On June 24, the Democratic National Committee said that most delegates to the national convention will vote remotely, instead of being physically in Milwaukee. See this story.
As far as is known, the only U.S. political party that will have chosen its 2020 presidential nominee via an in-person presidential convention is the Republican Party.
On June 26, the party announced plans for four virtual hearings to help write the platform. See the party’s webpage here.
On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene in Texas Democratic Party v Abbott, 19A1055. This is the case in which the Texas Democratic Party charges that Texas law on no-excuse absentee voting violates the 26th Amendment. The Texas law says voters age 65 and above may vote absentee for any reason, but younger voters are not treated that way. The 26th amendment says, “The right of citizens of the United States, who are 18 years of age or older, to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of age.” Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.
That makes two election law cases involving the health crisis that the U.S. Supreme Court has avoided. The other one was Thompson v DeWine, on whether ballot access relief should be given to Ohio initiative proponents.
On June 25, the Party for Socialism & Liberation submitted its petition for party status in New Mexico. Most of its signatures had been collected before the health crisis began.
On June 26, the U.S. House passed HR 51, the bill to make almost all of Washington, D.C., a state. The vote was 232-180. This is the first time such a bill has ever passed either house of Congress. One Democrat voted “no”, and Libertarian Justin Amash voted “no.” All Republicans voted “no”.
Ian Milhiser has this article at Vox about all the details regarding possible statehood for the District of Columbia. The last part of the article is especially interesting, concerning legal issues.
The article also has a map showing the proposed boundaries of the new state. The new state would not encompass the entire District.
