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The Coronavirus Weekly Update summarizes major changes due to the coronavirus pandemic in politics, government, and elections. Today, you will find updates on the following topics, with comparisons to our October 16 edition.
- Election changes
- School closures and reopenings
- Lawsuits about state actions and policies
- Travel restrictions
- Ballot measure changes
- 1918 story
- Federal responses
- Stay-at-home orders
- Eviction and foreclosure policies
- Diagnosed or quarantined public officials
- State legislation
- State courts
For daily news on state reopening plans and which industries and activities are permitted across the country, subscribe to Documenting America's Path to Recovery.
Overview:
- Thirty-nine states have modified their voting procedures.
- Four states have made voting procedure modifications since Oct. 15.
- Twenty states have modified their candidate filing requirements.
- No states have made candidate filing modifications since Oct. 15.
Details:
- Michigan: On Oct. 16, a three-judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a lower court order that had extended Michigan's receipt deadline for absentee/mail-in ballots. The appellate panel reinstated the original receipt deadline -- 8 p.m. on Election Day.
- North Carolina:
- On Oct. 19, the North Carolina State Board of Elections directed counties to accept absentee/mail-in ballots received by 5 p.m. on Nov. 12 and postmarked on or before Election Day. The state board of elections also issued new guidance on how voters can resolve problems with their absentee/mail-in ballots.
- On Oct. 20, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit declined to block the extension of North Carolina's absentee/mail-in ballot return and receipt deadlines.
- Pennsylvania: On Oct. 19, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's order extending the receipt deadline for mail-in ballots to Nov. 6 for ballots postmarked on or before Election Day.
- Tennessee: On Oct. 19, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit unanimously upheld a district court decision that temporarily suspended a Tennessee law requiring first-time voters to vote in person.
School closures and reopenings
Read more: School responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2020-2021 academic year
The current status of school reopenings is as follows:
- Washington, D.C., has a district-ordered school closure
- 2016-17 enrollment: 85,850 students (0.17% of students nationwide)
- Seven states (Calif., Del., Hawaii, N.C., N.M., Ore., W.V.) have state-ordered regional school closures, require closures for certain grade levels, or allow hybrid instruction only.
- 2016-17 enrollment: 9,366,079 students (18.51% of students nationwide)
- Four states (Ark., Fla.*, Iowa, Texas) have state-ordered in-person instruction
- 2016-17 enrollment: 9,180,918 students (18.15% of students nationwide)
- *Note: Three counties in South Florida are not at the same phase of reopening as the rest of the state and the emergency order to reopen schools does not affect them.
- Thirty-nine states have reopenings that vary by school or district
- 2016-17 enrollment: 31,955,012 students (63.17% of students nationwide)
Details:
- Hawaii - The Department of Health issued updated guidance for school reopenings. The changes could allow blended learning or full-time, in-person instruction on every island in the state, based on the last two weeks of data. The state also said it would consider schools' and districts' abilities to implement mitigation measures before it would allow reopenings.
Lawsuits about state actions and policies
Read more: Lawsuits about state actions and policies in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021
Overview:
- To date, Ballotpedia has tracked 1,172 lawsuits, across all 50 states, dealing in some way with the COVID-19 outbreak. Court orders have been issued, or settlements have been reached, in 377 of those lawsuits.
- Since Oct. 15, we have added 138 lawsuits to our database. We have also tracked an additional 15 court orders and/or settlements.
- Ballotpedia has separately followed another 399 lawsuits, across all 50 states, dealing with election issues during the COVID-19 outbreak. Court orders have been issued, or settlements have been reached, in 270 of those lawsuits.
Here are two lawsuits that have either garnered significant national media attention or involve major advocacy groups.
- Linthicum v. Brown: On Oct. 16, three Oregon state lawmakers and a local businessman filed suit in Multnomah County Circuit Court against Gov. Kate Brown (D), alleging the governor’s stay-at-home orders and business closures exceeded her authority. The plaintiffs – state Reps. Werner Reschke (R) and Mike Nearman (R), state Sen. Dennis Linthicum (R), and Washington County businessman Neil Ruggles – argue Brown "has arrogated unto herself legislative powers of sweeping scope to reorder social life and destroy the livelihoods of residents across the state, which powers are reserved exclusively for the Legislative Assembly by the Oregon Constitution." The plaintiffs are seeking an injunction blocking Brown’s state-of-emergency declaration and any rules emanating from it, as well as a judgment settling their state constitutional claims. Charles Boyle, a representative for Brown, said, "The governor is focused on implementing measures to keep Oregonians healthy and safe, based on the advice of doctors and health experts and what the data shows will limit the spread of Covid-19."
- The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo: On Oct. 16, Judge Nicholas Garaufis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York declined to block Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) COVID-19 gathering-size restrictions on places of worship. The lawsuit stems from a policy that imposes regional capacity restrictions on nonessential businesses and gatherings. In higher-risk "red" and "orange zones," in-person gatherings are limited to the lesser of 10 people or 25% of capacity and the lesser of 25 people or 33% of capacity, respectively. In its complaint, the Diocese of Brooklyn alleged Cuomo’s order "plainly and unconstitutionally targets religious practice." In his ruling, Garaufis, a Bill Clinton (D) appointee, found that the "public interest analysis, and accordingly the balance of the equities, cuts in favor of the State, which is trying to contain a deadly and highly contagious disease." In a statement, the Diocese said it "is extremely disappointed" by the ruling and would "continue to advocate for places of worship to be classified as essential, for there is nothing more necessary today than a community of believers, united in prayer, asking the Lord to end this pandemic." Caitlin Girouard, Cuomo's press secretary, said, "We will let the decision speak for itself." The Diocese has filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Travel restrictions
Read more: Travel restrictions issued by states in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021
Overview:
- Governors or state agencies in 25 states issued executive orders placing restrictions on out-of-state visitors. At least 14 of those orders have been rescinded.
- Since Oct. 15, three states have modified their travel restrictions.
Details:
- Connecticut, New Jersey, New York - October 20, 2020: Govs. Ned Lamont (D-Conn.), Phil Murphy (D-N.J.), and Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) added Arizona and Maryland to the tri-state self-quarantine list. The governors advised against traveling between their three states, but agreed not to mandate self-quarantines for travel between Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey. New Jersey also removed Delaware from its quarantine list.
Ballot measure changes
Read more: Changes to ballot measure campaigns, procedures, and policies in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2022
Overview:
- At least 19 lawsuits were filed in 13 states seeking court orders suspending or changing signature requirements and deadlines.
- Rulings or settlements have been issued in at least 18 cases.
- Ballotpedia tracked 27 statewide initiative petition drives that suspended signature gathering.
- Seven states and D.C. changed ballot measure procedures through executive orders or legislative action.
- At least four initiative campaigns initially targeting 2020 reported they would shift their focus to 2022.
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