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House and Senate Committees Take First Step Towards Ensuring Voting During a Pandemic Is Even Safer and More Secure for Everyone

Richmond, Virginia—Today, members of the House Appropriations Committee voted 13-9 to advance Delegate Mark Sickles’ bill HB5103. Members of the Senate Finance Committee voted 11-5 to advance Senator Janet Howell’s SB5120, an identical version of the same bill earlier this morning. These bills would allow registrars to establish secure drop boxes for voters to return […]

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ICYMI: COVID-19 Leads to Massive Job Loss in Black Community Largely Due to Systemic Racism

Virginia—Black workers in Virginia are being laid off or furloughed disproportionately in Virginia due to COVID-19. Because of gaps in education, discrimination in hiring, racist zoning, and many other factors based in systemic racism and white supremacy, Black people are over-represented in jobs that have been hit the hardest by the pandemic.  “It’s already more […]

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Betsy DeVos Should Mind Her Own Business and Stay Out Of Fairfax County

Fairfax, Virginia—Over the weekend, Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, called for the full reopening of public schools across the country, despite the fact that the Center for Disease Control says “full-sized, in-person classes” would be of the “highest risk.” In making her dangerous call for schools to fully reopen five days a week with no […]

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5 Things Less Popular Than Social Distancing

I don’t know about you, but I am slightly terrified about all of these calls to re-open the economy when it clearly isn’t safe yet. “Re-open the economy” seems like code for making people sick so that wealthy corporations can make money off the working class AGAIN. But while the calls to open things back […]

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You Want Us to Vote Now?

For reasons I cannot begin to fathom, the Virginia Senate decided to block efforts to move upcoming local May elections to a time in the future when it might actually be safe to vote in person. via GIPHY I worry about the danger this poses to communities throughout the state, including my own. Officials are […]

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Progress Virginia Stands With Virginia Legislative Black Caucus and Urges Delay of Reopening

Richmond, Virginia—Progress Virginia stands with the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus in urging Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to delay Phase One of his “Forward Virginia” plan to reopen Virginia businesses in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Data from the Virginia Department of Health shows ongoing serious outbreaks, some clustered in communities of color. Reopening too […]

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Polls Show Social Distancing Is More Popular Than Pet Ownership, Beyonce, and the NFL

 A new Navigator Research poll tracking public opinion around COVID-19 released numbers today showing that social distancing measures like avoiding public events and gatherings, skipping dinner out a restaurant or drinks at a bar, and spending most of the time inside the home are more popular than some of America’s favorite things, including pet ownership, the NFL, […]

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ICYMI: Poll Finds Strong Opposition to Re-Opening Businesses in the Midst of Coronavirus

A new Washington Post-University of Maryland poll has found that despite protests across the country, most people strongly oppose the move to re-open some businesses during the coronavirus pandemic. Even if businesses are allowed to re-open, most people are wary of eating out at restaurants (74%), shopping in retail stores (69%), and going to the movies (82%). […]

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ICYMI: Coronavirus Backlash Coming From Republican Lawmakers Inspired By Trump

Though the protests across the nation demanding that we reopen businesses and head back to work despite the ongoing threat from coronavirus are framed as a grassroots movement, it seems more and more clear that they are being coordinated nationally by Republican political operatives.  The message of these protests is not only dangerous for our […]