Why race, policing and the Black and brown vote matter in Election 2020
Also, the presidential candidates' stance on immigration, down ballot elections, voter intimidation emails that targeted college students, and a conversation starter about the last debate.
In this week’s “Crash Course,” we examined how race and policing are factors in #Election2020 after months of social unrest triggered by police shootings. We talked with experts about the critical role of Black and Latino voters in deciding this year's election.
We also compared the presidential candidates’ immigration policies, and looked into some of Connecticut’s down-ballot elections.
Keep reading to learn about the voter intimidation messages that some college students received this week via email. Finally, check out our conversation starter suggestions inspired by the final presidential debate.
Will a new accountability law change policing in Connecticut?
Fiona Brady writes: In response to the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police and the months of Black Lives Matter protests and civil unrest that followed, Connecticut lawmakers moved swiftly to adopt new police reform legislation.
UConn student Mason Holland joins Black Lives Matter protesters in Hoboken, New Jersey. (Photo courtesy of Mason Holland)
The 71-page Police Accountability Act, signed by Gov. Ned Lamont in July, enacts new standards for investigating police use of deadly force and calls for increased training in de-escalation tactics. It also requires all officers to wear body cameras and to intervene when witnessing a fellow officer using excessive force.
UConn sociology professor Noel Cazenave, an expert in racism theory and criminal justice, said the new law attempts to remove layers of protection granted to officers so that they will act more responsibly in their role.
“Part of the reason that they have been able to remain unaccountable despite some of the egregious actions that they’ve engaged in, like killing unarmed people, is because there is a system with many layers of protection that police have that ordinary citizens don’t have,” Cazenave said.
There is opposition to the accountability law, particularly regarding the limitations on “qualified immunity.” This is the doctrine that shields police from being held accountable in cases where there is no “clearly established” law that deems their actions unconstitutional. The new law makes it easier for survivors of police violence and families of those killed by police to file lawsuits when they believe their rights have been violated.
Part of the reason so many police officers go uncharged for use of deadly force is due to the way these cases are investigated, said CTNewsJunkie reporter Lisa Backus, who has been covering crime and courts in Connecticut since 2007.
There have been 76 inquiries into police use of deadly force or deaths while in police custody in Connecticut since 2001 and only one of those cases resulted in a criminal charge, according to the CT Post. That charge did not result in a conviction.
A state’s attorney from a different jurisdiction is assigned to conduct the investigation of the alleged police misconduct to maintain a degree of independence.
“Ultimately, police know each other in the field and so although that was an attempt at independence, it wasn’t truly independent,” Backus said.
The Police Accountability Act created a new Deputy Chief State’s Attorney Inspector General to bypass this issue and rebuild trust in Connecticut’s criminal justice system. The inspector general will investigate all incidents involving the use of deadly force by police and in-custody deaths.
Republicans leaders in Connecticut have been vocal in opposition to the new law, citing concerns about escalating crime rates in Connecticut cities.
J.R. Romano, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, told WNPR that the bill is “anti-police” and it “has made our communities less safe because it’s hamstrung police officers from doing their job.”
After portions of the law went into effect on Oct. 1., State Sen. Len Fasano of North Haven and Rep. Vincent Candelora of North Branford urged Lamont to use his executive powers to suspend the law until February, giving the legislature an opportunity to make changes based on police concerns.
Fasano told Backus that “the new law ties the hands of officers, makes proactive policing more difficult, and has already begun to hurt recruitment and retention of good officers.”
For UConn sophomore Mason Holland, president of the university’s NAACP chapter, the police accountability law is a step in the right direction but more work needs to be done.
“I hope that when people look at that bill, they see that it is progress, and while it is progress, we have such a way to go,” Holland said.
Holland reflected on this summer where hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets in solidarity and support of the Black Lives Matter movement. He said it was incredible to see the outpouring of support, but that it should not be reduced to a moment in time. The movement to hold police accountable is an ongoing fight.
UConn History Professor Melanie Newport echoed this sentiment. She said she is impressed with the way young people have banned together in this movement, calling for police accountability and holistic changes in the social welfare system.
“Going out into the streets, particularly during a pandemic, really showed how high stakes people felt this was and the extent to which, even in a blue state, we still deal with profound racial inequality and segregation,” Newport said. “The question is: are we going to keep the status quo in Connecticut or are we going to imagine a more equal and just future.” Continue reading »
Black and Latino voters take on a critical role in deciding the 2020 Election
Allison O’Donnell and Ben Crnic write: Thirty million Black Americans are eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential election, with more than one-third living in nine of the country’s most competitive states, according to Pew Research Center.
Although the black voting demographic may be a minority in a statistical sense, UConn Political Science Professor Evelyn Simien said black voters can “tip the scale” in favor of a candidate capable of rallying their support.
Joe Biden’s rise as the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential candidate can be partly attributed to his success with Black voters. They powered Biden’s victories in the primaries, especially in South Carolina and on Super Tuesday.
Political context is an important factor in demographic motivation, explained Simien, an expert in African American politics and political behavior. About 63% of Black registered voters are extremely motivated to vote in 2020.
UConn History professor Jeffrey Ogbar, an expert in black nationalism and social justice movements, argued the trend of black voters backing the Democratic nominee will hold true for the 2020 election. However, Ogbar added, the impact of Black community support will fall heavily on the level of voter turnout.
One timely concern for voter turnout among Black and brown voters is disinformation campaigns, as reported by VICE. Community activists say digital media is providing an unprecedented surge of bad information aimed to dissuade voters from voting.
The term link fate is used by political scientists to describe the affinity African Americans across gender, class, region, and generation have for the Democratic Party. Ogbar said it relates to the communities that someone comes from, and “that community will benefit more by having access to college, access to healthcare, access to housing, and that those issues are so important that she’s willing to actually pay more taxes for a greater good.”
“I think the chief motivator, if you look at the voting patterns, [black voters] aren’t primarily driven by the race of the person running,” Ogbar said. “They are driven by the policy and where those two overlap is a good thing.”
As for Latino voters, currently 32 million Hispanics are projected to be eligible to vote in 2020 — exceeding the number of eligible Black voters in a presidential election for the first time.
Hispanic registered voters are expressing growing confidence in Biden’s ability to handle key issues such as the coronavirus outbreak, according to an October 2020 Pew Research Survey. Specifically, women and college graduates within the Hispanic demographic reported support of presidential nominee Biden after months of widespread job losses and illness due to COVID-19.
However, Biden is underperforming among Latino voters. Only 59% of Latino voters nationwide say they would vote for Biden over President Trump, which is lower than the 66% of Latino voters that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.
Connecticut Public Radio journalist Brenda Leon, who covers the state’s Latino communities, said many factors in 2020 are also causing people to not be as engaged in the election.
“The level of engagement locally for the Latino community to participate in the election has not been as visible as we’d want it to be. Part of that has been [a gap in] registering voters, learning about the election process, learning about primaries, learning about all these different types of voting processes,” Leon said.
“I don’t think it’s disillusionment. What I’ve been hearing is that there are so many other things like having food access or being able to have a stable home, this has been something that might be a priority and perhaps voting becomes a second priority,” she explained. Continue reading »
INFOGRAPHIC: Immigration numbers and policies
About one-in-ten people eligible to vote in this year’s U.S. presidential election are immigrants — also referred to as naturalized citizens. Here's how the two presidential candidates line up on immigration.
Graphic designed by Ben Crnic
SOURCES: CT Mirror, Biden campaign, Trump administration, Pew Research Center, Migration Policy Institute.
Who are the down-ballot candidates?
Mike Mavredakis and Ashley Anglisano write: There are major decisions to come for voters in November. We took a look at the other candidates on the ballot in Mansfield and Connecticut’s five Congressional districts so you could get a better understanding what those races are about.
Gregg Haddad is running unopposed for the Mansfield 54th House District Representative position. Haddad, a Democrat, was first elected to the Connecticut General Assembly in 2010, and serves on the Appropriations Committee and the Government Administration and Elections Committee.
Haddad has been a supporter of free community college for first-time Connecticut students, and worked to propose a plan, which later became a law, for free tuition for first-time community-technical college students.
In late August, Haddad, along with officials from Mansfield and Willimantic, called for Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont to limit social gatherings to 25 people due to the students beginning to return to their towns.
Haddad’s work with the Higher Education and Employment Advancement committee also included proposing legislation to create a sexual misconduct survey at all Connecticut colleges and universities.
Democrat Brian Smith is running against Republican Julie Shilosky in the 48th House District Representative Race.
During his campaign, Smith had support from the CT Working Families party, and various Connecticut unions, as well as the United Auto Workers’ political action committee and the American Federation of Teachers CT.
Shilosky is building her campaign on keeping Connecticut’s economy “prosperous and growing,” taxes under control and preserving open spaces and the right to farm. She has received an endorsement from the Connecticut State Fraternal Order of Police, and said in a Facebook post she will “work tirelessly to protest their rights and tools they need to do their jobs! Back The Blue!”
State Sen. Mae Flexer is the incumbent democrat for the 29th District. Flexer is seeking her fourth term. She has co-sponsored bills to authorize universal absentee ballots in this year’s election, establish paid family leave, and increase the state minimum wage.
Flexer’s challenger is Republican nominee Jessica Alba. Alba is new to political office, but did work for the state in the past, according to WINY Radio. She is looking to “protect the future of the state’s children,” grow the economy, support law enforcement, decrease regulation that “obstruct the quality of life” and make “fiscally sound decisions,” according to her Facebook page. Read more »
A roundup of Connecticut’s U.S. House races:
-The battle for Connecticut’s “flippable” 5th Congressional District (WSHU)
-Debate recap for 4th Congressional District’s only ‘clash’ (Greenwich Time)
-Candidates for CT’s 3rd Congressional District face off in pre-election debate (WTNH)
-2nd Congressional District is Connecticut’s largest, has the most crowded field this year (WFSB)
-1st Congressional District virtual debate “zoom-bombed” with hateful, homophobic messages (Hartford Courant)
College students told to vote one way “or else” in voter intimidation emails
Ashley Anglisano writes: College students were among the targets of voter intimidation emails that circulated this week. Students at the University of Florida and Oklahoma University said they received messages threatening them to vote for President Trump and to change their voter affiliation to Republican “or else.”
The emails appeared to be coming from a pro-Trump group called Proud Boys, a self-described militia group. However, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe on Wednesday connected Iran to the threatening emails. Officials warned that Iran and Russia are using voter data from sources that are public or available for purchase.
One email to a student mentioned personal information and included threats if they did not comply.
“We are in possession of all your information (email, address, telephone# everything),” the email read. “You are currently registered as a Democrat and we know this because we have gained access into the entire voting infrastructure. You will vote for Trump on Election Day or we will come after you. Change your party affiliation to Republican to let us know you received our message and will comply. We will know which candidate you voted for. I would take this seriously if I were you.”
Google said 25,000 of their Gmail users alone received the emails, while spam blockers kept many others from being delivered.
Two members of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence — Marco Rubio of Florida and Mark Warner of Virginia — released a joint statement about foreign interference in the upcoming election.
“As we enter the last weeks before the election, we urge every American — including members of the media — to be cautious about believing or spreading unverified, sensational claims related to votes and voting,” the statement said.
Conversation Starter 🗣🗯
Mike Mavredakis writes: The final presidential debate between President Trump and former Vice President Biden happened Thursday night. This time around each candidate was given two uninterrupted minutes to answer each question — a new rule which Trump and Biden largely followed with the threat of having their microphones muted.
The mute button decision was made by the Commission on Presidential Debates after the candidates’ chaotic first debate marked by crosstalk and insults.
The two candidates went back and forth on recent information that Trump had a Chinese bank account before running for election in 2016.
Biden got attention when said he would begin a gradual transition from reliance on oil to more renewable energy under a Biden presidency. This was seen as a triumph for Trump, as he pushed Biden on the claim.
In terms of the accuracy of their remarks, CNN’s Daniel Dale said that Trump uttered “far more” false statements than Biden did.
Some questions:
Was the debate commission justified for threatening to cut mics to force the candidates to allow the other to speak?
What issue stood out to you most — race, the economy, child separation at the US-Mexico border, foreign policy or handling of the pandemic?
Should the U.S. phase out reliance on fossil fuels?
How well did moderator Kristen Welker of NBC News keep the candidates in check?
In case you missed it
Here are some notable #Election2020 headlines from the past week:
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously Thursday to advance the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Democrats, including Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, boycotted the vote. The full Senate will vote on Barrett’s confirmation Monday. [CNBC, Politico]
Lawyers say they can’t find the parents of 545 migrant children separated by the Trump administration. [NBC News]
President Trump’s taxes reveal a previously unknown bank account based in China. [New York Times]
After abruptly leaving an interview with Leslie Stahl and 60 Minutes, President Trump and the White House released footage of the interview, showing only Trump during part of the discussion. [NBC News]
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, one of the officers who burst into Breonna Taylor’s apartment in Louisville the night she was shot and killed, spoke for the first time publicly about that fateful night. [Good Morning America]
The Electoral College is how Trump gained the presidency in 2016, despite not winning the popular vote. Here’s how the Electoral College works. [The Guardian]
That’s it for this week’s Crash Course! Only 11 days left until Election Day. Keep an eye out for next week’s newsletter on contested elections, women and voting, and what to expect at the polls on Nov. 3.
Crash Course is reported, written and produced by UConn Journalism majors Ashley Anglisano, Fiona Brady, Ben Crnic, Mike Mavredakis and Allison O’Donnell, under the guidance of Associate Professor Marie K. Shanahan. Read more about us »
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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story listed the incorrect number of the House District Representative Race between Democrat Brian Smith and Republican Julie Shikosky. It is the 48th District.