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1 Pennsylvania Governor Announces Automatic Voter Registration
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced yesterday that the state will now automatically register its residents to vote when they get their driver’s license or state I.D. Shapiro said the move was “a key step to make our elections more secure.” Some applauded the move like University of Pittsburgh law professor Jessie Allen, who told ABC News the new policy will help increase voter participation and improve voting accuracy. Not everyone was a fan of automatic voter registration, with the Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania saying it makes it “easier for uninterested, uninformed people to wield political power” and “gives more votes to harvest.” Automatic voter registration was already in place in 24 states.
2 There’s A Shortage Of Clorox Products Because Of A Cyberattack
If you’re having trouble finding your favorite Clorox product on the shelves, you’re not alone. The company is still trying to recover from a cyberattack it disclosed last month and reported on Monday that the damage it suffered has caused it to process orders more slowly and, in some cases, by hand. Some of the company’s products are suffering “an elevated level of consumer product availability issues” according to the company, but it’s expected that things will start transitioning back to normal order processing next week. While the list of brands affected by the shortages hasn’t been made public, there’s a wide range of products that could be affected, including: Clorox, Tilex, Burt’s Bees balms, Glad trash bags, Pine-Sol, Formula 409, Liquid-Plumr, Hidden Valley brand seasonings, Kingsford charcoal, Brita water filters and Fresh Step cat litter.
3 House Republicans Shut Down Military Budget Vote
Five Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked the party from bringing the party’s defense spending bill to a vote. The 212-214 vote against opening discussion on the bill led to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy walking off the House floor and telling reporters in the hall that the move didn’t make sense to him. The five hard-right conservatives voted against the measure because they want to see an overall budget plan from McCarthy, who favors a stopgap funding measure to keep the federal government operating past September 30th, when funding is set to expire. The funding package McCarthy is pushing to prevent a federal government shutdown includes spending cuts of over 8% without cutting defense and veterans accounts. The hard-right Republicans want a full deal with even larger cuts, saying the stopgap proposal isn’t “conservative enough.” If a bill is passed by the House, a bipartisan group of Senators have made it clear it won’t pass in the Senate, making the chances of a government shutdown at the end of the month high.