Your guide to a disaster-prone election year
Hey there and welcome to week 3 of State of Emergency, a limited-run newsletter about how catastrophes are improving our politics. I'm Jake Bittle.
Cyclone Michael tore throughout the Florida Panhandle as a Category 5 storm less than 4 weeks before the critical 2018 midterm elections, eliminating lots of individuals and ruining more than 1,000 structures. In the weeks that followed the storm, then-governor Rick Scott provided an executive order that loosened up limitations around mail-in balloting and permitted city governments to open less Election Day ballot locations.
"We do not discover proof that the quantity of rains from the typhoon drove turnout decreases. We do discover that ballot location closures and increased travel ranges meaningfully depressed turnout."-- Kevin Morris ...