Interfaith solidarity, sick election workers, #Sharpiegate: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Montgomery: The state is extending a public health order requiring face masks in public but lifting occupancy limits on many places as deaths and hospitalizations from the coronavirus pandemic worsen, officials said Thursday. Gov. Kay Ivey said the mask mandate and new order will last through Dec. 11. The Republican governor said she was trying to balance health concerns – as the state faces an uptick in cases – with economic ones such as alleviating some of the damage to retailers and restaurants. Extending the mask order was needed to keep people safe and as well as allowing some aspects of life to go on more normally, she said. “I understand folks are bone-dead tired of the mask,” said Ivey, who faced some criticism from conservatives for mandating masks rather than making them voluntary. Alabama’s death toll from the pandemic topped 3,000 this week as cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations continued rising.

Alaska

Juneau: Hospital capacity is a concern as COVID-19 cases in the state rise, and testing isn’t keeping pace with new cases, the state health department reported Wednesday. Since the pandemic’s start, Alaska has reported about 16,700 confirmed resident cases of COVID-19. Of those, about 10,200 cases are considered active, and there have been 84 COVID-19-related deaths, according to the department. In many cases, contact tracers haven’t been able to identify where a person got the virus, the department said, which suggests more unknown cases. In an overview of the past week, the department said cases continued to rise fastest among those between the ages of 20 and 39, though the proportion of cases in older Alaskans slightly increased. The department encourages people to be tested even if they have mild symptoms, such as fever, sore throat, fatigue, or a new loss of taste or smell.

Arizona

Phoenix: As votes continue to be tallied for the presidential election, some social media users are falsely claiming that ballots are being invalidated in Arizona. The supposed culprit: Sharpie markers. In what’s come to be known as #Sharpiegate, social media posts suggest that election officials in Maricopa County provided voters with Sharpie pens, which interfered with ballots being recorded, specifically those for President Donald Trump. Arizona election officials say that voting with a Sharpie would have no impact on the votes being recorded by tabulation machines, and if there were an issue, there is a process that would keep the ballots from being canceled out. Arizona election officials confirmed that Sharpies were used in voting, but they said that would not invalidate a ballot. The Maricopa County Elections Department tweeted on Election Day that voting centers use Sharpies so that ink does not smudge when ballots are counted.

Arkansas

El Dorado: Voters in two south Arkansas counties have decided to keep Confederate monuments on display in public spaces. In Tuesday’s general election, voters opted to keep monuments in place outside the Union County courthouse in El Dorado and the Ouachita County courthouse in Camden. In Union County on the Louisiana border, nearly two-thirds of voters supported keeping the Confederate monument in place, according to complete but unofficial results. In nearby Ouachita County, more than 70% of voters opted to keep their county’s monument on display as well. Dozens of Confederate statues were removed from public spaces throughout the United States following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis earlier this year, but many rural areas in the South have resisted the call to take down the statues.

California

Sacramento: Fresh from months of protests over the police killings of people of color and national angst over racial inequities in the criminal justice system, the state’s voters rejected an effort to roll back reforms targeting mass incarceration and reinstate tougher criminal penalties. But they also overturned a law that would have ended what critics call a predatory cash bail system, another change long sought by reformers. The seeming incongruence does not undermine voters’ recent shift away from the get-tough practices of the past, analysts said Wednesday. Rather, the bail change fell victim to an unusual coalition of opponents on both the left and right, leaving supporters scratching their heads on how to move forward. More than 6 in 10 voters stood by reduced criminal penalties that they endorsed in previous ballot measures in 2014 and 2016. A similar margin restored voting rights to people on parole.

Colorado

Denver: Hospitalizations from the coronavirus are expected to surpass the high levels seen in April in the next two or three days, state health officials said Wednesday. Dr. Jon Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health, said during a news conference that if transmission continues at the current rate, the state’s hospitals will exceed capacity in their intensive-care units by late December. He said ICU units could become overwhelmed sooner if people gather during the holidays. Colorado’s rate of positive test results and the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, have jumped in recent weeks, The Denver Post reports. Health officials said 8.92% of tests have come back positive over the past week. The World Health Organization recommends that the positivity rate stay below 5%.

Connecticut

Hartford: Democrats were optimistic Wednesday that they’ve substantially increased their ranks in the General Assembly following Tuesday’s elections, giving the party even greater control over hot-button issues such as transportation and taxes as the new legislative session approaches in January. By midday Wednesday, it appeared the party was on track to enlarge its majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives, rebounding from the 2016 election, when Republicans and Democrats wound up sharing an equal number of seats in the 18-18 state Senate, and Democrats saw their advantage in the House drop to 79-72. “I think we did well overall,” Nancy DiNardo, said chairwoman of the Connecticut Democratic Party. She cited the decision by Republicans not to “distance themselves” from President Donald Trump while criticizing Democrats for supporting a recent police accountability bill as part of the reason behind her party’s success.

Delaware

Dover: City offices have closed temporarily after a few internal employees and their family members tested positive for COVID-19, said Kay Sass, the city’s emergency management coordinator. “In order to prevent ... not being able to continue offering all of our services to our constituents, we are being proactive by staggering staff, having a company come in to mist all surfaces and (limiting) any additional exposure,” Sass said Thursday. While city offices are closed to the public, business will continue via email and phone. The drive-thru services at 5 E. Reed St. will remain open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The city hopes to reopen the buildings within the next couple of weeks, but Sass directed people to Facebook and the City of Dover website for the most recent updates. Any other changes in service will be listed there, so people can watch the site or call if they have questions.

District of Columbia

Washington: D.C. residents have voted “yes” on Initiative 81, making possession and use of certain psychedelic plants, including magic mushrooms, the lowest enforcement priority for police. The initiative will now go to the DC Council for review, before being reviewed by Congress to officially make it law, WUSA-TV reports. Congress weighs in on D.C. referendums due to the inclusion of federal land in the district. Initiative 81, formally known as the Entheogenic Plant and Fungus Policy Act of 2020, calls upon the city’s attorney general and the U.S. Attorney for D.C. to “cease prosecution of residents of the District of Columbia for these activities.” Psychedelics are classified by the federal government as Schedule 1 drugs, which means these substances have no currently accepted medical use in the United States. But ongoing medical research indicates the potential of psychedelics to treat a range of mental illnesses.

Florida

Orlando: The wealthy attorney who bankrolled campaigns to raise the state’s minimum wage and legalize medical marijuana says his electoral success in raising Florida’s starting pay to $15 an hour over the next six years is his swan song in the voter initiative process. Attorney John Morgan said Wednesday that he was done with any future efforts to change the Florida Constitution through the amendment process. Two of his successes – medical marijuana and the minimum wage – were among the highest-profile amendments in recent years. Morgan, based in Orlando, spent $6 million on the effort to pass Amendment 2, which was one of four amendments Florida voters approved Tuesday night. Morgan said he was prepared to sue if the Florida Legislature made any attempts to alter Amendment 2. “The good news is we have a law firm and lots of lawyers, and I would love to take this in front of a jury,” he said.

Georgia

Savannah: A prosecutor who was criticized for her office’s response to the fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery has been ousted by voters, who elected an independent candidate who had to collect thousands of signatures to get on the ballot. District Attorney Jackie Johnson, a Republican, lost her reelection bid Tuesday after serving a decade as the top prosecutor in Brunswick Judicial Circuit. Johnson said she believes Arbery’s slaying, along with what she said are false allegations blaming her for a long delay before arrests were made, played a big role in her defeat. Arbery was slain in February by a white father and son who armed themselves and pursued the 25-year-old Black man as he ran through their neighborhood outside the port city of Brunswick. More than two months passed before Gregory and Travis McMichael were arrested on murder charges. Gregory McMichael was a retired investigator who had worked in Johnson’s office. Because of that relationship, Johnson said, she immediately recused her office from involvement in Arbery’s killing and referred police to an outside prosecutor.

Hawaii

Hilo: A new state law is needed to contend with people who ignore mask mandates implemented to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the governor said. Democratic Gov. David Ige on Monday called for citations similar to tickets written for minor traffic infractions, which carry fines but are not treated as criminal offenses, The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports. All four of Hawaii’s counties have emergency mask mandates, and violating them is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. “Right now, under emergency proclamations, the only penalty we can use to urge people to comply is a misdemeanor with a fine. And what happens is that makes it a criminal penalty, and those who want to contest the citation (are) entitled to a jury trial,” Ige said. Ige proposed a new law concerning face coverings so people would have an option of paying or contesting fines without a jury trial.

Idaho

Boise: State education officials say so many people have applied for federal emergency money intended to help children learn during the coronavirus pandemic that they’ll stop taking new applications after Friday. The Strong Families, Strong Students program will provide up to $1,500 per child – with a per-family maximum of $3,500 – to about 30,000 kids who need assistance purchasing educational materials, computers or other services. So far, the state has received more than 31,000 applications for nearly 79,000 students seeking the funds, the Idaho State Board of Education announced Wednesday. “We have $50 million in funding for this program,” State Board of Education President Debbie Critchfield said in a statement. “If all the applications received so far meet eligibility requirements, the entire fund will be used.” The money will be awarded based first on economic need, then on when the applications were submitted.

Illinois

Springfield: The state reported 7,538 new cases of coronavirus illness Wednesday, and the state public health director reminded residents that regardless of who the nation’s next leader is, it’s up to individuals to stop the spread of the deadly diseases. The number of cases was the next-to-highest single-day amount recorded since the pandemic hit Illinois in February and included 55 additional deaths. The outcome of Tuesday’s election contest between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, in major part a referendum on Trump’s handling of the pandemic that has contributed to the deaths of 233,535 nationwide, does not excuse Illinois residents from doing all they can to help contain the virus, Illinois Department of Public Health Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike said. “Whoever is elected or reelected president does not absolve any one of us from taking personal responsibility to curb the transmission of COVID-19,” Ezike said.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The day after a landslide reelection victory, Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb said he’s not making any changes to policy on handling COVID-19, a major point of contention on the campaign trail. There’s “no truth” to rumors that Indiana will shut down again after the election, he said Wednesday afternoon. That includes no changes to the state’s economy and no statewide closure of schools. Holcomb won a second term as governor Tuesday, defeating Democrat Woody Myers, a former state health commissioner. Myers had called for tougher anti-virus actions as Indiana’s COVID-19 hospitalizations, deaths and new infections climbed steeply since nearly all state restrictions were lifted in September. Alternatively, some conservatives called Holcomb’s coronavirus actions excessive and, instead, backed Libertarian candidate Donald Rainwater.

Iowa

Des Moines: Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday that she will institute a media campaign to encourage people to take action to reduce the state’s surging number of coronavirus infections but will not impose any mandates or enforce new rules. Reynolds also said the success of Republican candidates in the general election was proof that most Iowans support her decision to not require masks and quickly end most restrictions on businesses. “They agree with how we’ve handled COVID-19,” she said. Reynolds said the media campaign would begin next week and include newspaper, television and radio advertising. She spoke on a day when there were 4,562 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours and 20 more deaths. Iowa’s test positivity rate, topping 39%, is second in the nation, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. State data shows 839 people were being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals, a new high expected to increase in the coming days.

Kansas

Topeka: Several dozen hospitals reported Wednesday that they expect to deal with staffing shortages over the next week as the state continues to report an average of well over 1,000 new coronavirus cases a day. The Wichita area’s two major health systems said Wednesday that almost 150 coronavirus patients were hospitalized, their highest numbers since the pandemic began. The Ascension Via Christi system is trying to bring about 60 nurses from outside Kansas into the state to help with staffing, and it has converted space into two new units for COVID-19 patients. A surge in cases even prompted public health officials and the local Chamber of Commerce in Reno County to launch a 10-day campaign to be more diligent in following the county’s mask mandate and following other public health recommendations. “When I see people without a mask, that’s what breaks my heart,” said Jenifer Phelps, nurse manager in a 20-bed Via Christi unit for coronavirus patients in Wichita. “So when I see that, the first thing in my mind is, ‘Well, we’re going to be – the unit’s probably going to be full next week.’ ”

Kentucky

Frankfort: The state’s budget situation appears solid enough to avoid cuts to state agencies or the Road Fund as revenues bounce back despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Andy Beshear said. The Democrat said Wednesday that he anticipates being able to balance the state’s current fiscal-year budget without further cuts. He pointed to better-than-expected revenue collections and the influx of virus-related federal and state aid as key factors to avoid midyear cuts. “This is really good news because it means areas like education, health care and public safety will not face cuts that we thought that they would, in a time where the services that they provide are so essential,” Beshear said. The budget situation looked grim in the spring when tax collections plummeted as the virus outbreak shuttered many businesses and put hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians out of work. In recent weeks, the state has been hit by its worst surge of COVID-19 cases.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge: Even as his coronavirus restrictions are being challenged in court, Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that he’s extending a statewide mask mandate, business limitations and other rules he enacted to combat COVID-19 for another four weeks. House Republicans are trying to throw out all the restrictions and fully reopen state activities, with no face covering requirement, no rules governing bars and restaurants, and no crowd limits for sports games or other events despite the pandemic. But the Democratic governor is arguing in court that the method the GOP lawmakers used to attack his emergency order is unconstitutional, and he is continuing to enforce the limits. The coronavirus restrictions were set to expire Friday, but Edwards said he’s renewing them through Dec. 4. A hearing in the ongoing litigation over the rules is scheduled for Nov. 12, after a judge refused to block Edwards from reissuing his public health emergency order.

Maine

Portland: The governor issued an executive order Thursday requiring people to wear face coverings in public settings regardless of their ability to maintain physical distance from others. Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, beefed up an earlier executive order that required mask use when it’s difficult to maintain social distance. Owners and operators of public places must also post signs notifying entrants they can be denied entry for noncompliance to the mask rule, the order stated. Mills issued the order the day state health authorities announced a record of 183 new cases of the coronavirus in a single day. Public health officials in Maine have been advising caution about a growing wave of COVID-19 cases in the state, which had largely contained the virus through the summer. “Protect your family. Protect a health care worker. Protect the elderly. Wear your face covering. Save lives. It is that simple,” Mills said.

Maryland

Annapolis: Legalized sports betting in the state could start next summer after voters approved it on Election Day, but lawmakers still need to work out the details of how it will be implemented in the upcoming legislative session. A separate constitutional amendment passed by voters to give the Legislature more power in the state budget process won’t take effect until after Gov. Larry Hogan leaves office in 2023. A comprehensive framework for sports betting passed unanimously earlier this year, but the coronavirus pandemic shortened the legislative session, and lawmakers asked voters to give the gambling expansion an up-or-down vote. Most of the state’s proceeds from sports betting – estimated to range between $20 million and $40 million – would go toward education, as required by legislation approved by the General Assembly to put sports betting on the ballot.

Massachusetts

Springfield: Two former administrators of a veterans home where nearly 80 people sickened by the coronavirus died pleaded not guilty Thursday to criminal charges over their handling of the outbreak. Former Holyoke Soldiers’ Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh and former Medical Director Dr. David Clinton entered the pleas during a remote hearing in Hampden Superior Court in Springfield. Judge Edward McDonough released them without bail and with no conditions until their next court date in February. The two each face 10 counts stemming from their March decision to cram residents who were positive for the coronavirus into the same space as those with no symptoms. They were charged in September with abuse, neglect or mistreatment of an elderly or disabled person, among other counts. An independent report commissioned by the state said “utterly baffling” decisions made by administrators allowed the virus to spread unchecked at the veterans home. Walsh, who resigned, has argued they’re being scapegoated by state officials.

Michigan

Detroit: It doesn’t hurt to be a Hathaway to become a judge in Wayne County. Nicholas Hathaway will join his wife as a judge on the Detroit-area Circuit Court after changing his last name to hers last year and narrowly winning election Tuesday. Hathaway finished second in a four-candidate race for two seats on the court, according to results posted by the county. He legally changed his name from Nicholas Bobak. He’s married to Dana Hathaway, who has been a judge since 2013. By blood or by marriage, at least 10 members of the Hathaway family have served as Wayne County judges over the past two decades. “I changed my name to honor my wife,” Hathaway said before the election, declining further comment. Mary Beth Kelly, a former state Supreme Court justice, finished first with 27.8% of the vote. Hathaway got 24.88%, just ahead of Chandra Baker who had 24.81%. Hathaway beat Baker by 621 votes to win the second seat.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: Law enforcement officers arrested more than 600 demonstrators who marched onto an interstate in Minneapolis on Wednesday night protesting President Donald Trump’s threats to challenge the results of Tuesday’s unsettled election, as well as a variety of social injustices. Officers in riot gear surrounded the crowd and ordered them to sit on the pavement and wait to be arrested. At one point as the marchers awaited arrest, a spontaneous dance party broke out on the freeway. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said Thursday that no force or chemicals were used to make the arrests for walking on a freeway and being a public nuisance. A section of Interstate 94 was closed while officers from a number of agencies, including the State Patrol and Minneapolis police, arrested the demonstrators one by one. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety said 646 people were cited and released. Demonstrators criticized the officers for trapping them on the freeway, shouting that they would peacefully leave the interstate if allowed.

Mississippi

Jackson: A couple is suing a school district because they say their 9-year-old daughter was told she could not wear a mask with the phrase “Jesus Loves Me.” Their lawsuit accuses the Simpson County School District of discriminating against the third grader because she wants to express her religious beliefs. The district requires students to wear face masks to try to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The couple is asking a federal judge to declare that the district’s policy banning “political, religious, sexual or inappropriate statements” on masks is unconstitutional. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified “nominal damages” and attorneys’ fees. The child attends Simpson Central School in Pinola. The lawsuit was filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Jackson and represents one side of a legal argument. It identifies the child by her initials, L.B.

Missouri

O’Fallon: A suburban St. Louis election official who worked at a polling place on Election Day despite a positive test for the coronavirus has now died, raising concerns for the nearly 2,000 people who voted there. St. Charles County, Missouri, spokeswoman Mary Enger said in a news release Thursday that the person, whose cause of death is not yet known, was an election judge supervisor Tuesday at the Blanchette Park Memorial Hall polling site in St. Charles, about 25 miles northwest of St. Louis. Enger said the county’s health department and election authority recently learned the poll worker tested positive Oct. 30 for the coronavirus and was advised to quarantine for 14 days. “The election judge nevertheless failed to follow the advice” and worked throughout the day Tuesday, Enger said. Contact tracing has started, and county officials urged anyone who was at the precinct Tuesday to watch closely for symptoms.

Montana

Great Falls: The four-member staff of a health department has resigned, citing a lack of support by the county in fighting the coronavirus. A letter from Health Department Director Nicki Sullivan to the Pondera County Commission highlighted the need for a fairer wage, more transparency, and additional contact tracers and staffers. “I want to stress how heartbreaking it is for me to leave this position if changes are not addressed,” Sullivan wrote. “Without these changes, another person hired to be in this position will not be successful. I hope my considerations and suggestions are taken seriously to better serve the community of Pondera County and the remarkable citizens within.” The commission issued a statement Wednesday expressing continued support of health care professionals and shared goals toward reducing the spread of COVID-19 while keeping schools and businesses open.

Nebraska

Lincoln: The state’s voters set a turnout record in the 2020 general election, with nearly 74% of eligible voters casting a ballot, Nebraska’s top election official said Wednesday. Secretary of State Bob Evnen said voters beat the previous record from the 2016 general election by about 68,000 votes. Election officials statewide counted an official total of 936,106. Evnen said 34 counties had a turnout of more than 80%, and four counties had a turnout of 88%. He said the record will likely increase once counties process an additional 20,000 to 25,000 ballots and provisional ballots that were submitted Tuesday. Early in-person and mail-in voting accounted for 436,269 of the total ballots cast, which was more than 90% of the total ballots requested. Evnen said 51,932 people voted early at their county election commissioner’s office.

Nevada

Carson City: Clark County District Court Judge Douglas Herndon won an open seat on the state Supreme Court after an expensive race that drew more than $1 million in campaign contributions. Herndon defeated Assemblyman Ozzie Fumo, a trial attorney and adjunct professor at the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas serving his second term in the Legislature. Herndon, a Republican, is the presiding criminal judge in homicide cases in Las Vegas. He is a former special victims unit prosecutor who was appointed to the bench by Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn in 2005 and elected three times. The race drew more campaign contributions than any of Nevada’s legislative races. Herndon called himself the only judge in the race. Fumo criticized Herndon’s work in 1995 as a deputy district attorney convicting a man who was pardoned in 2017 after serving 21 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.

New Hampshire

Concord: The state’s 13 mayors sent a letter to Gov. Chris Sununu on Wednesday asking for help with a statewide strategy to assist the homeless, saying they were seeing an increase in people living without shelter even before the coronavirus pandemic. “In recent months, in an effort to prevent community spread of COVID-19 and allow for social distancing, shelters have been forced to decompress and reduce the number of available beds,” the letter said. “We have worked to increase sheltering options, including opening up additional facilities, but despite safety measures, many individuals experiencing homelessness still do not feel safe staying in shelters.” The mayors said their cities have been developing a winter sheltering plan for months, but due to a lack of funding and emergency shelter beds, they have had to “rely on our faith-based communities to aid in response.”

New Jersey

Trenton: More than 4 million ballots were cast in this week’s presidential election in New Jersey, the most in state history, Gov. Phil Murphy said Thursday. It’s not clear what the voter turnout percentage was, however, because the results are still unofficial. There are about 6.5 million registered voters in the state. In 2016, 3.96 million ballots were cast. New Jersey Democrats had a good night as returns came in Tuesday: Joe Biden and Sen. Cory Booker were declared winners early, and all Democratic House incumbents won reelection, as did Republican Rep. Chris Smith. The only outstanding House race is in southern New Jersey’s 2nd District. Incumbent Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew is vying for a second term against Democratic challenger Amy Kennedy. New Jersey joined Arizona, Montana and South Dakota legalizing recreational marijuana Tuesday, joining the District of Columbia and 11 other states.

New Mexico

Santa Fe: Democrats have expanded their control of the Legislature, teeing up a progressive agenda that aims to broadly legalize marijuana, expand funding for universal prekindergarten programs and possibly enshrine abortion rights into state law. While Republicans had hoped to pick up more seats, they managed to fend off the kind of trouncing that could have made the progressive wish list inevitable. Three state Senate races and five state House races were still undecided. County election boards on Wednesday were wrapping up counts of a few thousand outstanding absentee and provisional ballots. The state also elected an all-female delegation to the U.S. House. The mixed results – with voter participation that shattered records – “show that New Mexico is not blue. It is clearly a purple state,” said Lonna Atkeson, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico.

New York

New York: Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Muslims and people of other faiths prayed and sang together in post-election solidarity Wednesday afternoon, even as the outcome of the hotly contested and polarizing presidential vote was still in doubt. Gathering outside a church in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village, they stamped their feet on the pavement, sang gospel hymns, looked skyward in prayer and chanted words of hope to the beat of a drum. “We are here together as we figure out how to make a just and loving democracy – no matter the outcome of this election,” said the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, pastor of Middle Collegiate Church in the East Village. It’s a budding interfaith coalition ritual first held four years ago after Donald Trump was elected president. This year it came against a backdrop of not only the election but also protests over racial injustice and the coronavirus pandemic that has new cases spiking all across the country.

North Carolina

Raleigh: An elderly prison inmate with preexisting conditions and a positive coronavirus test has died, officials said. A news release from the N.C. Department of Public Safety on Wednesday said the 80-year-old unidentified inmate died at the Central Prison hospital on Tuesday. According to the news release, the inmate tested positive for the coronavirus Oct. 14 and was in the hospital when his condition worsened. Officials didn’t specify what the preexisting conditions were and cited confidentiality of offender records and the family’s right to privacy in not identifying him. The department reported the death was the third at the prison related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the 21st in the state prison system.

North Dakota

Bismarck: Gov. Doug Burgum has no authority to appoint a coal company executive to fill a state House seat won by a Republican candidate who died before the election, the state’s attorney general said Wednesday. Burgum announced Wednesday that he was appointing BNI Energy President Wade Boeshans to the seat won Tuesday by David Andahl, who died last month from COVID-19. North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said in a statement that Burgum’s appointment on the day following the election “is both inaccurate and untimely.” Burgum defeated Stenehjem in the Republican gubernatorial primary in 2016. Andhahl, 55, had been sick with COVID-19 for several days before he died Oct. 5. Andahl and fellow District 8 House candidate Dave Nehring won the Republicans’ endorsements and voters’ nominations in the June primary.

Ohio

Columbus: The number of people filing initial unemployment compensation claims spiked over the past week as the economic impact of the pandemic continues to hit Ohio hard, the state human services agency said Thursday. For the week ending Oct. 31, Ohioans filed 21,263 initial jobless claims, a 21% increase over the previous week, according to the Department of Job and Family Services. The state also said Ohioans filed 265,613 continuing unemployment claims, considered a more reliable indicator of the economy’s strength. That’s down only slightly from last week. The state has distributed more than $7.1 billion in payments to more than 833,000 Ohioans during the pandemic. In recent days Ohio has begun the process of distributing an additional $420 million in federal pandemic aid dollars to small businesses, struggling renters, bars and restaurants, arts groups and more.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: The number of rural Democrats in the state has been declining steadily over the past 20 years as a rural-urban political divide grew deeper and Republicans took a firmer grasp on middle America. On Tuesday the party transition in Oklahoma became complete when the last Democrat from a rural district lost his reelection bid, while the GOP picked up five more House seats to extend its advantage to 82-19. “I got tied into the national politics,” said Rep. Matt Meredith, D-Tahlequah, who lost to a Republican challenger by more than 10 percentage points. “There were mailers sent out with me and (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi and me and (Senate Minority Leader) Chuck Schumer. I’ve never even met Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer.” All of the 19 House Democrats and nine Senate Democrats now represent urban areas. Democrats’ increasing competitiveness in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas has provided some encouragement to party leaders, but its metropolitan gains so far have not kept up with rural losses. About three-quarters of Oklahoma’s 4 million residents live outside the state’s two largest metropolitan areas.

Oregon

Portland: Gov. Kate Brown said Wednesday that she would keep state troopers, sheriff’s deputies and police officers under a unified command for an additional 48 hours in Portland to handle protests amid uncertainty over the winner of the U.S. presidential election. Brown extended her executive order establishing the unified command until 5 p.m. Friday. The order had been set to expire at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The Oregon National Guard is also still on standby. Portland has been roiled by five months of near-nightly racial injustice protests since the police killing of George Floyd, and several hundred people marched in the city Tuesday. People were protesting again Wednesday in Portland as President Donald Trump pursued court challenges to stop the vote count in battleground states. Demonstrators held signs saying “Count Every Vote” and “Keeping Hope Alive.”

Pennsylvania

Harrisburg: Hundreds of political candidates and their supporters were following vote counting in the state closely, watching downballot races that may hinge on the same untallied mail-in and provisional ballots that have delayed presidential race results, as Democratic U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb declared victory in a Pittsburgh-area congressional district. The winners of four of Pennsylvania’s 18 congressional races remained unclear a day after Election Day, along with results of three statewide officer contests and the makeup of a good chunk of the Legislature. Among the races yet uncalled by the Associated Press was the one in the 17th Congressional District, where Lamb faces Republican Sean Parnell, a decorated Army vet who is a regular guest on Fox News programs and a favorite of President Donald Trump. Speaking at a Steamfitters union hall, Lamb said Americans must attack climate change, heal the county’s bitter divisions and use government as a force for good.

Rhode Island

Providence: State health officials reported more than 500 new cases of the coronavirus and eight additional deaths Thursday. About 180 people were in the hospital with COVID-19, according to health officials. The latest average positivity rate in Rhode Island is 3.44%, based on data from the COVID Tracking Project. More than 1,200 people have died and more than 35,000 tested positive for the virus in the state since the pandemic started. Meanwhile, a major hospital operator is restricting visits at its facilities. Care New England said general visitation at Women & Infants Hospital in Providence is temporarily suspended. Maternity patients may have a birth partner, surgical patients may have a support person, and two support persons can be identified for each infant in the NICU. The organization also announced restrictions at Bradley Hospital in East Providence and Kent Hospital in Warwick.

South Carolina

Charleston: The state’s first elected female sheriff, Kristin Graziano, is used to being the only woman in the room, at the table and in the police car. But she hopes her recent win – and her vision for reshaping one of the largest local law enforcement agencies in the state – will open doors for women and girls. Graziano, a Democrat and deputy sheriff in Charleston County, won over a majority of voters on Election Day, defeating her boss and 32-year Republican incumbent Al Cannon, whose record has been closely scrutinized as activists have raised calls for police reform in recent months. Graziano has promised a slew of reforms to build community trust and diversify the 900-person department in a county where more than a quarter of residents are Black. Charleston’s long legacy of racial injustice, from the American colonies’ first slave patrol to the killing of Walter Scott by a police officer in 2015, factors into Graziano’s platform.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: Minnehaha County’s top election official has tested positive for the coronavirus just hours after wrapping up ballot counting. County Auditor Bob Litz announced in a news release that a rapid response test shows he’s positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. The 67-year-old Republican spent hours in close contact with dozens of election workers as they processed thousands of ballots over the course of two days. Litz donned a mask throughout ballot counting but at times wore it improperly. He said Wednesday that he had to bring in dozens of new election workers to process and count ballots and that half his staff had been out sick prior to the election due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, the South Dakota Department of Health reported the highest one-day total of COVID-19 deaths Thursday as the state surpassed 50,000 total reported infections. The number of people who died with COVID-19 rose by 22 to 482.

Tennessee

Nashville: State officials say Tennessee has easily broken the 2008 record for voter turnout with more than 3 million ballots cast in this year’s November general election. Secretary of State Tre Hargett’s office said the turnout represents more than 68% of registered voters. Buoyed by record-breaking early and absentee voting during a pandemic, voters cruised past the turnout totals of more than 2.5 million in the 2016 general election and the previous record of 2.6 million in the 2008 November election. Additionally, state Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins said roughly 17,000 people served as poll officials, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Counties must submit certified election results to the state by Nov. 23.

Texas

Austin: More than 800 mail ballots were found in mail processing facilities in the state and delivered to county election officials between Tuesday and Wednesday, according to the U.S. Postal Service. A U.S. district judge ordered USPS to search its facilities Wednesday for mail-in ballots and submit a report on how many were found and what steps were taken to deliver them by the state’s vote receipt deadline. Mailed absentee ballots in Texas must be postmarked by Nov. 3 and delivered no later than 5 p.m. Nov. 4. This came after a similar order Tuesday in which U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ordered USPS to sweep processing plants in 12 districts in the U.S., including Houston, for missing mail-in ballots by 3 p.m. Central time. The postal service did not meet that deadline.

Utah

Salt Lake City: A pickup truck crashed into a coronavirus testing site in the city Thursday, injuring nine people and demolishing a medical trailer. Authorities are investigating the cause of the morning crash but say the driver may have suffered some sort of medical problem at the site near the University of Utah. Four of the nine people had serious enough injuries to be hospitalized, but they are expected to survive, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. “When you look at the damage, and you see the speed of the truck coming in, it could have been much, much worse,” University of Utah police deputy chief Jason Hinojosa said. The accident forced the testing site to shut down, though, and it was unclear when it would be able to reopen.

Vermont

Winooski: Voters in this small city, which has one of the highest concentrations of new Americans and immigrants in Vermont, have decided to allow noncitizens the right to vote in local elections. The amendment to the the city charter now heads to the Legislature. If it passes and goes through another round of public input, the proposal moves to the governor for final approval. “Our community spoke, and spoke well – 2¹/₂ to 1,” said Deputy Mayor Hal Colston, who’s also a Democratic representative in the state House. “Given that we’re the most diverse city in northern New England, the time has come for this kind of legislation so that we have so many more voices in our democratic process. We’re at a loss if we don’t experience the full diversity of our communities and how we need to do things.”

Virginia

Roanoke: The lead partner in the Mountain Valley Pipeline venture has pushed back its expected completion date and says costs for the project are expected to rise. The Roanoke Times reports the news comes from Equitrans Midstream Corp., the lead partner in the joint venture of five energy companies. The company has faced environmental problems and legal challenges while building the natural gas pipeline in West Virginia and Virginia. It had expected to finish construction early next year. But it’s now targeting a full in-service date “during the second half of 2021.” The cost was estimated to be $3.7 billion when construction started but now stands between $5.8 billion and $6 billion. The increase in costs was attributed largely to continuing construction through the winter. Environmentalist groups have said the buried pipeline will clog streams and rivers with harmful sediment from construction sites and jeopardize endangered species.

Washington

Republic: Republican gubernatorial candidate Loren Culp lost his race Tuesday night and now says he also has lost his job as police chief in the small town of Republic. In a Facebook video chat with supporters Wednesday, Culp revealed that the City Council had defunded its one-person police department at a recent meeting, “and away with that went my job.” “Not even a letter or thank you. Not a plaque for 10 years of service,” Culp said. “It’s absolutely incredible.” The Seattle Times reports Republic, a Ferry County town of 1,100, has faced declining tax revenue and had previously cut its police department from a few officers down to one. Culp, who joined the police department in 2010, was the last remaining employee. He had used up his vacation time and was on a leave of absence for the past few months as he ran for governor. Culp lost the governor’s race to Democratic incumbent Jay Inslee.

West Virginia

Charleston: Republicans expanded their majorities in the Legislature after taking at least 10 seats from Democrats in Tuesday’s election. Enthusiasm for President Donald Trump at the top of the ticket helped solidify the Republican takeover of politics in a state where labor-backed Democrats once reigned. Republican Gov. Jim Justice won reelection, and the party swept top races, making inroads into once-blue regions. Seven Republicans won seats in the House of Delegates currently held by Democrats and one conservative independent, according to an Associated Press review. The AP has not called several close races, some of which show Democratic incumbents trailing. In the upper chamber, the GOP picked up three seats. “We were surprised. We thought we might win, but it was all up in the air,” said Josh Holstein, a 19-year-old first-time candidate for delegate who upset a Democrat in Boone County, once rich with coal jobs and Democratic labor support.

Wisconsin

Madison: State health officials reported nearly 6,000 new COVID-19 cases Thursday as the disease continues to run rampant across Wisconsin. The Department of Health Services reported an additional 5,922 confirmed cases, just 17 cases shy of the daily case record of 5,935 set Wednesday. The state has now seen 249,924 cases since the pandemic began in March. The disease was a factor in another 38 deaths Thursday, the department said, bringing the overall death toll to 2,194. The DHS reported that 2.13 million people have now been tested for the disease in Wisconsin. That’s a little more than a third of the state’s population. The Wisconsin Hospital Association reported that 1,747 people were hospitalized with the disease as of Wednesday, including 360 patients in intensive care and 559 on ventilators.

Wyoming

Laramie: City officials have announced that a mask mandate is expected to go into effect this week in Albany County to limit the spread of the coronavirus. The city of Laramie said Wednesday in a Facebook post that the countywide face mask ordinance is scheduled to go into effect Friday at 5 p.m. through Nov. 30, the Casper Star-Tribune reports. It is unclear if the order will be extended at the end of the month. Albany County, which includes Laramie, has now joined the Wind River Reservation and Teton and Laramie counties in implementing a mask mandate. County residents must now wear facial coverings when outside their homes. Some exemptions include minors and people with medical or mental health objections. Albany County currently has more than 800 confirmed active COVID-19 cases, the most of any county in the state, health officials said. The county is also home to the University of Wyoming.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Interfaith solidarity, sick election workers: News from around our 50 states