1. 15 states require face coverings
2. Previewing Indiana’s Republican convention for attorney general
3. Filing deadline roundup

15 states require face coverings

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 Monday’s edition, we asked: in which states must you wear a face covering in public? (We are not tracking penalties for failure to wear a face covering.)

We found that as of Monday, masks are required in 15 states, 13 of which have Democratic governors. You can view the charts below for more information. We’re tracking this and the status of many other industries and requirements in each state here.

Be sure to subscribe to our daily newsletter for updates on each state’s plan for recovery.

Learn more

       

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Previewing Indiana’s Republican convention for attorney general 

Last night, we covered elections in seven states—six of which held primaries or primary runoff elections for state and congressional offices. Normally, we would provide you with an overview of the results. But this time it’s a little different. Both Kentucky and New York election officials have said they will count absentee ballots in major population centers until June 30. That means we likely won’t have results until next week. This is just one of many changes to elections processes this year. Be sure to follow along on our website as the results come in, and subscribe to our weekly Heart of the Primaries newsletter for more details in your inbox later this morning.

Primaries are not the only nomination process parties can use. Many parties use conventions, and in some cases, the conventions themselves have also been impacted by coronavirus-related changes. Take, for instance, the Republican Party convention for the Indiana Attorney General race. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the convention was moved to a virtual, mail-in format. Here’s how it works.

• On June 18, the convention itself was broadcast as a statewide livestream. The broadcast included speeches from the attorney general candidates, messages from elected officials, and a keynote address from Gov. Eric Holcomb (R). 

• The 1,800 delegates received ballots by mail on June 22, which must be returned by 5:00 p.m. EST on July 9. 

• The winner will be announced on July 10.

Incumbent Curtis Hill, Nate Harter, Todd Rokita, and John Westercamp are competing for the party’s nomination. 

The Indianapolis Star’s Tim Evans wrote, "little separates the four Republicans when it comes to philosophy and issues." Instead, "The GOP race for the party's Attorney General nomination has become a referendum on [the] incumbent," following the inappropriate touching allegations and disciplinary action taken against Hill. 

At least one GOP state legislator has endorsed each of the four AG candidates. Indiana is one of 19 states with a Republican triplex, meaning Republicans control the offices of governor, secretary of state, and attorney general. The last time Indiana elected a Democratic attorney general was in 1996.

Filing deadline roundup

Rhode Island’s filing deadline is today, June 24. After that, just two major-party statewide filing deadlines remain—Delaware (July 14) and Louisiana (July 17).

The offices on the ballot in Rhode Island include:

• One U.S. Senate seat

• Two U.S. House seats

• All 38 state Senate seats

• All 75 state House seats

So far, 8,413 major party candidates—4,047 Democrats and 4,366 Republicans—have filed to run for the legislature in the 32 states where filing deadlines have passed and we have the complete candidate lists. That’s down from 2018, when 8,900 candidates had filed in those same 32 states—4,486 Democrats and 4,414 Republicans.

And as statewide filing deadlines come to a close for this year, our coverage is switching to a monthly summary of the third-party deadlines approaching. Stay tuned for the first version!

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