Your Daily Roundup for August 4th

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Good morning. As the COVID-19 pandemic takes a toll on life in America, our team at Future Majority is tracking the latest updates: 

The census is set to be completed ahead of schedule. The question is why?

The U.S. census is one of the most important processes carried out by the federal government as is constitutionally required to occur every 10 years. The crucial counting of residents in the United States determines how federal aid is appropriated and how legislative districts from the local to the federal level are determined.

The survey has been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. But the Trump administration announced that it will end a month earlier than scheduled, on September 30th. Critics are concerned that the administration deployed tactics to undercount communities of color as well as rural areas that might not have been as easily reached during the crisis.

Lawmakers are still debating how to provide aid to tens of millions of struggling Americans:

After eight days and over 10 hours of negotiations, lawmakers reported progress as they finally began to understand their disagreements across the aisle. Americans have been without much-needed relief since Friday, when key programs from the CARES Act expired. House Democrats passed the HEROES Act in May, but it has been yet to be considered by the Senate led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

President Trump has largely taken himself out of the negotiations, which have been led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. The two will be back on Capitol Hill today for further meetings. 

A new Ohio poll sheds light on the state of the presidential race:

A poll out yesterday from the Ohio Media Collaborative found that former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Trump by 4 points in the state:

  • Biden: 46%
  • Trump: 42%

Ohio is a crucial state for the electoral college -- no Republican has ever been elected or re-elected without carrying the state. Ohio has been a harbinger for the eventual winner, as it has accurately picked the victor in every election for president going back to 1964.

Trump leads with voters who ranked the economy as their top issue, while Biden leads with those who were most concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic.