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Carl Smith

Senior Staff Writer

Carl Smith is a senior staff writer for Governing and covers a broad range of issues affecting states and localities. For the past 30 years, Carl has written about education and the environment for peer-reviewed papers, magazines and online publications, with a special focus on conservation and sustainability. He has guest-edited special issues of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health focused on the Precautionary Principle and the human rights dimensions of environmental degradation. Carl attended the University of Texas and the University of Georgia. He can be reached at carl.smith@governing.com or on Twitter at @governingwriter.

An initiative to cut a carbon tax out of the Washington Climate Commitment Act was soundly rejected by voters. Gov. Jay Inslee sees the margin of defeat as an important message.
Voting and election administration became contentious topics after 2020. This time, years of preparation, efforts to improve transparency and collaboration with law enforcement helped things run smoothly.
Arizona is the only state to require all jurisdictions to livestream ballot processing, but there are other places to watch.
Public service videos featuring election officials and voices from law enforcement and the military stress the importance of secure elections — and that interference will be punished.
Voters in Massachusetts have an opportunity to open the door to personal and therapeutic use of plant-based psychedelics.
Fear and confusion in the aftermath of disasters create fertile ground for misinformation. Social media and AI can amplify it, but there are ways to weather the storm.
Few homeowners are protected against flood damage. What can be done to reduce the burden of recovery on them and their communities?
Latinos make up ever increasing shares of student bodies and the workforce but lag behind whites in science and technical education. One North Carolina county has a promising approach.
Future in Context
After guiding the Texas county through the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Philip Huang, its health director, pushed for collaboration and long-term strategies to prepare for future crises. Data modernization proved to be crucial.
Voters and voting offices in Western N.C. face unprecedented challenges in finding their bearings, and each other.