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| Presented By Robin Powered |
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| Axios What's Next |
| By Jennifer A. Kingson, Joann Muller and Alex Fitzpatrick · Oct 26, 2022 |
| Cities nationwide are bracing for a new election threat ahead of next month's midterms, Jennifer reports today. Today's newsletter is 1,095 words ... 4 minutes. |
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| 1 big thing: Election interference goes local |
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| Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios |
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| As Election Day draws near, mayors and police chiefs are getting a new warning, Jennifer A. Kingson reports: Extremists have jettisoned their nationwide election intimidation strategy in favor of local efforts focused on neighborhood ballot boxes. Why it matters: Groups such as the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers are looking to sway the upcoming midterms in favor of their preferred candidates by signing up as poll workers and drop-box watchers. Driving the news: The U.S. Conference of Mayors held an event this week warning of decentralized election interference efforts targeting local voters, candidates and election workers. - "We've seen them dismantle some of their nationwide organizations," said Mary McCord, executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection and a former Justice Department prosecutor.
- "So the Proud Boys dismantle nationally in favor of state chapters — the Three Percenters did the same," she told the mayors.
- The change began after the 2020 election and grew more pronounced after the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.
State of play: "We're seeing similar types of threats today" as in the 2020 elections, McCord said — but now the attacks are coming from a "very ground-up, localized effort." - For example: In 50 out of 67 Pennsylvania counties, election chiefs have left because of threats, harassment and intimidation against them and their families, McCord said.
- "We've seen a GOP candidate in Idaho have an effigy hung in his yard," she said. "We've seen a Democratic candidate in eastern Washington be shot with a BB gun while putting up signs."
- "These are very localized efforts. They're very threatening, and they continue to grow."
In one tactic, extremists are signing up as poll watchers and workers, trying to use legitimate means to infiltrate and disrupt elections. - A Proud Boy who worked at the polls in Miami in an August primary exhorted group members to do the same during the midterms, telling them: "We need to be at every polling station this November and have eyes and truth-telling patriots monitoring on the ground," McCord said.
- "Some of the responses were: 'It's time for mortal combat,'" she said. "That's the kind of rhetoric around some of the poll-watching activity."
- In another high-profile voter intimidation episode, armed vigilantes in tactical gear were seen watching over a Mesa, Arizona, mail-in ballot drop box.
One countermeasure that proved effective in 2020: Public officials issuing strong statements about how vigorously they would prosecute voter intimidation or harassment, McCord said. - 911 dispatchers should be told to prioritize calls about problems at the polls and send officers promptly, added Charles Ramsey, a former police chief in Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, and currently an adviser to the U.S. Conference of Mayors.
- Police chiefs need to "make it very clear to our personnel that their particular political viewpoints do not matter," Ramsey said. "They have a job to do, and they're going to be expected to be held accountable for doing that job and doing it properly."
Backdrop: Election offices are installing bulletproof glass, bulking up on security and conducting active-shooter trainings. - Rising threats are prompting a shortage of election workers — which extremists could use to their advantage.
The bottom line: Municipal and county leaders have a heavy responsibility to safeguard the upcoming midterms, which could serve as a dress rehearsal for the 2024 presidential election. Share this story. |
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| 2. Elon as global power player |
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| Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios |
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| SpaceX's internet-beaming Starlink satellites are helping CEO Elon Musk wield significant geopolitical power, Axios' Miriam Kramer and Alison Snyder write. Driving the news: Musk recently suggested that Washington should foot the multimillion-dollar bill for the private Starlink service he initiated in Ukraine after Russia cut off internet service there. (He later backpedaled.) - Musk has also offered controversial thoughts on how to de-escalate the situations in Ukraine and Taiwan.
Musk's recent moves show just how much global influence he now has. - Activating Starlink in Ukraine was "a policy decision that the U.S. government didn't make," says Kaitlyn Johnson, a space policy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The big picture: The U.S. government has become increasingly reliant on Musk and SpaceX for launching not just astronauts, but also military communications and intelligence-gathering satellites. - Years of U.S. policy supporting private space companies have led to this moment, where such firms are exceeding governments' capabilities.
Read the rest. |
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| 3. Breastfeeding-friendly airports |
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| A Mamava lactation pod at California's Santa Barbara Airport. Photo: George Rose/Getty Images |
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| Orlando, San Francisco and Chicago O'Hare are the country's top airports for breastfeeding flyers, per a new ranking from lactation pod maker Mamava, Alex Fitzpatrick reports. - The airports were ranked based on their number of nursing rooms and other lactation spaces, as well as their parent-friendly amenities, such as kids' play areas.
The top five: - Orlando International Airport (18 lactation spaces, plus gardens, art exhibits and more)
- San Francisco International Airport (17 spaces and "kids' spots")
- Chicago O'Hare International Airport (16 spaces and art exhibits)
- Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (15 spaces)
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (12 spaces, plus the under-appreciated T5 Rooftop, for taking in the view and dog-walking)
Be smart: Public airports are now required by law to offer lactation spaces — and bathrooms don't count. |
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| A message from Robin Powered |
| Get hybrid work right. Level up your workplace strategy |
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| The conversation around hybrid work has moved past return to office logistics and onto long-term measures of success. What you need to know: Leverage insights from interviews with 200 business leaders and get practical tips for creating workplace strategies that stick. Download the free report. |
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| 4. 📉 Future imperfect |
 Data: Gallup; Note: Polls from 1995-2003 were conducted by the New York Times and CBS News; Chart: Axios Visuals Just 42% of U.S. adults think today's youth will have a better life than their parents, Axios' Erin Doherty reports, citing new Gallup polling data. - That's an 18-point drop since June 2019, and the lowest figure since 2011.
Between the lines: Republicans are driving the swings in these numbers. - Optimism among Republicans fell from 72% in 2008 — former President George W. Bush's last full year in office — to 30% in 2012, the last full year of former President Obama's first term.
- Republican optimism increased by 29 percentage points after former President Trump took office, and dropped 33 points after he left office.
- Democratic optimism fell after Trump took office, but has not rebounded with the Biden presidency.
What they're saying: "It basically suggests that Republicans' answers are kind of more influenced by politics than Democrats are," said Gallup senior editor Jeffrey Jones. |
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| 5. Protecting the penguins |
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| Emperor penguins with their young. Photo: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images |
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| Emperor penguins will be protected under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday, Axios' Herb Scribner reports. Details: The penguins will be considered a "threatened" species, which are those likely to become endangered in the near future. - The impact of climate change on their sea-ice habitat is the primary threat facing the Antarctic birds, the agency says.
What they're saying: "The listing of the emperor penguin serves as an alarm bell but also a call to action," Fish and Wildlife Service director Martha Williams said in a statement. Yes, but: It isn't yet clear what tangible, penguin-helping actions will come of this. Share this story. |
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| A message from Robin Powered |
| Getting your employees back into the office |
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| A successful hybrid workplace requires more than just meeting room and desk scheduling. A new survey of 200 business leaders revealed what companies are getting wrong, how leaders can overcome hybrid work roadblocks and practical steps to improve office engagement. Read the insights. |
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| Big thanks to What's Next copy editor Amy Stern. Was this email forwarded to you? Get your daily dose of What's Next by signing up here for our free newsletter. |
 | | Are you a fan of this email format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 300 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications. | | |
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