POLL: Should Missouri’s Governor Mandate Masks?

The COVID-19 pandemic continues, but the response hasn’t been static since the start:

The number of states with statewide mask mandates has risen since the summer, when roughly half of states had statewide mandates in place. Today, almost three-fourths of states have a statewide mandate in place. (ABC News)

Missouri is among the states without a mask mandate, but earlier this month one group sought to change that.

The Missouri Hospital Association sent a letter to Governor Mike Parson urging him to implement a statewide mask mandate as hospitals become increasingly overwhelmed with record numbers of coronavirus patients, many requiring specialized intensive care unit beds that are quickly becoming scarce.

Governor Parson has largely been a proponent of encouraging, but not mandating, mask-wearing. (KRCG)

This is the subject of  today’s poll, the three answers are presented in random order.

After you’ve voted you can continue to see my thoughts on the matter of mask mandates.

… Continue Reading

POLL: Agree or Disagree: Juneteenth Agree or disagree: Juneteenth Should Become a Federal Holiday.

This year St. Louis County made Juneteenth an official holiday. If you’re not familiar, this will help:

Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States.  Dating back to 1865, it was on June 19th that the Union soldiers, led by Major General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that the enslaved were now free. Note that this was two and a half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation – which had become official January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation had little impact on the Texans due to the minimal number of Union troops to enforce the new Executive Order. However, with the surrender of General Lee in April of 1865, and the arrival of General Granger’s regiment, the forces were finally strong enough to influence and overcome the resistance. (Juneteenth.com)

Nearly two and a half more years of slavery for the humans held in Texas.  Juneteenth is a holiday here and there.

Although Juneteenth has been informally celebrated primarily by African American communities since that day in 1865, currently 47 of 50 US states and the District of Columbia recognize Juneteenth as an official state holiday or observance. Texas became the first in 1980.

Hawaii, North Dakota, and South Dakota and are the only three states that don’t formally recognize Juneteenth.

Nationally, a US president typically offers a proclamation acknowledging the day’s significance and gives well wishes to African Americans who observe. Barack Obama did so every year of his presidency and Trump marked the day last year.

However, no president has supported declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday. Last year, the US Senate passed a resolution recognizing “Juneteenth Independence Day” as a national holiday, but it has not yet been approved in the House. (The Guardian)

Today’s non-scientific reader poll is about making Juneteenth a federal holiday.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight.

— Steve Patterson

NEW POLL: Will You Vote In Person or Absentee In The Next Election In Your State?

The Republican-controlled Missouri legislature passed a bill making it easier for some in the state to vote through the end of 2020:

State lawmakers earlier this month sent [Gov] Parson a bill that would allow people considered at-risk — those age 65 and older, living in a long-term care facility or with certain existing health problems — could vote absentee without needing to have their ballot notarized. Anyone else could cast a mail-in ballot but would need to get it notarized.

Parson hasn’t taken action on the bill yet. It would only apply to the August primary and November general election. (Post-Dispatch)

As a disabled voter I’m automatically sent an absentee ballot request form for every election, though it doesn’t have the thrill of voting on Election Day. But that doesn’t matter when the weather, or my health that day, would prevent me from getting to vote.

With the current pandemic the subject of mail-in voting is being strongly debated. Today’s poll is not about policy, but what you personally plan to do. Answers are shown in random order, I’ve included the option  for you to include your own answer if one of mine isn’t satisfactory. Note that if you type in an answer I’m the only one who’ll see what you’ve written — it’ll be shown as “other” on the public results.

This non-scientific poll will close at 8pm tonight.

If you want more information on absentee voting here are links for readers in the primary audience:

• St. Louis City
• St. Louis County

No matter how you vote, just be sure you vote — in all races on the ballot!

— Steve Patterson

Poll: Feelings on voting by mail?

As a person with disabilities I vote by mail, via absentee ballot. For most voters in Missouri & Illinois, you must go to your assigned polling place on Election Day. Coronavirus has some wanting to vote by mail in future elections.

Currently, state laws on the use of mail voting are a patchwork quilt. Only five states regularly conduct mail elections by default: Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah and Washington. Three more, though, do allow counties to opt into mail voting, and nine more allow certain elections to be conducted by mail — although these are typically low-turnout, local elections, a far cry from the 2020 presidential race.

Another 29 states (plus Washington, D.C.) give voters the option to vote by mail — also known as no-excuse absentee voting — in federal elections, but the burden is on the voter to request her ballot. The remaining 16 states still require voters to provide a valid excuse if they want to vote by mail, although this year, some states may accept concerns around the coronavirus as an excuse. (New Hampshire has already moved to do that for the general election.) (fivethirtyeight.com)

Voting by mail isn’t universally accepted as secure.

This poll isn’t just about having mail as an option — but to hold elections entirely by mail. No polling place on Election Day.

This poll will close at 8pm tonight. Illinois voters will soon be able to apply for a vote by mail ballot — click here for more information.

— Steve Patterson

Poll: What concerns you more about stay-at-home restrictions?

I wasn’t planning to do a poll today, but a CBS News poll from a few days ago seemed to straightforward to ignore.  The subject is about stay-at-home orders.

One question, two possible answers presented in random order:

This non-scientific poll will close at 8pm tonight. You can check out this question and many others from the CBS News poll here.

— Steve Patterson