Dear Jack,

I hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy during these difficult times. I'll be sending weekly Bulletins so that you have all the latest updates you need.

Special Session Update

This week, I took to the Senate floor to speak in favor of SB 5120, our elections bill in the Senate. This bill would allocate state funds for secure ballot dropboxes and paid postage for mail-in absentee ballots, as well as other things. I'm happy to say that SB 5120 passed in the Senate and its companion bill passed in the House of Delegates. This election, Virginians will be able to cast their ballots safely and securely.

COVIDWISE

As of this week, over 437,000 Virginians have downloaded the COVIDWISE contact tracing app. This is a great start, but the more people who use the app, the more effective it will be. If you haven't already, please go to vdh.virginia.gov/covidwise/ and download the app on the App Store or Google Play.

African American History Course

Last August, Governor Northam directed the Virginia Department of Education to collaborate with various groups and educators to create an African American History course for high school students in the Commonwealth. Sixteen localities in Virginia will be offering this course this fall, including Loudoun County and Prince William County. You can read more here.

Coronavirus Numbers (8/30)

As always, please reach out to my office if you need any assistance. My Senate email address is [email protected] and my in-district phone number is (571) 367-9080. I hope you and your family are able to stay safe and healthy during these challenging times.

Sincerely,

Senator John J. Bell