Listed below are political snippets on the presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial races across the country. Enjoy!

Examining the burgeoning early voting numbers and looking at which party has gained an advantage in voter registration in key battleground states, we see that patterns are beginning to form.

The Target Smart statistical website has tracked the national early voting process throughout the country and reports segmentation by state. Nationally, through yesterday’s report, they log over 55.58 million people already voting, an increase of 108% from the same period when compared to the last presidential election in 2016. If national voter turnout projections of more than 150 million people prove correct, then approximately 37% of 2020 voters have already cast their ballots.

There has been prevalent speculation that we may not see a winner in the presidential election and certainly in some Senate and House races come the evening of November 3rd, but research into the processing and counting systems of each state suggests such a conclusion may actually prove unlikely.  

Virtually all election analysts are predicting that the Democrats will maintain their majority in next week’s national election with the principal unanswered question prompting speculation about whether they will add members to their party conference.

Now, less than a month before the official Election Day, we see multiple polls coming regularly in almost every competitive Senate race. Democrats need a net conversion of three Republican seats if Joe Biden is elected President and four if he is not. With 16 races now on the competitive board, we look at where they each stand.

An October polling plethora has been released in Georgia, which is becoming one of the most important 2020 election cycle states both in terms of the presidential and US Senate outcomes. As the only state featuring two US Senate races, Georgia has attracted more than its share of polling universe attention.

Now moving quickly toward Election Week, it is becoming apparent that the ultimate bellwether state for the 2020 presidential election is the Grand Canyon State of Arizona. Formerly a rock solid Republican political domain, the state has been trending toward the political center in recent elections, most particularly 2018.

We’ve seen a preponderance of straight-line party voting in the past few elections, but two new surveys testing both the presidential and US Senate campaigns in respective states suggest a split ticket result could possibly occur.

Listed below are political snippets on the presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial races across the country. Enjoy!

AGC members are the association’s greatest advocates.  At times throughout the year, it is necessary to call upon the membership to make its voice heard loudly and clearly on legislative and regulatory matters affecting the construction industry.

Please complete the signup process to receive AGC Action Alerts so that you can help make a difference.

On Sept. 19, Jamey Sanders, Vice President of Choctaw Transportation and Division Chair of AGC of America’s Federal and Heavy Construction Division, testified before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on the importance of water resource infrastructure to the U.S. economy. 

Forty states added construction jobs between July 2018 and July 2019, while construction employment increased in 25 states from June to July, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of Labor Department data released on August 16. Association officials said the new jobs totals indicate there is a need for new federal investments in career and technical education programs, along with immigration reform.

On July 15, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) officially opened the Web-based portal for the reinstated EEO-1 collection of pay and hours worked data for calendar years 2017 and 2018. The EEOC also provided a series of Frequently Asked Questions (“FAQs”) regarding the new requirements and a More Info Page to assist filers. The More Info page provides additional resources such as a sample form, an instruction booklet, a user’s guide, a fact sheet, and reference documents. 

On June 7, AGC submitted comments to the U. S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) in response to its proposal to institute a new approach in reviewing federal construction contractors’ compliance with OFCCP’s Affirmative Action Program (AAP) and record-keeping requirements through compliance checks. OFCCP intends for these compliance checks to be less burdensome, but exercised in greater quantity as opposed to more intensive compliance reviews or audits. If OFCCP determines during the compliance check that the contractor has not maintained AAPs, affirmative action specifications, and required records, OFCCP will provide individualized compliance assistance to help the contractor come into compliance and may place the contractor in a pool for a future compliance evaluation. The amount of information for contractors to submit would be more extensive for direct federal contractors than federally assisted contractors.