The presidential election contest between Joe Biden and Donald Trump has got the world’s attention, but some other notable events happened as a result of Tuesday’s elections, including:
Firsts
New Mexico became the first state to elect all women of color to represent it in the House of Representatives. The congressional delegation includes two Democrats: Deb Haaland, a Laguna Pueblo member, and Teresa Leger Fernandez. The third member of the delegation is Republican Yvette Herrell, who is Cherokee. She beat the Democratic incumbent Xochitl Torres Small for the seat.
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The 117th Congress will have a record number of Native American women because of the wins for Herrell and Haaland, as well as for Sharice Davids, a Ho-Chunk Nation member representing Kansas.
Other election firsts included Ritchie Torres and Mondaire Jones becoming the first openly gay Black members of Congress; Black Lives Matter activist and nurse Cori Bush becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress in Missouri, and Sarah McBride of Delware will be the first openly transgender state senator in US history.
District attorney ousted
Georgia voters ousted a prosecutor who was criticized for her office’s response to the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, the 25-year-old Black man who was killed in February by a white father and son who armed themselves and pursued him as he ran through their neighborhood.
The prosecutor, Jackie Johnson, refused to allow police officers who responded to arrest the two men, and two months passed before they were charged with felony murder and aggravated assault. As district attorney, Johnson had one of the most powerful jobs in the region’s justice system.
District attorneys are rarely ousted, even if they have been accused of misconduct, according to the Washington Post, but a movement to remove them from office has gained steam because of Black Lives Matter.
Sheriffs ousted
In a similar vein, South Carolina voters ousted 14 sheriffs after the local paper, the Post and Courier, exposed a series of unethical or potentially illegal behavior, leading to indictments against sitting sheriffs.
Criminal justice advocates have encouraged voters to pay attention to local election races for district attorney and sheriffs, who can have an outsized influence on local law enforcement and are usually easily re-elected. And at a time when the local news business is struggling, South Carolina voters were able to respond to government misconduct thanks to the Post and Courier’s investigation.
Jessica Pishko
(@JessPish)
South Carolina voters overall ousted over a dozen sheriffs, HALF of whom were found to have committed misconduct. We can credit reliable, dogged media for informing voters. Go go go!@postandcourier https://t.co/uWhXnFrDK5
November 4, 2020
Drugs win
In the country which declared a “war on drugs” in 1971, it was decided on Wednesday that “drugs won” after a majority of voters in several states backed efforts to decriminalize or legalize some drugs. Four states voted to legalize recreational cannabis and two voted to legalize it for medical use.
The most dramatic step was taken in Oregon, which decriminalized hard drugs such as cocaine, heroin, oxycodone and methamphetamine and legalized psychedelic mushrooms. Proponents hope the Oregon measures will reduce overdose deaths and racial disparities in drug sentencing and arrests.
Another win for the Fight for $15
Florida voters decided the state minimum wage should increase to $15 an hour over the next several years. The state’s current minimum wage is $8.56 and the approved ballot measure would increase it each year to hit $15 by September 2026. Workers will see the first increase next September, when it is raised to $10.
A UC Berkeley study published last year said a $15-an-hour minimum wage helps reduce poverty and does not, as is often said, slash jobs in low-income areas.
If you have 20 minutes to read about the nuances of the Fight for $15, read this.
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