are afraid to do so, then they are not doing their jobs. 

On the substance, the budget agreement achieved funding for a number of programs, the Legislature made some changes in the governor’s proposed cuts, and policy initiatives were approved.  Here are some key budget items:

In the area of the environment, the governor and the Legislature agreed to put on the ballot this November a $3 billion “Restore Mother Nature” bond act designed to provide funding to offset the impacts of climate change – an idea worthy of support and desperately needed.  The agreement does not create a new funding stream for the borrowing – such as making the oil companies who have undermined the science of global warming pick up the borrowing tab – thus New Yorkers will foot the bill unless lawmakers develop a new funding stream.

The new budget maintains funding for environmental programs contained in the Environmental Protection Fund.  The agreement also permanently bans fracking in New York, provides an additional $500 million in clean water funding and bans polystyrene food packaging and packing peanuts, beginning January 1, 2022.

The budget agreement also prohibits the sale of flavored vapor products, the public display of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, or vapor product advertisements near schools, and requires disclosure pf the ingredients in vape products.  Unfortunately, it does nothing to restore the massive funding cuts approved in previous years in the state’s tobacco control program. 

Despite significant budget shortfalls, the higher education budget largely avoided cuts to programs and the agreement rejected the governor’s plan to allow additional years of automatic tuition hikes at the State University and City University of New York. 

Of course, this budget is built for changes – possibly dramatic changes.  If the economy stabilizes and adequate federal support is delivered, few changes will be needed.  Whether the Legislature completes its scheduled work for the 2020 session can also determine if other important issues, policies that are outside of the budget, are debated and acted upon.

We live in unpredictable times.  But elected officials get paid to solve problems, to the best of their abilities.  The legislative session is not over yet.  Let’s hope actions are taken.

For those confronting it, a crisis hits first with the shock and then unfolds – hopefully – as a growing recognition of what has to be done to respond to that crisis.  Earlier this month, Governor Cuomo and the state Legislature (like the rest of us) was presented with the shock of a growing pandemic. 

Governor Cuomo, the head of the executive branch, moved quickly to establish himself as New York’s pandemic “commander in chief.”  He acted swiftly to respond to the crisis in a clear and commanding manner that instilled confidence in New Yorkers and the nation at large.

The Legislature has yet to figure out how to respond to the shock of the crisis.  It was able to approve legislation that allowed the governor freedom to act, largely without the Legislature.  But one month into the crisis the Legislature is just now trying to figure out how it can go about its business during a pandemic.

In many ways, it is harder for the Legislature to respond.  Unlike the executive branch, which has one elected leader, the Legislature is organized around the majorities formed out of 63 state Senators and 150 state Assemblymembers.  They are considered a co-equal branch of government and their role is to be able to bring to state governmental decision-making the feedback they get from their constituents.  They are the closest to the grassroots.

But their decision-making requires them to act collectively in small groups and ultimately as legislative bodies, and act in public.  They do so through committee deliberations and votes by the entire house.  No one person makes the call.

During the legislative session hundreds of lobbyists and constituents flock to the Capitol to make their case to state lawmakers, charged with making the decisions on hundreds of pieces of legislation.  Legislators spend much of their days in face-to-face meetings with those pressing their budget and other legislative priorities.

That’s during normal times, but we no longer live in normal times.  With 213 state lawmakers, hundreds of legislative staff and hundreds more lobbyists and constituents all in one building, the recipe for contagion is obvious.

Meanwhile, a $178 billion state budget must be approved and New York must take steps to deal with the crisis as well as the hundreds of other issues that need to be addressed.

There are rumors that a budget deal will get done and lawmakers will simply stop coming to Albany to do their work representing the people of the state.  While an understandable concern, New Yorkers simply cannot be represented in democratic decision-making if the people they vote to represent them don’t convene.

In what is likely the first time in New York’s history, the Legislature must figure out a way to finalize a budget and act on other pressing matters without convening itself in-person.

So what should happen?  Like all of us, they must establish a system that relies on technologies to allow for remote legislative deliberations.  Luckily, examples exist.

In two states – Oregon and Wisconsin – specific provisions allow the remote or virtual meeting of the legislature if emergencies exist.

Oregon authorizes legislative participation in session by electronic or other means in the event of an emergency.  Wisconsin allows virtual meetings of the legislature and legislative committees when an emergency (or imminent threat of one) exists.

Of course acting deliberately and openly is not a requirement of the legislature alone, but of the executive as well.  It must operate openly, and not only follow the letter but the spirit as well of the state’s open meetings and freedom of information laws.

While open and transparent government is fundamental to democracy, it’s perhaps even more critically important during a crisis as the public wants to know what its government is doing and how it is doing it.  Rarely have the stakes seemed so high.  New Yorkers are paying particularly keen attention to what Albany does.

Actions must be taken.  And the legislature must continue to function even after the budget is approved.  It is scheduled to be in session for two months after the budget is finally approved and there are many issues that must be addressed.

Democracy needn’t be a pandemic casualty.  Thanks to widely available technology, government can work even in these extraordinary times.  Now more than ever, New Yorkers expect government to address the problems that we all face while meeting its constitutional and legal responsibilities.  

The Italian political philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli once wrote, “Never waste the opportunity offered by a good crisis.”  As we all grapple with the pandemic known as coronavirus, it is important to know that many will heed Machiavelli’s advice and see an opportunity.

Last week a price war broke out between Saudi Arabia and Russia that pushed the price of crude oil into its steepest single-day nosedive since 1991.  The oil companies operating in the United States – the world’s largest producer of oil – immediately took a hit. 

The news of that financial shock hit while the nation was reeling and still trying to absorb the reality of the mushrooming coronavirus pandemic.  Few in the nation were paying close attention to the oil war between the Saudis and the Russians, but the Trump Administration and its fossil fuel allies saw an opportunity in the crisis.

The Trump Administration, which has as cozy a relationship as any have had with the oil, gas and coal sectors, last week offered a bail-out – a bail out to an industry that has made enormous profits while it was lying to the American public about global warming, an industry that used its public relations expertise to undermine and discredit the science of climate change, an industry which has used its enormous wealth to push its candidate into the White House and the leadership of the U.S. Senate.

Is the industry being asked by the Trump Administration to pay for the mess that they have caused?  No.  Instead, while the nation was engulfed in the chaos of the coronavirus pandemic, the Administration pushed to protect Big Oil.

Some were paying attention. Environmental groups and conservatives opposed to bailouts pulled together to block the bailout plan.  But in the end, the oil companies got some help when the President directed the U.S. Department of Energy to purchase crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to support the energy companies.  No requirement that they help stop the world careening toward a global warming catastrophe.

Here in New York, there is no love for the fossil fuel industry.  The Cuomo Administration has blocked fracking and has committed to develop alternative, non-fossil-fuel-powered energy sources.

But this week lawmakers return to a changed state Capitol, the seat of state government trying to chart a path with a looming budget deadline amidst a crisis the likes of which has not been seen since 1918.  Adding to the tension: It was reported over the weekend that at least two lawmakers have tested positive for the coronavirus.  As a result, the Capitol was closed to the general public and closed discussions began on how best to arrive at a budget agreement this week – two weeks before the state deadline.

Given the circumstances, the speed is reasonable.  A key strategy in minimizing the impact of the coronavirus is to reduce meetings of lots of people – people who could infect others.  Wrapping up the budget early minimizes the likelihood that public officials or their staff members who might be positive for the virus will spread the contagion to others.

But debating a budget is the most important action state government will take.  And a closed, secretive process increases the likelihood that those with the most hotwired lobbyists will have their voices heard, not members of the general taxpaying public.  The shadows are where special interest groups are often most effective, where their ability to leverage a crisis is heightened.

We all agree that hammering out a state budget is hard in the best of times and will be even more difficult during these trying times.  But it is incumbent on the governor and state legislators to take additional steps to open up their discussions to the public at large, for example, by offering daily public updates by the leaders on the progress of negotiations, publishing with specificity the differences in policy and spending choices among the leadership of the Senate, the Assembly, and the Executive.  And ensuring that legislation is in its final form and reviewable by the public for the constitutionally-required three days before final passage.

Not only would the public be informed, but it would limit the ability of the well-heeled, powerful interests to undermine the public interest.  And maybe, just maybe, force the oil companies to pay for the environmental damages that they have caused to New York.  When it comes to the public’s interest, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste.

In the best of times, Albany’s budget-making is marked by secrecy and policy horse trading.  We do not live in the best of times.  During this new challenge, Albany can show the nation not only how to aggressively attack the coronavirus, but how to do so while improving its budget making. 

It’s hard to keep track of the important news when living through what increasingly appears to be a pandemic.  Justifiably, public officials are focusing attention on the emerging coronavirus public threat.  That threat is certainly real, but the focus obscures public attention on other important issues.

Just such an issue is the census and that issue is beginning to heat up. 

First, some background.  The U.S. Constitution mandates that each decade the nation counts its population and it has been doing so since 1790. The U.S. census counts every resident in the United States.  The goal of the 2020 Census is to count everyone who lives in the United States as of April 1, 2020 (Census Day).  Census statistics are used to determine the number of seats each state holds in the U.S. House of Representatives and informs how billions of dollars in federal funds will be allocated by state, local and federal lawmakers annually for the next 10 years.  Beginning this week – March 12^th – households across the nation will be able to respond online, by phone or by mail to questions posed by the census.

The census asks questions of people in homes and group living situations, including how many people live or stay in each home, and the sex, age and race of each person.  The goal is to count everyone once, only once, and in the right place – the place where they live as of April 1^st.

Federal funds, grants and support to states, counties and communities are based on population totals and breakdowns by sex, age, race and other factors.  Community benefits the most when the census counts everyone. When all respond to the census, communities gets its share of the more than $675 billion per year in federal funds spent on schools, hospitals, roads, public works and other vital programs, and they get their fair share if the census is accurate and complete.

New York faces significant challenges in achieving a complete count for the 2020 Census. In many parts of the country, the self-response rate in the 2010 census was significantly higher than in New York. Wisconsin had the most successful response rate with 85 percent, while New York was 45th in the nation with a 76 percent response rate. 

Given that New York is second only to California in having the highest percentage of foreign-born residents (22 percent) in the country, confusion by these residents could lead to a substantial undercount.  Within New York, the boroughs of New York City and the surrounding suburban counties have the highest percentage of foreign-born residents.  Five upstate counties estimate that they have double-digit percentages of foreign-born residents; Putnam, Tompkins, Dutchess, Orange, and Albany.

In addition, colleges pose unique challenges.  There’s the challenge of simply informing students, a majority of whom have never participated in the decennial census, about the detailed questionnaire they will be receiving from the federal government and why it’s important to fill it out.

The spread of misinformation on social media, misconceptions on how students are counted and propaganda campaigns that generate mistrust in government are also barriers that could impact student participation.  A controversial plan by the Trump administration to add a question about citizenship status on the census questionnaire, while ultimately struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, has already made some students and immigrants distrust the government’s motives for doing the count and will likely discourage participation.

To make matters worse, scam artists can use it as an opportunity to con people out of private information.  They may pretend to be from the census.  We all know that thieves are always looking for ways to steal personal info and then use it to commit identity theft and other frauds.

In order to protect yourself from a scam, remember that census takers must show a photo ID with the U.S. Department of Commerce seal.  Second, the Census Bureau will never ask for your full Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbers, money or donations, or anything on behalf of a political party. 

Despite all of that, however, answering the census really does matter – it matters politically, economically and socially.  This week marks the beginning of that once-in-a-decade responsibility.

Let’s make sure we all get counted.