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Elections, filing deadlines, and coronavirus updates pack this week's highlights of The State and Local Tap. As always, find a complete review of the week and preview of the week ahead by launching the full edition.
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Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down state's stay-at-home order, five other states lift stay-at-home orders this week
Stay-at-home orders were lifted in six states this week: Wisconsin (May 13) and Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, and Vermont (May 15). In Wisconsin, the order was lifted by a ruling of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In the other five states, the orders expired after the governor chose not to extend them further.
- So far, stay-at-home orders have ended in 23 states. Governors ended stay-at-home orders in 22 states—16 Republican governors and seven Democratic governors. Of the 20 states with stay-at-home orders in place, three have Republican governors and 17 have Democratic governors.
- On May 13, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling, invalidated the executive branch's stay-at-home order. The court found that Wisconsin Department of Health Services Secretary-designee Andrea Palm overstepped her authority when she extended the stay-at-home order through May 26 on behalf of Gov. Tony Evers (D). It was the first time a state court of last resort struck down a stay-at-home order.
- The suit was brought by the state legislature. Republican lawmakers asked the court to strike down the stay-at-home order but stay the implementation for several days to give them time to develop a replacement plan with the governor. The court declined to do so and immediately lifted the restrictions imposed on individuals and businesses.
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North Dakota announces schools can reopen June 1 for summer programs
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (R) announced that schools in North Dakota could reopen starting June 1 for summer programs, though reopening was not obligatory. Under the order, child care programs, summer school classes and college admissions testing could resume. The order also did not prohibit schools from offering summer distance learning options.
- Schools in Wyoming were permitted to begin reopening to in-person instruction on May 18 after a statewide order expired on May 15. The decision to reopen will be left up to local school authorities. Laramie County School District #1, the school's largest, already announced it would continue distance learning. The school year is scheduled to end in Wyoming on May 28, and schools have been closed to in-person instruction since March 23.
- Forty-eight states have closed schools to in-person instruction for the remainder of the academic year. Those states account for 99.4% of the 50.6 million public school students in the country. The two states to not close schools to in-person instruction for the remainder of the academic year are Montana and Wyoming.
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Five states announce plans for reopening businesses
Several states continued to reopen businesses this week. Here are some of the highlights:
- Indiana moved to stage two of its reopening plan on May 11. Dining rooms at restaurants were permitted to resume at 50 percent capacity. Personal services, including hair salons, barbershops, and tattoo parlors, were permitted to resume by appointment only.
- Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) unveiled the "Roadmap to a Resilient Louisiana" reopening plan, the first phase of which was set to take effect when the state’s stay-at-home order expired on May 15. Under the plan, the following businesses were permitted to reopen at 25 percent capacity: gyms and fitness centers; barbershops and hair/nail salons; gaming establishments; theaters; racetracks (no spectators); museums, zoos, and aquariums (no tactile exhibits); and bars and breweries with food permits.
- Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) unveiled a four-phase plan for reopening Massachusetts. The plan did not elaborate on specific effective dates or contingencies for its various phases.
- New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) announced on May 13 that the following businesses could reopen on May 18: non-essential retail stores for curbside pick up only, non-essential construction under social distancing measures, and drive-through and drive-in events, including church services and drive-in movies.
- Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) announced that Oklahoma is moving to phase two of its reopening plan. Under phase two, organized sports activities may reopen with social distancing and sanitation measures, bars may operate with diminished standing room and social distancing and sanitation measures, childcare areas in places of worship may reopen, and funerals and weddings may resume with social distancing measures.
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Illinois Gov. Pritzker announces self-quarantine, tests negative for coronavirus
On May 11, 2020, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) announced that he and members of his office would self-quarantine after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19 last week. Pritzker received a test Sunday, May 10, which came back negative for the virus.
- Pritzker’s staff members also received coronavirus tests, which came back negative.
Houston Councilwoman Letitia Plummer, the at-large representative of position 4, announced she tested positive for COVID-19. She said she came down with symptoms the Thursday before and received a test over the weekend.
- Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Thursday, May 14, that he had tested negative for COVID-19. All members of the Houston City Council were tested for the virus.
Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman in Texas submitted her resignation effective May 31, due to her concerns about her ability to fulfill the duties of the role amidst the pandemic.
Click here to read about more state and local officials that quarantined or tested for coronavirus.
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Voters decide Nebraska’s state executive, legislative, and municipal primaries
The statewide primary election for Nebraska was held on May 12, 2020. Candidates competed to advance to the general election scheduled for November 3, 2020.
- Candidates ran for the following state executive, legislative, and municipal offices:
- Public Service Commissioner District 2
- State Board of Regents
- State Board of Education
- Nebraska State Senate
- Ballotpedia also covered local elections in the following areas:
- Douglas County
- Lancaster County
- Omaha
- Omaha Public Schools
- Westside Community Schools
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Florida Gov. DeSantis extends moratorium on evictions and foreclosures
On May 14, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced that evictions and foreclosures in the state were suspended through June 2. Prior to his announcement, evictions and foreclosures were suspended through May 18, per an April 3 order from the governor.
- On May 7, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) issued an executive order that extended the moratorium on evictions in the state through at least July 10.
- The original order, issued by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, was set to expire on May 11.
- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo extended the moratorium on evictions and foreclosures in the state an additional 60 days through August 20 on May 7. Prior to the order, evictions and foreclosures were suspended as part of Cuomo’s “New York State on PAUSE” stay-at-home order through June 18, which allowed unemployed New Yorkers to suspend their rent and mortgage payments for 90 days.
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Former Wisconsin state Senate minority leader resigns from legislature
Wisconsin state senator Jennifer Shilling (D) submitted her resignation from the state legislature on May 15, effective immediately. Shilling had previously announced her retirement at the end of her current term and did not file to run for re-election.
- Shilling said that she was resigning to explore unspecified employment opportunities. State law prohibits legislators and other public officials from holding office while actively pursuing employment that presents a conflict of interest with their government duties.
- Shilling served as State Senate Minority Leader from 2015 until last month, when she stepped down from leadership in anticipation of her departure from the legislature. Senate Democrats selected Janet Bewley as the new minority leader on April 24.
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Arkansas releases state prison inmates due to the coronavirus outbreak
On May 12, Arkansas state officials announced that 300 inmates had been released from state prisons. In addition, over 1,200 inmates have been deemed eligible for consideration by the state’s Parole Board since April 30.
- The releases follow an April 20 directive from Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) to consider the early release of some inmates due to the coronavirus pandemic.
U.S. District Court Judge Michael Shea for the District of Connecticut issued an order on May 12 directing prison officials at the federal prison in Danbury to identify inmates with health conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus and to provide a list to the court of these inmates in about 13 days. The order follows a class-action lawsuit filed by nearly 1,000 inmates.
- Judge Shea did not rule on the inmate’s request for the mass transfer of inmates to either home confinement or other institutions, nor the appointment of a special master to enforce measures, such as social distancing, in the institution. He did, however, order an expedited hearing schedule for questions.
On May 8, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections announced that nearly 1,600 inmates had been released since March to help slow the spread of coronavirus. According to the Department of Corrections, most of the inmates released were held on probation, parole, or extended supervision violations. That day, the Virginia Department of Corrections announced that 130 inmates had been released and an additional 100 inmates were approved for early release due to the pandemic.
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Alabama Supreme Court ends restrictions on in-person proceedings, four other states announce tentative dates to resume operations
On May 13, the Alabama Supreme Court announced that statewide restrictions on in-person proceedings would end on Friday, May 15. In their order, the court authorized local courts to set their own restrictions through August 15.
- The court extended the suspension of jury trials through September 14.
A few other courts have announced tentative dates for court operations to resume.
- In West Virginia, the Supreme Court issued an order on May 6 regarding the resumption of operations. Under the order, in-person proceedings can begin on or after Monday, May 18. Grand jury trials may resume on or after June 15, and petit jury trials may resume on or after June 29.
- On May 7, Maryland Court of Appeals Chief Judge Mary Ellen Barbera announced June 8 as the projected date that courts in the state could begin to reopen, though the date was not set in stone. The Chief Justice said that reopening would come in phases and courthouses would require restructuring to incorporate social distancing measures.
- On May 8, the Arizona Supreme Court ordered courts to begin transitioning to in-person proceedings beginning June 1 and authorized local judges to determine how in-person proceedings should be conducted in their respective counties.
- The Arkansas Supreme Court announced on May 8 that courts in the state could resume conducting hearings under certain guidelines to slow the spread of coronavirus beginning May 18.
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Oregon voters to decide state executive, legislative, and judicial primaries
The statewide primary election for Oregon is on May 19, 2020. The filing deadline to run passed on March 10. Candidates are running in elections for the following state offices:
- Secretary of State
- Treasurer
- Attorney General
- 16 seats in the Oregon State Senate
- All 60 seats in the Oregon House of Representatives
- Three Oregon Supreme Court justices
- Four Oregon Court of Appeals justices
- Ballotpedia is also covering local elections in the following areas:
- Portland
- Multnomah County
Candidates are competing to advance to the general election scheduled for November 3, 2020.
Oregon exclusively uses a vote-by-mail system. Voters may return their ballots to the office of the county clerk by mail or in person. Because of this system, there is no need for explicit absentee or early voting procedures.
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Candidate filing period ends for state executive, legislative, and judicial offices in Washington
On May 15, the statewide filing deadline passed to run for elected office in Washington state. Candidates filed for the following state-level offices:
The primary is scheduled for August 4, and the general election is scheduled for November 3, 2020.
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Seventy-nine statewide measures in 31 states have been certified for the 2020 ballot so far.
- Nineteen of the certified measures are citizen-initiated measures. Fifty-nine are legislative referrals. One is an automatic constitutional revision commission question. Commission-referred ballot measures are ballot measures that are ordered to appear on a state's ballot through the authority of a commission, which itself has been given that authority by a prior act of the state's legislature or in a constitutional amendment.
- Three measures were on the March 3 ballot, one measure was on the April 7 ballot in Wisconsin, one measure is on the June 30 ballot in Oklahoma, two measures are on the July 14 ballot in Maine, and the remaining 72 are on the November ballot.
- One new measure was certified for the 2020 ballot last week:
- The Missouri State Legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the November 3 ballot concerning redistricting, campaign finance, and lobbying. The measure would eliminate the nonpartisan state demographer and instead use a bipartisan redistricting commission appointed by the governor; change the criteria used to draft district maps; lower the threshold of lobbyist gifts from $5 to $0; and decrease the contribution limit for state senate campaigns from $2,500 to $2,400. The amendment would change or repeal some provisions of Missouri Amendment 1 (2018), a citizen initiative passed on November 6, 2018.
- Proponents of seven additional ballot initiatives in California, Colorado, Michigan, and Missouri submitted signatures, which are pending verification by state officials.
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Special elections update
43 state legislative special elections have been scheduled in 20 states so far this year. Special elections have been held for 23 seats thus far. Heading into those races, Democrats had previously controlled 10 of the seats, while Republicans previously controlled 13. One seat flipped from Democratic control to Republican control, and one seat flipped from Republican control to Democratic control.
- In special elections between 2011 and 2019, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of four seats nationally each year.
- An average of 56 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past five even years (2010: 30, 2012: 46, 2014: 40, 2016: 66, 2018: 99).
- An average of 88 seats were filled through special elections in each of the past five odd years (2011: 95, 2013: 84, 2015: 88, 2017: 98, 2019: 77).
Upcoming special elections
May 19
June 2
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States in session
Fourteen states—Alabama, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Vermont—are in regular session.
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The Lucy Burns Institute, publisher of Ballotpedia, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law. Donations to the Lucy Burns Institute or Ballotpedia do not support any candidates or campaigns.
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