TagState executive

On April 10, Vermont Governor Phil Scott (R) extended the statewide stay-at-home order he originally passed at the end of March. The order was initially scheduled to expire on April 15, and will now remain in effect until May 15.

The new order allows lodging operations to begin accepting reservations occurring on or after June 15, 2020, and directs the Department of Motor Vehicles to extend vehicle inspections up to 60 days for inspections due in April.

Forty-three states have issued stay-at-home or shelter-in-place orders to residents. Although the names of the orders—shelter-in-place, stay-at-home, stay home, stay safe—vary from state to state, they include at least two common elements: the closure of nonessential businesses and requesting all residents to stay home except for essential trips.

On April 10, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) issued an executive order that allowed an automatic grace period for rent due in April and a 60 day grace period, upon request, for rent due in May. The order also prohibits landlords from serving “notice to quit” or “service of summary process” before July 1, with an exception for “serious nuisance.”

Ballotpedia is tracking state and local government actions suspending or modifying evictions and home foreclosures in response to the coronavirus pandemic

To date, thirty-one states have implemented policies related to evictions or foreclosures.

Today, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) announced the postponement of Georgia’s statewide and presidential primary elections to June 9, 2020. The primary runoff has been postponed to August 11, 2020.

The state had previously postponed its presidential primary to May 19, 2020, the original date of its statewide primary.

To date, 20 states have postponed upcoming state-level elections. In another five, states have taken action to postpone, or authorize the postponement of, municipal elections.

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage on how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting America’s political and civic life. Our coverage includes how federal, state, and local governments are responding, and the effects those responses are having on campaigns and elections.

On Wednesday afternoon, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown (D) ordered schools to remain closed for the rest of the academic year. Before the announcement, schools were scheduled to be closed through April 28.

So far, 16 states have closed schools through the remainder of the academic year: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington. Those states account for 35.6% of the 50.6 million public school students in the country.

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 June 23, 2020.

To date, 19 states and one territory have postponed upcoming state-level elections in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. In another five states, officials at the state level have either directly postponed, or authorized the postponement of, municipal elections.

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