Get Out the Vote

Posted on November 8, 2016

It’s finally election day! Over 40 million Americans have already voted, thanks to early voting opportunities across the country, which should be over a third of the votes cast in this election.

Some basics…

To win the election, Trump or Clinton needs at least 270 electoral votes. There are 538 electoral votes in total. Each state gets as many “electors” as they have members of Congress. This corresponds to 435 members of the House + 100 Senators + 3 electors for the District of Columbia = 538 electoral college votes.

Here are the core swing states: Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, Iowa, and Nevada. Other states like New Hampshire, Arizona, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan and one lonely electoral vote in Maine could plausibly be up for grabs.

The earliest indicator of the night will be New Hampshire. It’s small but mighty with only four electoral college votes. However, If Trump wins there then he’s likely surged enough to win the whole thing. And if Hillary wins New Hampshire then it becomes much more difficult for Trump to win without a massive upset in the midwest (Wisconsin and Michigan are considered reliably democratic) or by winning Pennsylvania.

The two other East Coast states that might call the election are North Carolina and Florida. If Hillary wins either of those states then it’s basically over for Trump.

Control of the Senate is also crucial tonight. There are 34 seats up for reelection; Democrats need to win 15 of those 34 seats to claim the majority and Republicans need to win 21. Keep an eye on Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Indiana and North Carolina, which are especially close.

To track what’s happening in the polls across the country here are some sites you might want to hit refresh on tonight.

The New York Times is providing unlimited access to all New York Times digital platforms through Wednesday so you can keep up with the election via the Times.

Get accurate voter data from 270 To Win.

Get Nate Silver (and Co’s) take at 538.

What We’re Reading This Week, October 31 – November 4

Posted on November 4, 2016November 4, 2016

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations Office is enjoying this week. Election Day is November 8th!!!

Marketplace Crunch – One of the most popular pieces of ObamaCare could be hurting the administration’s push to attract more young people into the wobbly marketplace. Because of the healthcare law, the White House says nearly 3 million young people under the age of 26 have been able to stay on their parents’ insurance plans and don’t have to shop for coverage on HealthCare.gov. That’s double the number of young people between the ages of 18 and 25 who are currently covered through the exchanges. An increase in enrollment is much needed by this group. The administration is staging campus enrollment drives and pouring money into Facebook and Instagram ads this year in an attempt to boost ObamaCare enrollment among young adults. Read more in The Hill.

Cool Your Jets – Congressman Darryl Issa (R-CA) says Republicans need to knock off the impeach Clinton talk. Read more in Roll Call.

Why Tuesdays – Americans vote on Tuesdays. It’s inconvenient – people have to work, polls are crowded in the few hours they’re open before and after work. How did elections get this way? Read more at NPR.

Who’s In? – The vote is a mere weekend away, but the race for House Leadership is already on. Who is running for such vaunted positions such as Republican Conference Vice Chair or Democratic Policy and Communications Committee Chair? What gavels will be moving with the House Republican Caucus’s self-imposed term limits on chairmanships? Roll Call has the scoop.

Civil War – The future of the Republican Party doesn’t look pretty after this election as deep schisms have revealed themselves down to the Republican base. How does the GOP move forward and what does forward look like? Read more in Politico.

Moral Minority – For the last several election cycles, Southern evangelicals, specifically Southern Baptists, have been staunch voting block for the Republican party, but things could change with new church leadership . Read more in The Atlantic.

Down Ballot Boom – With one week to go before Election Day, Republicans are using the FBI’s decision to review emails found via an investigation of former Congressman Anthony Weiner’s computer as a last-second boost in the race for the House and Senate. Read more at The Hill.

It Could Happen – Yes, Trump has a path to victory with electoral votes. It depends on how close the popular vote is in certain states to how they break in the electoral college. Read more in 538.

FBI & Emails – The FBI got permission on Sunday to look through 650,000 emails discovered on a laptop used by (current target of an underage-sexting investigation) Anthony Weiner and his estranged wife/Hillary Clinton confidante Huma Abedin, to see if any of those emails might be relevant to its investigation into Clinton’s use of a private email server. Read more in Slate.

I Voted – Susan B. Anthony fought for equality for women for over 60 years and laid the foundation for the legal right to vote that American women enjoy today. Now, over 100 years after her death, admirers of the suffrage icon came to her grave with a different kind of tribute—dozens of “I Voted” stickers. Read more at Smithsonian Magazine.

Brex-not-so-much – The UK Court has ruled that the British plan to leave the European Union has to be approved by Parliament. One problem, most MPs were against leaving. Read more in The New York Times.

Coffee, Tea, Me? – One silver lining in Brexit…it has raised the profile of the British so that they are now exporting tea to China. Read more in Marketplace.

Obama Announces Intent to Appoint New Board Members to the NSB

Posted on November 1, 2016

The White House announced that President Barack Obama intends to appoint W. Kent Fuchs, Victor R. McCrary, Emilio F. Moran, and Julia M. Phillips to the National Science Board (NSB).

Victor R. McCrary is Vice President for Research and Economic Development at Morgan State University. Dr. McCrary was the Business Area Executive for Science & Technology at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where he managed technology investment strategies for over $60 million for internal research and development (IRAD) projects targeted to the areas of national defense and national security. Dr. McCrary was also a division chief at the National Institute of Standards and Technology where he received the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Gold Medal for facilitating and developing the first global industry standard for e-books. He has published over 60 articles and is a Fellow of the American Chemical Society.

Emilio F. Moran is the John A. Hannah Distinguished Professor at the Center for Global Change and Earth Observations at Michigan State University. He is also a Research Professor at the University of Maryland’s Population Research Center. He brings experience as a NSF grantee in cultural anthropology, geography, ecosystem science, and other disciplines. He provides an important interface with the physical and biological sciences through his research on human interactions with the environment under conditions of change. Dr. Moran has published over 200 articles, 11 books and 15 edited volumes. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences in 2010.

Julia M. Phillips is Director Emeritus at Sandia National Laboratories. As Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, she managed the Laboratory’s $160 million Laboratory Directed Research and Development Program. She was also responsible for research strategy development, implementation, and intellectual property protection and deployment. Dr. Phillips came to Sandia in 1995 after spending 14 years as technical staff and a manager at AT&T Bell Laboratories. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The White House also reappointed Arthur Bienenstock, W. Carl Lineberger, and Anneila Sargent to each serve a second six-year term. Dr. Bienenstock, Professor Emeritus of Photon Science at Stanford University, has led the Board’s initiatives on reducing administrative burdens on federally funded researchers. Dr. Lineberger, E. U. Condon Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of Colorado, and Dr. Sargent, Ira S. Bowen Professor of Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology, have both played key roles in NSB’s oversight and guidance of major NSF facilities and programs.

The NSB began accepting nominations for the Board last fall and made recommendations to President Obama for his consideration. Every two years, eight members rotate off the Board and a new class is appointed. Board membership will be complete when one more new member is appointed to the class of 2022.

What We’re Reading This Week, October 24-28

Posted on October 28, 2016

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.

October Surprise -Clinton’s FBI investigation is being reopened. Read more in The Hill.

Double Down – Professor Allan Lichtman has correctly predicted three decades of presidential candidates. He says Trump is going to win. Read more in the Washington Post.

Basement of the Russell Building (AOC) Photo: AOC

Challenges – It is harder than ever for young scientists to compete for grants as federal dollars are stagnant and young faculty are under historically high pressure to publish, secure funding and earn permanent positions — leaving precious little time for actual research. Read more in Science.

Down Ballot Money – Republican Party’s biggest donors has begun to flow down to Senate and House races in the final days of the 2016 campaign. Read more in The New York Times.

Money as Motivator – Incentivizing students to get good grades is something parents have done for years, but what happens when the schools themselves to it? Not as much of a success. Read more in The Science of Us.

That Extra 10 – Student debt may be exacerbating inequality. A college graduate with an extra $10,000 in student loans will achieve the nation’s median net worth 26% slower than a college graduate without that debt. Read more at Market Watch.

Scapegoat – Patient 0 became Patient Zero and that became Gaetan Dugas. The only problem is, that the story isn’t true. He isn’t Patient Zero. Read more in The Science of Us.

For Profit$$$ – Many ambitious yet disadvantaged students still end up in schools where they’re most likely to drop out and accrue lots of debt. Read the in-depth piece in the Atlantic.

What We’re Reading This Week, October 3 – 7

Posted on October 7, 2016October 7, 2016

Here’s a selection of articles the Federal Relations team is enjoying this week.

Vast Benefits of Destruction – Donald Trump has not paid taxes for the last 19 years. In 1996, he declared a $916 million loss on his 1995 income tax returns, a tax deduction so substantial, it has allowed him to legally avoid paying any federal income taxes since. The losses stem from the financial mismanagement of three Atlantic City casinos, his experiment in the airline business, and his ill-timed purchase of the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. The total losses would wipe out more than $50 million per year in federal taxes since reporting the loss. Read more in The New York Times.

Reshape – Longwood University, which hosted the vice-presidential duel, is restructuring classes with a focus on civics to teach students to be good citizens. Read more in The Atlantic.

Pocket Change? – This week Harvard University announced that its endowment lost $2 billion from investments. While the institution and the endowment continue to flourish (with $35.7 billion), Harvard’s endowment returns have lagged behind all other Ivy League universities, except Cornell. It has caused the university, and the Harvard Investment Company some significant scrutiny into how and what it invests. Read more The Chronicle for Higher Education.

Be a Role Model – Helping teenagers make the transition from high schoolers in their parents’ homes to college students balancing the freedoms of an unchaperoned social life with the load of academic expectations has always been a big job for R. A.s, most of whom are no older than 21 themselves. Added to this are the complications about sex and sexual assault on campus, and the role of the university in prevention, awareness and disciplinary measures. Read more in The New York Times.

Food Wizard – Danny Meyer, who is a restaurant guru on the East Coast (Ed. Note: Shake Shack is AMAZING), is integrating the iWatch into the eating experience. At the reopening of his flagship restaurant Union Square Cafe in NYC, every manager will have an iWatch. When a VIP walks through the front door, someone orders a bottle of wine, a new table is seated, a guest waits too long to order her or his drink, or a menu item runs out, every manager will get an alert via the tiny computer attached to their wrist. Read more in Eater.