On April 8, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) and Virginia Governor Ralph Northam (D) issued executive orders postponing their states’ respective primary elections. The New Jersey primary, originally scheduled for June 2, 2020, has been postponed to July 7, 2020. The Virginia primary, originally scheduled for June 9, 2020, has been postponed to…
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said that the number of deaths in the United States resulting from the coronavirus would be below his original projection of 100,000 to 200,000. Fauci said that forecast models updated with new data showed a positive effect, but he did not…
Jersey City Councilman Michael Yun died April 6 at the age of 65 from coronavirus related complications. Yun tested positive for coronavirus on March 29 after being hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19 symptoms at the Jersey City Medical Center on March 24. Yun was serving his second term representing Ward D on the city council.…
On April 2, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) ordered schools statewide to close through April 30. This made it the 50th and final state to issue a statewide school closure. Previously, Reynolds’ office had recommended schools close from March 15 to April 13 but left the decision to close up to individual school districts. Through…
On April 7, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) issued an executive order requiring visitors from areas of the country with high rates of COVID-19 community spread to self-quarantine for 14 days unless engaged in essential activities. The order identifies Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York as areas with substantial community spread, but says the restrictions…
As part of Ballotpedia’s coverage on the coronavirus pandemic, we are compiling a daily summary of major changes in the world of politics, government, and elections happening each day. Here is the summary of changes for April 7, 2020. Federal responses Read more: Political responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020 President Donald Trump (R)…
On April 7, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) issued an extension to the statewide disaster emergency originally declared at the beginning of March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The executive order, titled “Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency,” maintains the disaster emergency, and all subsequent executive orders…
On Monday afternoon, governors in three states—Arkansas, South Dakota, and Washington—ordered schools to close through the remainder of the academic year. Each states’ schools were already closed by a previous order of the governor. So far, 15 states have closed schools through the remainder of the academic year: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas,…
On April 6, 2020, officials from the Connecticut Department of Corrections announced that 727 people had been released from state prisons since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in early March, the most substantial one-month reduction of the prison population in the state’s history. Ballotpedia is tracking prison inmate release responses by state and local…
On April 6, 2020, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court voted 4-2 to enjoin an executive order issued earlier in the day by Governor Tony Evers (D) postponing in-person voting in the spring election, scheduled for April 7, 2020, to June 9, 2020. As a result, in-person voting is expected to take place as scheduled on…