Impact2020: April 27, 2020

Welcome to your Impact2020 briefing for Monday, April 27. Ohio and Maryland offer the latest test cases for voting amid a pandemic as two more states move to expand mail balloting. And some governors take additional steps toward easing COVID-19 restrictions.

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On the Ground

Here we go again

Ohio, which was the first state to postpone an election this year due to the coronavirus in March, is wrapping up voting for its extended primary this week.

And as Darrel Rowland writes for the Columbus Dispatch, “the biggest questions are not about who’s going to get the most votes but about whether many Ohioans’ votes will get counted.”

Ballots must be postmarked by today or dropped off at a county elections board on Tuesday to count for Ohio’s presidential primary and other local contests. “But with postal delivery times taking up to three times longer than normal, an unknown number of Ohio voters probably won’t get their ballots delivered by the deadline.”

And voting in person “runs contrary to the plan to avoid having Ohioans choose between their health and their right to vote. And with only a single in-person voting locale in each county, some Ohioans will have to travel several miles to a facility that was set up to handle only homeless and disabled voters.”

As of April 17, 22% of eligible Ohio voters had requested a ballot. By comparison, voter turnout hit 44% during the state’s 2016 primaries.

Ballots are also due Tuesday in a special election in Maryland’s 7th congressional district. The Baltimore Sun’s Emily Opilo has everything you need to know for that race.

Next up

Meanwhile, two other states took further steps to expand mail voting for their upcoming primaries.

The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Jack Brammer reports that “Gov. Andy Beshear and Secretary of State Michael Adams have agreed on ‘a different manner’ to conduct Kentucky’s June 23 primary election that calls on all voters to use absentee voting by mail if they can.”

Credit: Ryan C. Hermens, Lexington Herald-Leader

And New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo officially issued an executive order that requires the state elections board “to automatically send out absentee ballot applications with return postage to all eligible voters” ahead of the June 23 elections, Denis Slattery writes for the New York Daily News.

But there’s one contest New York voters won’t be able to weigh in on: the state’s Democratic Board of Elections commissioners announced Monday that the presidential primary was canceled, saying that Bernie Sanders “effectively ended the real contest for the presidential nomination” by dropping out and endorsing Joe Biden. Emily Ngo has more for NY1.

One step at a time

Individual states are continuing to forge their own paths to restarting their economies, with the hopes of keeping new COVID-19 infections down as much as possible.

In Kansas, Gov. Laura Kelly is planning “significantly less restrictive” rules on gatherings on May 4, Jonathan Shorman, Anna Spoerre and Cortlynn Stark report for the Wichita Eagle.

Kansas ranks nearly last among states in per-capita coronavirus testing, but a “court document, filed over the weekend as part of a lawsuit over an executive order limiting in-person religious gatherings, indicates Kelly intends to issue new ‘re-opening restrictions’ that won’t prohibit gatherings where people can consistently maintain a 6-foot distancing and follow other safety measures.”

In Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader’s Daniel Desrochers notes that Beshear “announced 202 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the state past 4,079 as the state prepares to start reopening the healthcare system.”

And in Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp is still facing criticism for his decision to ease some COVID-19 restrictions, Alan Judd writes for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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Trail Mix

Swing state watch

• Around 1,500 people protested Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ stay-at-home order at the state Capitol over the weekend, Riley Vetterkind and Mitchell Schmidt report for the Wisconsin State Journal.

• The SEIU is launching a new round of digital ads in eight battleground states highlighting workers on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, Megan Messerly reports for the Nevada Independent.

• The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jonathan Tamari examines how GOP Sen. Pat Toomey may be laying the groundwork for a 2022 gubernatorial run in Pennsylvania.

Governor watch

• A nonprofit group and a PAC spent nearly $140,000 last year on travel for Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, the Kansas City Star’s Jason Hancock reports.

• Kathleen Gray and Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press explore how Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s turn in the coronavirus spotlight is bringing national attention to Michigan.

• Gov. Mike DeWine will unveil a schedule for slowly reopening specific types of businesses after May 1, when Ohio’s stay-at-home order expires, Randy Tucker reports for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Convention caution

• Dr. Anthony Fauci said he has “cautious optimism” about Charlotte’s ability to host the Republican National Convention this summer, the Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill reports.

Battle for Congress

• Democrat Cynthia Wallace criticized Republican Rep. Dan Bishop for participating in a “Reopen NC” protest in Raleigh urging Gov. Roy Cooper to lift the stay-at-home order. Charlotte Observer’s Jim Morrill has more.

Number of the Day

1

Joe Biden holds a narrow lead over President Donald Trump of 45% to 44% in Ohio, according to a new Baldwin Wallace University poll. Cleveland.com’s Rich Exner has more on the survey.

What a picture

The image on the Toledo Blade’s write-up of a Gallup poll showing 60% of American adults battling daily stress and worry… the day before Ohio’s primary. Breathe in, breathe out...

For planning purposes

April 27

Kamala Harris joins Joe Biden for a livestream called “Confronting Coronavirus: Addressing Impacts & Disparities in the Black Community”

Jill Biden hosts a virtual LGBTQ social hour

Joe Biden holds a virtual fundraiser

April 28

Ohio primary (conducted mostly by mail)

May 2

Kansas primary (conducted by mail)

May 12

Nebraska primary

LISTEN

The latest episode of the Beyond the Bubble podcast is available on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts Watch a clip here.

This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 11:51 AM.