Joe’s Corner

As if the stakes of this election weren’t already high enough, the tragic death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a cultural icon and progressive legal giant, has highlighted that the 2020 election is the most important election of our lifetime. Justice Ginsburg leaves a profound legacy as a champion of women’s rights and gender equality, but Justice Ginsburg was also a strong supporter of environmental health protection, including her key vote in 2007 that required the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider its authority to regulate greenhouse gases in order to address climate change. 

Since then, the Trump Administration’s EPA has launched an all out assault on key legislation that protects public health and the environment. Elections do indeed have consequences. The president sets goals and policies that impact every aspect of public health, welfare and quality of life. The president appoints the people that head up federal agencies that deal with these important issues. Unfortunately, the present administration has chosen people to head agencies who fundamentally disagree with those agencies’ long-established missions. Putting the fox in charge of the hen house has done tremendous damage to those institutions. Your vote is extremely important and will shape how the U.S. meets crises such as climate change.

If you plan to vote by mail, send in your ballot as soon as possible. Mail-in voting has been a safe and effective way to vote for years. Recent, baseless attacks on mail-in ballots should not discourage you from voting by mail.
If you aren’t registered to vote, get registered now. If you plan to vote in person, find out where your polling place is ahead of election day–your polling place may well be moved. Expect long lines and make sure you wear a mask and social distance. If you can, volunteer at a polling place and help other people exercise their right to vote.