1. Tracking state restrictions of public gatherings due to coronavirus
2. Previewing West Virginia’s June 9 gubernatorial primaries Announcing Expeditions: A New Way to Learn

Tracking state restrictions of public gatherings due to coronavirus

As we’ve been covering in the Brew, states are lifting restrictions established in response to the coronavirus pandemic. During a Zoom call I had with some members of my extended family last weekend, we were all remarking at how different the rules seem to be depending on which state you live in.

Forty-three states issued orders directing residents to stay home except for essential activities and closed our curtailed non-essential businesses. Seven states did not. Stay-at-home orders have ended in 36 states. Eighteen of those states have Republican governors and 17 have Democratic governors. Pennsylvania’s stay-at-home order ended June 4.

Ballotpedia has been tracking the status of various policy responses implemented in response to the coronavirus outbreak for 27 industries and activities in all 50 states as part of our Documenting America's Path to Recovery project. In the June 4 edition of that newsletter, we looked at the allowable size of indoor gatherings from state to state. This information changes almost daily and local rules & regulations in certain areas could be different. Please contact us if the policy in your area is different.

• Ten states have no statewide indoor gathering size limit. Six of those states have Republican governors, and four have Democratic governors.
• Twenty-eight states have a limit between 1 and 25. Sixteen of those states have Democratic governors, and 12 of those states have Republican governors.
• Nine states have a limit between 26 and 50. Six of those states have Republican governors, and two have Democratic governors.
• Indiana has a limit of 100. Indiana has a Republican governor.
• Two states have limits higher than 100. Pennsylvania’s limit is 250 and its governor is a Democrat. North Dakota’s limit is 500 and its governor is a Republican.

Learn more

       

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Previewing West Virginia’s June 9 gubernatorial primaries

Many of us here at Ballotpedia have just begun catching up on our sleep after Tuesday’s Super Junesday primaries. As soon as we get back to normal, it’ll be time for the June 9 elections. Statewide primaries are scheduled in five states on June 9: Georgia, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, and West Virginia. We’re covering 1,020 races for 646 offices, including nine battleground elections.

Two of those battleground primaries are the Democratic and Republican contests for the governor’s office in West Virginia. Democrats have won every gubernatorial election in West Virginia since 2000. Incumbent Jim Justice, a Republican, was originally elected as a Democrat in 2016 before switching parties in 2017. In addition to the Democratic and Republican nominees, there are currently four third-party candidates seeking the position in the general election.

On April 1, Justice issued an executive order postponing West Virginia's primaries from May 12 to June 9. West Virginia is one of 10 states that postponed its statewide primary as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Counties mailed absentee ballot applications to all registered voters. West Virginia voters are required to provide a valid excuse to vote absentee, but Secretary of State Mac Warner (R) issued guidance stating that because of the pandemic, voters can cast mail-in ballots and mark the “other medical reason” excuse on their absentee ballot application.

Here are previews of both primaries:

Governor (D)

Five candidates—Douglas Hughes, Jody Murphy, Ben Salango, Stephen Smith, and Ron Stollings—are running in the Democratic primary. Of those, three have led in fundraising throughout the race:

• Smith is the former director of the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Families Coalition. He received endorsements from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the Working Families Party, and Planned Parenthood Votes! South Atlantic.
• Salango currently serves on the Kanawha County Commission. He has endorsements from U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D), the West Virginia AFL-CIO, and the Charleston Gazette-Mail.
• Stollings is a physician who has been a West Virginia state Senator since 2006. The West Virginia Education Association and State Medical Association have endorsed his campaign.

Governor (R)

In addition to Justice, six candidates are seeking the Republican nomination. Justice, Michael Folk, and Woody Thrasher have led in fundraising as of May 24.

• Before becoming governor, Justice owned an agriculture company and was C.E.O. of Bluestone Coal Corp. He has emphasized his endorsements from West Virginians for Life and U.S. President Donald Trump (R).
• Folk is a pilot and was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2013 to 2019. He was endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas).
• Thrasher owns a civil engineering firm and served as the state’s secretary of commerce from 2017 to 2018. The Charleston Gazette-Mail and West Virginia University Republicans endorsed his candidacy.

Since April 2019, those three candidates loaned the following amounts to their campaigns— Justice, $1,514,000; Folk, $227,000; and Thrasher, $3,431,074.

Announcing Expeditions: A New Way to Learn

Ballotpedia is excited to announce our newest learning opportunity: The Expedition! Our Expeditions are month-long learning experiences you can take at your own pace. Each Expedition revolves around a single topic that’s relevant to today’s political landscape. Ballotpedia will guide you through readings with videos, reflection questions, expert interviews, and more.  The goal of the Expedition is to help you understand what's happening in government today.

Each new expedition begins with a Live version. In each Live version, we are including an AMA—an ask me anything session—where you can gather with other Expedition participants to talk directly with experts in the field. You can sign up to be the first to travel through the new content with a group of other explorers. All live Expeditions also finish with an AMA session where you can ask questions about these important political concepts.

Our first expedition covers the nondelegation doctrine. The nondelegation doctrine (sometimes hyphenated as non-delegation doctrine) is a principle of constitutional and administrative law that holds that lawmakers cannot allow others to make laws.

Click the link below to sign up and take this expedition with us when it begins next week!

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