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Forty-two states have issued stay-at-home orders for residents

The governors of Florida, Nevada, and Pennsylvania issued executive orders requiring residents to stay at home except for essential trips and closing nonessential businesses. All three of the orders expire on April 30. In Florida and Pennsylvania, the statewide orders came after each state previously imposed restrictions on individual counties.

• So far, 42 states have issued stay-at-home orders for residents. Seven of those orders are set to last until modified or rescinded by the governor, while the other 35 announced end dates.
• All states with a Democratic governor (24) have issued a stay-at-home order, while the other 18 states have Republican governors. Across the country, there are 24 Democratic and 26 Republican governors.

Eleven states close schools for the remainder of the academic year due to coronavirus

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced that schools would remain physically closed for the remainder of the academic year. Prior to the announcement, schools were closed statewide as a result of Newsom’s shelter-in-place order beginning March 20. Local school officials were responsible for determining school closures before the March 20 order.

• Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) also ordered schools in the state to remain closed for the remainder of the academic year. Schools were initially closed by an executive order from March 18 through March 31, which was later extended to April 24 by an order on March 26.
• So far, 11 states have closed schools for the remainder of the academic year: Alabama, Arizona, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Vermont, and Virginia.

Wisconsin voters to elect state supreme court justice

Incumbent Dan Kelly and challenger Jill Karofsky are running for a 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in the Tuesday's spring general election currently scheduled for Tuesday. Although the race is officially nonpartisan, Kelly has received support from conservative individuals and groups, including President Trump and the state Republican Party, and Karofsky has received support from liberal individuals and groups, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and the state Democratic Party.

• Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) called a special session of the legislature Friday afternoon to discuss potential changes to the election in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
  • Evers proposed conducting the election entirely via mail and extending the deadline for mail-in ballots to be received from April 13 to May 26.
  • Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R) and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) issued a joint statement which said, in part, "many local government positions on the ballot must be filled so that municipalities can swiftly respond to the crisis at hand. We continue to support what Governor Evers has supported for weeks: the election should continue as planned on Tuesday."
• The election will decide the size of the court's conservative majority. A Kelly win would preserve the court's current 5-2 majority, meaning that liberals would not be able to gain control of the court until 2026 at the earliest, assuming no justices leave the bench early. A Karofsky win would reduce conservatives' majority to 4-3, giving liberals a chance to win a majority in the 2023 election.

Seventeen states have postponed elections involving state or local offices

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (R) issued Executive Order 18-20, postponing West Virginia's statewide primary election to June 9, 2020. The primary was originally scheduled to take place May 12, 2020.

• West Virginia is one of 17 states that have postponed primaries or elections that encompass state or local offices. View Ballotpedia's coverage here.

Majority of states suspend in-person judicial proceedings

On April 1, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court extended its original order closing all Pennsylvania courts to the public through April 30. So far, 34 states have suspended in-person proceedings on a statewide level due to coronavirus. In most cases, suspended in-person proceedings will be rescheduled to later dates.

• Like Pennsylvania, many courts are updating or amending their original orders pushing their deadlines to a different time, or in some cases, until further notice. In Arizona, the Arizona Supreme Court updated its initial order from March 16, suspending all in-person proceedings in all Arizona courts until further notice. On March 26, the Alaska Supreme Court suspended all trial court proceedings and civil marriage ceremonies through May 1, except priority hearings.

Several New York state legislators diagnosed with coronavirus

On March 30, it was announced that state Senator James L. Seward (R-N.Y.) tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus.

• Seward is one of several New York lawmakers to contract the virus. Also on the list are state Reps. Brian Miller (R), Kimberly Jean-Pierre (D), Helene Weinstein (D), and Charles Barron (D).
• New York City councilmembers Inez Barron (D), Barry Grodenchik (D), Paul Vallone (D), and Ritchie Torres (D) also previously announced positive diagnoses.
• As of writing, Ballotpedia identified at least 30 state-level politicians who contracted COVID-19 and at least 71 who self-quarantined due to an exposure risk or for symptoms matching the virus.

State and local governments release some prison inmates due to the coronavirus pandemic

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced March 31 that they would expedite the release of 3,500 inmates within a few weeks to help slow the spread of coronavirus within the California prison system. The inmates considered for release are serving terms for nonviolent crimes and were due to be released in 60 days.

• Some governors are issuing executive orders relaxing restrictions to allow jail and prison officials to release vulnerable populations early.
  • In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed an executive order relaxing restrictions on early inmate release for good behavior.
  • In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order suspending provisions of the "Jail Overcrowding Emergency Act" to allow local officials to release vulnerable populations that pose no risk to the public.
  • Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado signed an executive order granting the director of the Colorado Department of Corrections "broad authority to release people within 180 days of their parole eligibility date, and suspended limits on awarding earned time, to allow for earlier release dates."
• Texas is preventing the release of certain inmate populations. On March 29, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order prohibiting the release of inmates accused or previously convicted of violent crimes without paying bail.

Wisconsin voters to decide Marsy's Law amendment

Voters in Wisconsin will vote on Marsy’s Law—a type of constitutional amendment addressing the rights of crime victims. The Wisconsin State Legislature referred the constitutional amendment to the ballot on May 15, 2019. Voters in 12 other states have approved Marsy's Law measures. Marsy's Law has never been defeated at the ballot. Montana's 2018 Marsy's Law measure, however, was overturned by a court ruling, and Kentucky's 2018 measure is pending a court ruling.

• Due to the coronavirus the absentee ballot request deadline was extended to 5:00 p.m. on April 3 for this election, and the ballot return deadline was extended to 4:00 p.m. on April 13.
• As passed by the Wisconsin State Legislature, the Marsy’s Law amendment would grant crime victims with certain rights, including a right to be treated with dignity, respect, courtesy, sensitivity, and fairness; a right to privacy; a right to be present at all criminal proceedings and hearings; a right to confer with the government prosecutor; and a right to restitution and compensation.

Michigan Rep. Robinson dies of suspected coronavirus infection

Michigan State Representative Isaac Robinson (D) died March 29 at age 44. He had represented District 4 in the Michigan House of Representatives since January 1, 2019.

• Robinson’s family stated that his suspected cause of death was COVID-19, the illness caused by coronavirus.
• Ballotpedia is tracking elected officials, candidates, and government officials who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or are in quarantine to prevent transmission of COVID-19 due to coronavirus infection. Read more here.

Milwaukee, Madison to hold municipal, county, and judicial elections in Wisconsin

teA general election for municipal and county offices is scheduled for April 7 in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin’s two most populous cities. Milwaukee is the county seat of Milwaukee County, and Madison is the county seat of Dane County. Primaries were held February 18.

• Offices in Dane County and Milwaukee County are officially nonpartisan. The presidential primary in Wisconsin is also scheduled for April 7.

Arkansas state Representative defeated in primary runoff election

Three Republican primary runoff elections were held in Arkansas for state legislative seats March 31. No other party held primary runoff elections. On the ballot were state House Districts 53, 90, and 91. The general election is scheduled for November 3, 2020. All three primary runoff winners face Democratic candidates in the general election.

• District 90 Rep. Jana Della Rosa was the only incumbent on the primary runoff ballot and was defeated by challenger Kendon Underwood. With all precincts reporting, unofficial results show Rosa received 45.0% of votes to Underwood’s 55.0%.
• In District 53, Jon Milligan defeated Cole Peck with 68.3% of the vote; Peck received 31.7%.
• The closest match-up of the night was in District 91, where Delia Haak defeated Scott Richardson with 54.0% to 46.0%.

Wisconsin Senate Minority Leader will not seek re-election

Wisconsin State Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D) announced April 2 she would not seek re-election.

• Shilling’s announcement comes after spending nearly 20 years in the state legislature.
• In a statement, Shilling said, "It was not an easy decision, but I know it is time to put my family first and look to a future where I can put away my little red suitcase that has accompanied me on my weekly travels to Madison for the past 20 years.”

Anchorage to hold all-mail municipal elections

The city of Anchorage, Alaska, is holding general elections April 7 for six city council seats, two school board seats, and 15 special district seats. The elections will be vote-by-mail, and all of the races are nonpartisan.

• The Anchorage City Council, also known as the Anchorage Assembly, has six of its 11 seats on the ballot in 2020. District 2-Seat C incumbent Fred Dyson was the only assembly incumbent to not file for re-election.
• The Anchorage School District has two of the board’s seven seats on the ballot in 2020. Incumbents Dave Donley and Andy Holleman both filed for re-election.

Candidate filing period for state legislative races ends in five states

The filing deadlines to run for state legislative races passed this week in South Carolina, Missouri, South Dakota, New York, and Tennessee. In total, 782 state legislative races are on the 2020 ballot in those five states. South Carolina’s filing deadline was March 30, Missouri’s and South Dakota’s deadlines were March 31, and New York’s and Tennessee’s were April 2. The filing deadline also passed in New Jersey on March 30 for two state legislative special elections.

The next statewide filing deadline is on April 6, 2020, in Arizona.

Murdock appointed to North Carolina State Senate after winning March primary

• Murdock replaces Henry Michaux, Jr. (D), a retired former member of the North Carolina House of Representatives. Cooper appointed Michaux, who served in the House for 35 years, following the resignation of Floyd McKissick in January 2020. At the time of his appointment, Michaux stated that he expected to serve briefly in the state senate until the North Carolina primaries took place and Cooper appointed the winner to the seat. Michaux resigned from the Senate on March 31, 2020.

Candidate filing period for state and local races to end in Arizona, North Dakota, and Oklahoma

• Arizona’s, North Dakota’s, and Oklahoma’s statewide filing deadlines are the 32nd, 33rd, and 34th to take place in the 2020 election cycle. The next statewide filing deadline is on April 21 in Michigan.

Mississippi State Representative Andrews resigns

• Andrews said that he resigned from the House in order to receive his pension earned while serving as a county judge.
• Andrews' resignation comes two months after former state representative Ramona Blackledge (R) left the state House.
  • Blackledge stated that she resigned so she could continue receiving her Public Employees Retirement System of Mississippi (PERS) retirement benefits she earned as a county tax assessor.
• Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn (R) stated that he would not challenge a section of the Mississippi Administrative Code which prohibits recipients of Mississippi’s public employees’ retirement system benefits from also receiving a salary from the state.

Ballot Measures Update

• Eighteen of the certified measures are citizen-initiated measures. Fifty-four are legislative referrals. One is an automatic constitutional revision commission question.
  • Three measures were on the March 3 ballot, one is on the April 7 ballot in Wisconsin, two measures are on the June 9 ballot in Maine, and the remaining 67 are on the November ballot.
  • On April 7, Wisconsin voters will decide a Marsy’s Law Amendment, which would add specific rights of crime victims to the state constitution.
• No new measures were certified for the 2020 ballot last week.
  • One $3 billion bond measure was approved for the November ballot by the New York State Legislature last week and awaits the governor’s signature to be certified.
  • Proponents of four additional ballot initiatives in Alaska, Colorado, and Michigan submitted signatures, which are pending verification by state officials.

Special Elections Update

• Mississippi House of Representatives District 88

States in session

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