Early Voting, Racial Profiling, and Partnership for Petersburg
IN THE NEWS:
Early turnout has been strongest in competitive Senate races in Newport News and Loudoun County as well as House races in Prince William County and Petersburg--and these early numbers could suggest a changing Republican strategy.
Virginia was the first state in the country to remove minor traffic violations as a reason to stop motorists, a law aimed at cracking down on racial profiling. Now, some cities in Virginia want to revisit that law and bring back the ability of officers to stop drivers for expired inspection stickers broken tail lights, or even objects dangling from the rearview mirror.
Black people in Virginia are incarcerated at a rate that is four times the rate for white people. That's according to a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative--likely due to decisions in the 80s and 90s to abolish parole and institute mandatory minimum sentences. Advocates for reducing mass incarceration in Virginia say state lawmakers should consider compassionate release and re-instituting a system for parole.
At the Watercooler:
Credit where credit's due to Governor Youngkin for his Partnership for Petersburg, bringing business and attention to a struggling region of the state.
A report from Informing Democracy points out some vulnerabilities in Virginia's electoral system.