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North Carolina has a long history of voter suppression. Recent attempts to implement a voter-registration law were decisively struck down in 2016 by a federal appeals court, which said its provisions deliberately target African-Americans with almost surgical precision in an effort to depress black turnout at the polls. Another example in 2016 was the redistricting plan that was struck down by a [federal] district court, ruling the plan constituted illegal racial gerrymandering by populating two districts disproportionately with African-American voters. Currently, counties accounting for half of North Carolina registered voters have cut back on hours and decreased the number of polling places.

In order to protect our democracy, we must address these issues and go even further to allocate $4 billion in federal funding for states and mandate the implementation of reforms nationwide like early voting, postage-paid vote-by-mail and online and same-day voter registration.

Woody EisenbergAsheville

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Letter: Protect democracy with voting reforms - Mountain Xpress

Some of the 98 rookie MPs elected in the last election say theyre missing out on the cut-and-thrust of Ottawas parliamentary experience as Canadas federal lawmakers, and a Conservative MP says if theres an early election this could become the forgotten Parliament, the one during the global pandemic.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic on March 11, Parliament has only sat for about six weeks since the last federal election on Oct. 21, 2019. The House was suspended on March 13.

The rookie MPs interviewed for this article acknowledge the importance of suspending Parliament during the pandemic, but also say theyre missing out on a big part of being federal legislators, including not attending House committees, the daily Question Period, official functions, diplomatic functions, meeting in-person with staff, other MPs, lobbyists, and building key relationships in-person in Ottawa.

Doing democracy by Zoom meetings is just not the same as being there in the House of Commons, said rookie Conservative MP Michael Kram (Regina-Wascana, Sask.), who unseated former Liberal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale in the last election. Certainly the new opportunities to learn are not there as much for the new MPs but thats something we all have to deal with.

Rookie Liberal MP Han Dong (Don Valley North, Ont.) said he misses his regular parliamentary duties in Ottawa but under the circumstances theres no option but to work remotely.

I do miss Ottawa, I miss sitting in the Parliament, said Mr. Dong. It is what it is, the nature of things. We just have to cope with it.

In 2019, 98 rookie MPs 43 Conservatives, 24 Liberals, 22 Bloc Qubcois, eight NDP, and one Greenwere elected to the House. Since the October federal election, Parliament had sat for only six weeks until it was suspended on March 13. The House resumed last month for virtual sittings and a quorum of MPs from all parties has attended weekly Special COVID-19 Pandemic Committee meetings three days a week in the House Chamber since last month. But its unknown when the full contingency of all 338 MPs will return to Ottawa again. There are 157 Liberals, 121 Conservatives, 32 Bloc Qubcois, 24 NDP, three Green MPs, and one Independent MP.

Liberal Kevin Lamoureux (Winnipeg North, Man.), who is also parliamentary secretary to Government House Leader Pablo Rodriguez (Honor-Mercier, Que.), told The Hill Timesrecently that he does not personally expect the House to return with all MPs until early next year.

Liberal MP Kevin Lamoureux told The Hill Times that he doesnt personally expect the Parliament to return before the end of this year. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

I cant see that happening this year, personally. Thats a personal opinion, just based on what I see happening in the environment around me, Mr. Lamoureux told The Hill Times.

I think it would probably be better to have a discussion of this nature in July, when we would have a better sense of [the situation], Mr. Lamoureux said.

During regular in-person Commons sittings, MPs attend House proceedings and take part in debates on a variety of government and private members legislative issues. The opposition MPs come to Ottawa to hold the government to account in the daily 45-minute Question Period and scrutinize legislative issues in one of the more than 20 House committees. Every Wednesday morning, when the House is in session, all parliamentary caucuses hold weekly regional and national meetings to discuss parliamentary strategy and MPs share feedback and information on what their constituents are telling them back home about their partys policies. In between their official duties, MPs also mingle with their colleagues in the parliamentary hallways, during lunch time, and often socialize after hours whether it be at popular political pubs around town, restaurants, or at official parliamentary functions and receptions in political Ottawa.

In their constituencies, MPs meet with their constituents as much as possible to discuss individual and collective community issues and try to help. In normal times, they also welcome their constituents to walk into their constituency offices, even without appointments to meet with their staff for help on any issue. As well, MPs like to attend community events and the larger the gathering the better as it gives them more exposure and name recognition.

But these days MPs and their staffers are interacting with the constituents only online or by phone. All in-person meetings have been cancelled.

In the 2019 election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus (Papineau, Que.) Liberals were reduced to a minority from a majority, which also means an election could theoretically happen anytime as the Liberals need the support of at least one opposition party on every legislation.

Considering the ongoing speculation about a possible fall election, if the next election happens before the House returns for full in-person sittings, new MPs could theoretically have had only six weeks in Ottawa.

Two-term Conservative MP Michael Cooper says if the next election is called before Parliament returns for its full regular sitting, the current Parliament will be the forgotten Parliament. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

Two-term Conservative MP Michael Cooper (St. Albert-Edmonton, Alta.) said that if the next election happened prior to the House returning back to the full sittings, the current Parliament could be the forgotten Parliament.

Simply put, there have been very few sitting weeks that the House has been back with all 338 MPs present, a little more than a month, said Mr. Cooper. So essentially, this Parliament has barely gotten off the ground and if theres an early election, it could go down as the forgotten Parliament.

Mr. Cooper said that the full in-person sittings allow all MPs the experience of engaging in the cut and thrust of politics by debating and asking questions in the Question Period.

Certainly having the opportunity to engage in debate to give speeches to hone the skills better that you develop in the House of Commons, in terms of parliamentary debate and the back and forth, said Mr. Cooper in a phone interview with The Hill Times.

Mr. Cooper said parliamentarians who have quality skills to ask pertinent questions and to analyze legislation in committees are absolutely essential to hold the government to account. He said he understands the reasons why Parliament is not sitting and added that virtual sittings are better than no sittings at all.

Thats vital to Canadian democracy that we have a functioning House of Commons that is sitting regularly in person, he said. And weve seen over the last several weeks, Parliaments sitting virtually that is better than not sitting at all, but its no substitute for the real thing, to speak in-person and sitting in Ottawa in the Chamber.

Moreover, he said being in Ottawa offers MPs an opportunity to get to know each other across party lines and to build relationships that play a key role in making progress in the legislative process in the House and in committees.

Frankly, the opportunity to get to know colleagues, not just within your own caucus, but in all different political parties. And thats one of the things that is really lacking in terms of virtual sittings, said Mr. Cooper.

You may not agree with someone on an issue but you might actually quite like [him or her], as a person, because you talk to them, youve dealt with them, youve worked with them. And you dont have that same sort of interaction in a virtual capacity.Its certainly important in terms of being able to work with your caucus. But also, in terms of being able to find common ground on issues. Sometimes those relationships can make all the difference in terms of moving an issue forward successfully, such as in different ways, but, you know, its something like a private members bill, for example.

Rookie MPs told The Hill Times that they do miss the in-person parliamentary experience of attending regular House proceedings, committee meetings, weekly national caucus meetings, and informal interactions with colleagues in between House duties and after work.

In Ottawa, going to in-person sessions, there is the ability to talk in the lobbies with your colleagues, said NDP MP Laurel Collins (Victoria, B.C.). For me, Im on the Environment Committee, and the only committees that are sitting right now are committees that are directly related to the COVID response. And so everything on the Environment Committee has been postponed until we can start back up again. And so definitely, I miss being able to bring my constituents and Canadians concerns around the environment to that space.

As well, Ms. Collins said being in Ottawa, rookie MPs can have access to their mentors in-person and build a network of friendships. Working remotely, she said, new MPs can still reach out to veteran MPs, but the in-person meetings are easier as everyone is on Parliament Hill.

I miss kind of the informal interactions with MPs across party lines, said Ms. Collins. And so you just have to put in a little more effort to reach out to, you know, I had a conversation a couple weeks ago with one of the MPs from the Liberals who had heard one of my questions on a technical briefing call. And so we were able to have a conversation. It just takes a little more effort than if you would just see them in the lobby or see them on the Hill.

Prior to COVID-19, an overwhelming majority of the constituency work was about immigration. But now MPs say theyre mostly dealing with government-related COVID-19 spending programs. Close to seven and a half million people have applied for emergency financial aid under the governments spending programs.

My office has been inundated with requests for support; either people who are wanting help navigating the programs are being put out by the federal government, the support benefits; and a lot of people who are falling through the cracks of those programs, said Ms. Collins.

Mr. Dong who represents a GTA riding said that COVID-19 is still the leading subject in his constituents questions. However a significant number of those questions still have immigration component related to wait times, eligibility requirements, whether government financial assistance during the pandemic would affect someones ability to sponsor, and international students qualification for immigration, among others, he said.

Whether its processing time, whether its eligibility, theyre all triggered by whats going on with COVID-19, said Mr. Dong.

All MPs interviewed said that theyre using online resources such as Facebook Live, Zoom, or regular telephone conference calls to reach out to their constituents. All said they are holding regular virtual town halls to meet with their constituents. My office has been quite busy, said Mr. Dong.[We use] virtual platforms to connect with our constituents and local businesses.

The Hill Times

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'Doing democracy by Zoom just not the same as being there in the House': rookie MPs missing out on parliamentary experience - The Hill Times

One of the hallmarks of democracy is its emphasis on the health of the citizenry. When a democratic nations health status begins to decline precipitously, as Americas did around 1990, it is often a sign that the vitality of the democracy itself is waning.

Faltering indicators in maternal and child health, obesity and diabetes, more recently paired up in the 21st century with a lack of general preparation to deal with epidemics.

In ancient people-oriented governments, top leaders were often chosen for their health science credentials. An example was Moses in ancient Israel, who wrote the book of Leviticus, the nations first public health code. Other examples include Imhotep in ancient Egypt, and Shennong in ancient China.

Our own country sported a credentialed medical scientist turned political leader in Benjamin Rush, a Founding Father who signed the Declaration of Independence and became the nations first Surgeon General.

Today, Taiwans Vice President Chen Chien-jen is a government official in the mold of past democratic leaders. Colleagues say he is a scholar who does not care about partisan politics, a sort of Taiwanese version of our own Dr. Anthony Fauci.

As a trained public health epidemiologist specializing in viruses, Chien-jen has been at the center of successful preparations to deal with the coronavirus there.

Perhaps its time we elected national and state leaders who have a strong background in health and in science. Doing so might prevent the kind of fix we are in now.

Robert Kimball Shinkoskey, Woods Cross

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Letter: Health is tied to a healthy democracy - Salt Lake Tribune

By LETTERSMore by this Author

Autocracy denotes a state led by a supreme and absolute power.

This, supposedly referring to Jubilee Party by the editorial of May 15, is misleading and could paint the ruling party as dictatorial with no internal democracy.

It is an affront to political parties that wish to rein in errant members.

Political parties, by their registration, ascribe to a constitution and code of conduct which every paid-up member, especially those elected by either a geographical majority in a first-past-the-post process or through the party list, swore to uphold.

That forms the currency under the articles of the Constitution that define the ambits and latitudes within which members practise their right to participate in the affairs of a party.

Internal party democracy is, therefore, not a literally pursuit but a prescription of small doses of privileges donated to the membership.

It is a window to ensure upright and popular follow-through of popular ideas reduced into a party manifesto.

Most jurisdictions have adopted either of two variants of democracy direct democracy and representative democracy.

The former denotes a polity where the people influence or dictate government policy through direct participation as was successfully practised in ancient Athens. Switzerland is among modern democracies that practise it, in some of its cantons.

Though a federal state, the hybrid system allows voters to determine minor issues of policy such as renovation of their local school or the more significant national issues like foreign policy.

Every citizen receives a ballot and a brochure and may post their vote by mail in a system generally known as popular initiative.

In the latter, the electorate is represented by an elected class with tenure of office. As practised in the United States, checks the danger of tyranny of the majority resulting from direct democracy.

It is only fair that the excesses of direct democracy within political parties or other institutions be directed and borne by internal structures, such as the National Executive Committee.

The framers of the Constitution chose a hybrid system that incorporates aspects of both direct and representative democracies for a people-driven, popular governance structure for example, the use of the referendum (popular initiative) to amend the Constitution.

Legislative amendments may also be carried out through referral by Parliament to the people.

Finally, the recall clause is available to facilitate constitutionally sanctioned direct democracy, where constituents petition to withdraw an individual or a representative from office.

Political parties are creatures of law and regulated by it. In enforcing party rules, due process and fair administrative procedures take precedence.

Frank Mwendani, deputy head of legal affairs - Jubilee Party - and Tony Moturi, head of legal affairs, ODM Party

Link:
Political parties are vanguards of the rule of law and democracy - Daily Nation

These days, it can feel like some politicians are working against experts in public health and other fields when it comes to actions surrounding COVID-19. There's always been a tension between populism and expertise, but our media landscape and strong partisan polarization are pushing that tension to its breaking point or so it seems, anyway.

As with many issues we've covered on this show, there's more to it than meets the eye, and we are digging into the relationship between expertise and democracy this week in a collaborative episode with our colleagues at Penn State's Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences. The Huck Institutes produce The Symbiotic Podcast, a show that explores how scientists are collaborating in new ways to solve complex global problems.

In this episode, you'll hear Symbiotic Podcast host Cole Hons and Democracy Works host Jenna Spinelle in conversation with Taylor Scott, associate director of the Research-to-Policy Collaboration, and Democracy Works host Michael Berkman. We discuss how organizations like the Research-to-Policy Collaboration seek to promote engagement between researchers and legislators and what both groups can do to make the relationship stronger. We also talk about why expertise is important in a democracy and what happens when it is undermined.

Don't forget, we are still taking questions for the second annual Democracy Works listener mailbag episode. We'll read your questions on the show and choose three submissions to win Democracy Works mugs.Submit your question here.

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Democracy Works: The People Vs. The Experts And Those Caught In The Middle - WPSU