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Early voting in Virginia begins tomorrow! And this week, Pod Virginia favorite Sam Shirazi brings us an update on the national, statewide, and local elections happening around Virginia from now through November.

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IN THE NEWS:
 A bunch of new polls in Virginia are showing Virginia is no longer a battleground state, if it ever was one. When Biden was the candidate, the polls indicated that Republicans would be targeting Virginia as a swing state. Now all that is slipping out of reach for Trump voters. 

The funding formula for how public schools currently receive state money uses Census data to figure out the staffing levels needed for the school-age population in an area. Now a bipartisan group of lawmakers is considering a plan to move to a new formula that calculates money based on students. 

Reporting for Richmonder.org, Graham Moomaw has a bombshell story revealing that skill games are back--three new machines at a sports bar in Henrico that are practically daring authorities to test their legal case.


TRIVIA: Who is the non-president bust in the rotunda at the Capitol building?

At the Watercooler: Lauren and Michael react to the racist lies peddled on the national debate stage targeting Hatian immigrants--and how it's part of a standard playbook.

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This week, Michael is joined by the Cato Institute's Director of Immigration Studies David Bier and Senior Fellow Dr. Jeffrey Singer to break down the false narrative that ties illegal immigration to the fentanyl crisis. They say the real source of fentanyl comes from US citizens at ports of entry, and argue that harder drug prohibition leads directly to harder drugs being manufactured.

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IN THE NEWS:
During a recent training event for Republican poll watchers in Arlington, Virginia party chairman Rich Anderson didn't mince words about the 45 days of voting that starts Friday, September 20. But some of the people urging their supporters to vote early now were trying to undermine the 45 days of early voting during the General Assembly session earlier this year, says House Privileges and Elections Committee Chairwoman Cia Price.

Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares says local law enforcement officials have the authority -- and a moral duty -- to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. In a statement, he thanked sheriffs who are working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE. But advocates  worry that people who feel like they are in danger of being deported might stop contacting the police when they need help or stop cooperating with investigations.

Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson has a message for his constituents. It's all about that *tax* base. That's the headline in his latest newsletter. He says his city will be missing out on $11 million this year because of the declining values of commercial real estate in Alexandria



TRIVIA: Who is the famous sculptor who made the statue of George Washington at the Capitol?

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This week, Michael is joined by Shawn Weneta of The Humanization Project and Ben Knotts of Americans for Prosperity to discuss Governor Youngkin's Executive Order 36: "Stand Tall, Stay Strong, Succeed Together," meant to help Virginians on probation re-enter society and avoid recidivism.

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IN THE NEWS:
Republicans have a goal of identifying 5,000 volunteers to serve as poll watchers for every precinct during all 45 days of voting. But there are concerns about Republican attempts to block certification of elections results that don't go their way.

If elected to the White House, Vice President Kamala Harris says she wants to offer $25,000 in downpayment assistance for first-time homebuyers. Harris is also talking about taking on corporate landlords by restricting rent increases to 5 percent for landlords with more than 50 units. In addition to that, she also wants to create tax incentives for the construction of new homes. While Democrats are talking about increasing the supply of housing, Republicans are talking about decreasing demand by deporting undocumented immigrants as well as allowing some housing development on federal lands and reducing mortgage rates.

Over the weekend, we saw spouses of the Democratic ticket barnstorming the state, which is a time-honored tradition in American politics. 

TRIVIA: What two words were put together to create the word “tabloid?” 

At the Watercooler:
- JD Vance getting booed by the Firefighter's Union.
- Right-wing outlet "The Daily Wire" attacking a Virginia journalist without bothering to contact him.

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This week, Michael is joined by John Milliken, co-editor of The New Dominion and Senior Fellow-In-Residence at George Mason University's Schar School, to illustrate the history of the Byrd Machine with the help of archival audio from the LIbrary of Virginia.

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IN THE NEWS:
As Democrats arrived in Chicago for their convention, a new Roanoke College poll showed that Vice President Kamala Harris has a 3% edge in Virginia over former President Donald Trump.

In July, Governor Youngkin issued Executive Order 33, directing the Virginia Department of Education to draft guidance for public school divisions to adopt local policies and procedures establishing cell phone-free education. With school starting this week, what might the future hold for students and cell phone usage?

Speaking of polls, Governor Youngkin’s approval has jumped to its highest number.
In a new Roanoke College survey of Virginia likely voters, Youngkin’s popularity surged to 59%. When compared to others, that rating makes him the sixth-most popular governor in the nation.


TRIVIA: What was Virginia's walk-up song at the 2024 DNC Convention, and what is the song's connection to the state?


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This week, Michael is joined by Mary Garner McGehee, audio producer for the Virginia Audio Collective and the new host of Bold Dominion, our longtime sister show. They discuss the revamped explainer for state politics, including episodes on Virginia's recycling, minimum wage, and other state politics topics that often fly beneath the radar.

SPONSOR:
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IN THE NEWS:
The tradition in Virginia politics for many years was for state Democrats to remain quiet about national Democrats they did not like and didn’t want to vote for. Now things are much more explicit--and some experts are predicting more Never Trump Republicans will emerge in Virginia.

For years, schools identified how many students lived in poverty by taking a look at who received free or reduced-price lunches. That left many high-poverty students out of the equation, and the system had to be scrapped when many divisions started making meals universally available. The new way of identifying high-poverty students is based on participation in federal assistance programs, and the Department of Education estimates that 43 percent of public students are at-risk. 

For many years, Pell Grants were not available to people who are incarcerated. But now the law has changed, and about 14,000 people who are incarcerated have access to the money to pay for college classes. But only 11 of Virginia's 45 prisons offer college classes.



TRIVIA: How much blood did George Washington’s doctors remove from his body the day he died?

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