Alabama
Gardendale: U.S. Sen. Doug Jones, often called the Senate’s most endangered Democrat, will try to pull off another Deep South win Tuesday as former college football coach Tommy Tuberville tries to recapture the seat once reliably held by Republicans. The race pits the incumbent former U.S. attorney, who has positioned himself as a moderate, against Tuberville, who has made support for President Donald Trump the central pillar of his campaign. Jones, a former U.S. attorney best known for prosecuting Klansmen who bombed a Birmingham church in 1963, three years ago became the first Alabama Democrat elected to the Senate in a quarter-century. In campaign stops, he has emphasized his bipartisan record and urged people not to listen to what he called “damn lies” such as an ad calling the avid hunter and gun collector a supporter of “gun grabbers” because he supports some gun control measures such as expanded background checks. At a Sunday rally in Gardendale, Tuberville ended with the same message he began his campaign with: fealty to Trump, saying that God sent Trump to the Oval Office.
Alaska
Anchorage: A major overflow site is prepared for a quick start to take patients in the state if the coronavirus pandemic overwhelms bed capacity, but staffing remains a concern, officials said. Heidi Hedberg of the state Department of Health and Social Services said the hospital overflow site at Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage can be ready for use within 48 hours, Alaska Public Media reports. The arena was converted to an overflow site in April in case hospitals were overloaded with COVID-19 patients, while another facility at the Carlson Center in Fairbanks also was prepared. Neither was used for medical treatment, but throughout the summer the Alaska Airlines Center remained ready for medical use rather than reopening for sports, said Hedberg, the department’s director of public health. The facility is prepared with patient areas, beds and nurse stations, and the state needs two days to implement the staffing, medicine and laundry services necessary to operate the center, she said. Jared Kosin, director of the Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association, said having enough healthy staff for operation remains an issue.
Arizona
Phoenix: Democrats have a shot at taking control of one or both chambers of the Legislature for the first time in nearly 30 years in Tuesday’s election. The prospect has drawn millions of dollars in spending on a handful of legislative races that will determine the balance of power, with profound implications for the direction of Arizona’s government. The level of spending is unprecedented in the state, where the typical question during election season is how large of a majority Republicans will enjoy, not whether they’ll lose it altogether. The same demographic changes that have made Arizona competitive in presidential, U.S. Senate and other statewide contests have put the Legislature in play as well – a growing Latino population, rapid growth of left-leaning newcomers and unease among some suburban voters with the GOP under President Donald Trump.
Arkansas
Little Rock: State health officials reported 867 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and 33 more deaths from the disease caused by the new coronavirus. The Arkansas Department of Health reported 757 confirmed cases and 110 probable cases. That raised the state’s totals to 113,057 probable and confirmed cases and 1,791 deaths since the outbreak struck at the start of March. Another 167 people with probable cases of COVID-19 have died in the state. The true number of cases in Arkansas is likely higher, though, because many people haven’t been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick. The health department reported a total of 10,420 active cases of the virus and said 100,666 people with confirmed and probable cases have recovered. The number of hospitalizations fell by 12 to 655.
California
Los Angeles: Tuesday’s election will test the boundaries of the state’s left-leaning politics as a new generation of voters is being asked to roll back affirmative action and property tax laws put in place decades ago. California is one of the nation’s most Democratic states – the party holds every statewide office, dominates the Legislature and congressional delegation, and outnumbers registered Republicans by nearly 2 to 1. The state is famous – or notorious – for liberal-minded policies that have established some of the nation’s highest taxes, pumped billions of dollars into the homeless crisis that appears only to worsen and cut greenhouse gases to fight climate change, which critics blame for higher energy costs. The 12 propositions on the state ballot provide many issues to motivate voters and influence California’s direction on worker protections, crime and punishment, voter rights and rent control. But the signature questions involve taxes and affirmative action.
Colorado
Fort Collins: UCHealth is recruiting 1,500 participants from Northern Colorado to test a potential COVID-19 vaccine. The study, the second vaccine trial to start at UCHealth, will include participants age 18 and older who are at higher risk for exposure due to their work, including health care workers, teachers, first responders and grocery workers. Participants may also have a stable health condition that puts them at risk of contracting COVID-19 or developing serious illness from the disease. “This will give us a large group of people who will receive the vaccine – or a placebo vaccine – to see if it’s truly effective over a few weeks, a few months and up to two years,” said Dr. Gary Luckasen, the principal investigator of the trial and medical director of UCHealth’s clinical research program in Northern Colorado.
Connecticut
Hartford: While town clerks across the state have so far received roughly 460,000 more absentee ballots than they did in the 2016 presidential election, hundreds of thousands of residents are still expected to go to the polls Tuesday, despite the pandemic. The Connecticut Town Clerks Association had prepared for as many as 66% of the state’s more than 2.3 million eligible voters casting their ballots by absentee in this year’s presidential election, now that COVID-19 is an allowable excuse this year. But as of Sunday, nearly 26% had done so. “It is less than we thought. I think a lot of voters are opting to go to the polls. Probably much to do with the messages, the mixed messages they’re getting out there about the election,” said Anna Posniak, the association’s president and the Windsor town clerk. “So I think there’s a comfort level for many people to go to the polls, to have the ballot in their hand and to watch it go into the tabulator.”
Delaware
Dover: The state has released a list of coronavirus testing sites as cases rise and as health officials encourage residents to get tested. The Delaware State News reports that Delawareans can view a full list of testing locations and reserve a spot at de.gov/gettested. Gov. John Carney said testing “is the best tool we have to track spread of this virus and monitor potential outbreaks.” The state is coordinating with community sites in addition to sites at Walgreens and at various hospitals and health care locations. “In partnership with New Castle County and the Delaware National Guard, we were able to test over 110,000 people in October,” said A.J. Schall, Director of the Delaware Emergency Management Agency. “We begin November with over 30 testing sites all around the state to help keep people safe.”
District of Columbia
Washington: A new group of people is allowed to vote this Election Day: convicted felons, voting from behind bars. The D.C. Council expanded those voting rights in July, WUSA-TV reports. In the past, inmates housed in the D.C. jail were already allowed to vote if they were charged with misdemeanors. The district also restored voting rights for convicted felons returning to the community, but now they can do it while they are still behind bars. Since that law passed, the D.C. Board of Elections and the D.C. Department of Corrections scrambled to inform inmates of their new rights. More than 440 eligible inmates were registered to vote a week before Election Day and will cast their ballots by mail. Department of Corrections Director Quincy L. Booth told WUSA that many of the inmates didn’t believe it was actually true. “The first few folks that were in our care began to receive their ballots the word spread like wildfire because it was proof,” he said. “They saw their name on the ballot and said they have the opportunity to vote.”
Florida
Fort Lauderdale: Even if the presidential election hinges on a Florida recount like 20 years ago, hanging chads and butterfly ballots won’t be around to trip up voters and officials – changes to ballots, equipment and laws have made the Bush-Gore circus a relic never to be revisited, state elections officials believe. Though there are other scenarios that make elections officials nervous, the computer punch-card ballots that fueled 2000’s chaos are buried in history’s landfill. Casting valid ballots and processing them is now easier, even before Election Day, and the Legislature has enacted clearer laws governing recounts. The Associated Press spoke with most of Florida’s 67 county elections supervisors or top aides in recent weeks along with voting rights groups, and they expect the system to run smoothly in the nation’s largest swing state, even with the pandemic. And if the winner’s victory margin is razor-thin, recounts in 2018 for governor and U.S. Senate, while not perfect, showed the system works even when candidates, elected officials and their supporters apply pressure.
Georgia
Atlanta: Republicans again find themselves playing defense in the state House of Representatives, as Democrats try to leap to a majority in a chamber they haven’t controlled since 2004. Democrats must capture a net of 16 seats to control the 180-seat House, overcoming the GOP’s 105-75 majority. They gained a net of 11 seats in 2018 in Atlanta’s suburbs when Stacey Abrams fell just short of capturing the governor’s mansion for the Democrats, dragging the minority party back from the brink of irrelevancy in the General Assembly. Although Democrats also harbor hopes for gains in the 56-seat state Senate, it’s unlikely the Democrats can gain enough seats to overturn the 35-21 Republican majority in the upper chamber. As many as 30 House districts have competitive races, although fewer than that are likely to change hands. House Republicans say they’re running on a record of achievement and warn that Democrats will push higher taxes and more spending.
Hawaii
Kailua-Kona: Development of a $10.5 million facility on the Big Island to make compost using green waste and food waste has been postponed because of a shortage of the key components. Hawaii County’s contract signed in 2016 with Hawaiian Earth Recycling will wait for a new administration to include the compost facility in the county’s solid waste plans, West Hawaii Today reports. The plan is now on hold after the county and Hawaiian Earth Recycling signed a six-month “act of god” abeyance because of the coronavirus pandemic. They jointly suspended the second phase of the project, which involves building the compost facility, Environmental Management Director Bill Kucharski said. Officials said they lack food waste to make the material cook to the high temperature required for the composting process.
Idaho
Filer: Nearly 100,000 juvenile steelhead at a southern Idaho hatchery have been killed to prevent a virus from spreading, Idaho Fish and Game officials say. Officials told The Times-News that the 96,000 juvenile steelhead in the Magic Valley Fish Hatchery would have been released next spring into the Little Salmon River. There are 1.5 million fish at the hatchery, and losing 96,000 is not expected to have a significant impact, officials said. The fish had been shipped as eggs from Fish and Game’s Clearwater Fish Hatchery in northern Idaho and might have already had the virus then.
Illinois
Springfield: The Illinois Department of Public Health on Sunday reported 6,890 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 35 additional deaths. The death total in Illinois since the start of the pandemic reached 9,792 with the latest numbers. There are 417,280 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the state. Sunday’s confirmed cases were the result of 78,458 tests conducted Saturday, placing the latest seven-day positivity rate for COVID-19 at 8%. As of late Saturday, 3,294 people in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 692 patients were in intensive care units, and 284 patients with the coronavirus were on ventilators.
Indiana
Indianapolis: Some buildings and businesses downtown have boarded up windows and taken other security steps to prepare for possible unrest surrounding Election Day. An eye care practice on Monument Circle and a nearby bank put up boards over the weekend after both businesses suffered extensive damage during May disturbances after the death of George Floyd, WISH-TV reports. Danielle Cooney, the general manager of Soupremacy restaurant near the circle, said she doesn’t want to board up but fears that if the election gets so heated and emotional, some people could act out. “I have to make the decision that’s best for my stuff and my store, and I do think that will be boarding up at some point,” Cooney said. Police have told Coomey they don’t believe there will be civil unrest on Election Day, but she’s not so sure. “I am prepared for it, and I’ll be prepared all week,” Coomey said.
Iowa
Des Moines: Nearly half the counties in the state – 46 as of Monday morning – are reporting 14-day coronavirus positivity rates at 15% or higher. Eleven counties are above 20%, according to the state’s virus tracking website. Of Iowa’s 99 counties, only 13 are reporting rates below 10%. The two most populous counties, Polk and Linn, are below the 15% benchmark. On Monday, Polk County’s 14-day positivity rate was 11.9%, while Linn County’s was 14.5%. Meanwhile, another 17 people with COVID-19 have died in Iowa, and there have been an additional 1,469 confirmed cases, the state reported Monday. Hospitalizations hit a new high, with the state reporting 718 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, up from 676 on Sunday. There were 156 patients in intensive care units, down from 164 on Sunday. Monday marked the first time the state reported more than 700 hospitalizations.
Kansas
Topeka: The area’s top public health official has cited a “lack of leadership” fighting the coronavirus pandemic in his decision to step down. Shawnee County Health Officer Gianfranco Pezzino announced at a commission meeting last week that he won’t renew his contract at the end of this year. The 66-year-old had spent the past 14 years as health officer for the county. “The lack of leadership starting at the national level that percolates down to all levels of society and the divisiveness that has been created by that … there is no surprise the same kind of division and confusion trickles down to all levels of our society,” he said. Pezzino said he was worried he might be “abandoning” his community when it needs his help but knew it was time to move on. Pezzino, who also said his physical and mental health played a role in his decision to leave, will continue his work as a senior fellow for the Kansas Health Institute.
Kentucky
Louisville: After a pandemic-altered campaign, Republicans are looking to reassert their dominance in the Bluegrass State, while Democrats are angling to tap into suburban support to make inroads in a state where they have struggled in recent years. After weeks of mail-in balloting and early in-person voting, traditional Election Day voting takes place Tuesday as Kentuckians choose their congressional and state legislative lineups. Headlining the election is the hard-hitting race between Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Democratic challenger Amy McGrath. They filled the airwaves with attack ads in a mega-spending campaign that put the contrasts between the candidates on stark display. A hotly contested congressional race between Republican Rep. Andy Barr and Democratic challenger Josh Hicks, meanwhile, continues the 6th District’s reputation as a battleground.
Louisiana
Baton Rouge: The state has adjusted its reporting of coronavirus cases found in nursing homes by adding details about the number of cases that originated at each facility to account for transfers into nursing homes with specialized care for virus patients. Health officials said the additional statistics paints a more accurate picture of outbreaks in centers housing Louisianans who are most vulnerable to COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus. Families with loved ones in nursing homes have been alarmed when facilities report high numbers of coronavirus cases each week, The Advocate reports. But in some cases, the numbers could be misleading because some nursing homes have set up COVID-19 isolation wards and took in patients from hospitals or other nursing homes. The previous reporting system could raise worries about lax infection-control practices when instead the facilities simply had been admitting and treating COVID-positive patients from other nursing homes, hospitals or elsewhere, said Dr. Joseph Kanter, the interim assistant secretary of public health at the Louisiana Department of Health.
Maine
Portland: Dejected voters looking to cry in their beers over Election Day’s results will have to do so at home. Monday was scheduled to be the day Maine bars reopened, but they did not, due to a surge in coronavirus cases. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills postponed the reopening of bars and tasting rooms indefinitely. Maine is coping with a spike in COVID-19 cases that has affected most of the country. The state had more than 100 cases in a single day for the first time Thursday. The continued closure of bars is a hit to the economy of a state that loves beer. Portland has the most craft breweries relative to the size of its population of any American city, according to a 2019 story in Food & Wine magazine. Other new restrictions in the state take effect Wednesday. They include a reduction in indoor capacity from 100 to 50 and stricter rules on interstate travelers.
Maryland
Ocean City: Going into the summer, city officials knew COVID-19 would affect the tourism industry, but new data suggests the pandemic has cost Ocean City and the state of Maryland hundreds of millions of dollars since March. Crowds in Ocean City were smaller this summer due to changing travel and lodging restrictions, along with the reluctance of some to travel. The historic economic turmoil isn’t likely to improve this fall, and as a result, officials are considering cuts to the city’s 2021 budget. Tax revenue collected in Ocean City is down more than $11 million between March and August of this year compared to 2019, according to Ocean City tourism reports. Maryland lost nearly $100 million in tourism-related sales and use tax in fiscal 2020, according to data from the Maryland Office of Tourism. Fiscal 2020 ended June 30.
Massachusetts
Newton: The 32nd annual Boston Jewish Film Festival kicks off this week, and for the first time, film buffs won’t have to trek to a movie theater to watch. All films for the festival that starts Wednesday and runs through Nov. 15 will be screened online, according to organizers, so viewers will be able to watch at a time of their choosing. The festival will showcase world premieres of international films, one-of-a-kind interactive conversations with filmmakers and guests, and a selection of narrative, comedies, documentaries and short films. The programming will cover an array of themes, including social justice and activism, Jewish history, music, LGBTQIA issues, and immigration, with a focus on female filmmakers. Tickets are available at Boston Jewish Film’s website.
Michigan
Lansing: Meals at restaurants across the state came with a new side dish Monday: What’s your name and phone number? The latest order kicked in from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s health department. Restaurants must be able to contact customers if there’s a virus case linked to the business. Michigan’s coronavirus cases have risen significantly, setting a new daily high Saturday at 3,792, the health department said. The Michigan Restaurants & Lodging Association insists COVID-19 transmission doesn’t occur much at restaurants. The group predicts job losses and more financial strife because of the requirement. Henry Ford Health System reported 177 COVID-19 patients Monday at five hospitals, up 60% compared to last Monday. Restaurants, bars and other venues must seat no more than six people at a table. The state said indoor settings are much more likely to drive COVID-19 outbreaks than outdoor settings.
Minnesota
Minneapolis: Another inmate has died of coronavirus complications at a state prison. A 61-year-old inmate at the Stillwater prison died at the facility Sunday, authorities said. The man had existing medical conditions and tested positive for the coronavirus on Oct. 20, according to prison officials. The inmate was taken to a hospital Saturday, evaluated and released to the prison. He is the third COVID-19 death in a state correctional facility. More than 750 inmates have tested positive for the coronavirus at the Stillwater prison, which houses nearly 1,280 inmates. More than 150 staff at the prison have also tested positive, corrections officials said. Prison officials said they are being proactive in efforts to keep the virus at bay after an outbreak at the prison in September. In early October, more than 90 inmates tested positive, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports.
Mississippi
Jackson: An expert says having a statewide election on a flag design is unusual, and Mississippi is holding its second such election in less than 20 years. A single design is on the ballot for a yes-or-no vote. It has a magnolia on a dark blue background with red bars on either end. The state flower is encircled by the phrase “In God We Trust” and stars representing Mississippi as the 20th state. The flag also has a single star made of diamond shapes representing the Native American people who lived on the land before others arrived. In June, Mississippi legislators surrendered the last state flag that included the Confederate battle emblem that’s widely condemned as racist. The change came as protests against racial injustice were happening across the U.S., and Mississippi was under pressure from education, business, religious and sports groups – including, notably, the state Baptist convention and the Southeastern Conference. “It’s highly unusual for people to vote on the flag that represents them,” said Ted Kaye, secretary of the North American Vexillological Association.
Missouri
O’Fallon: Hospital leaders are raising alarms about bed capacity as coronavirus cases continue to spike, with some urging Gov. Mike Parson to issue a statewide mask mandate. Meanwhile, an eastern Missouri eighth grader died days after his COVID-19 diagnosis, becoming the state’s first child under age 14 to die since the onset of the pandemic. Washington School District Superintendent Lori VanLeer said in a statement that 13-year-old Peyton Baumgarth died over the weekend, less than two weeks after he last attended classes. The National Center for Health Statistics report for Oct. 28 cited just 80 COVID-19 deaths nationwide among children ages 14 or younger. Missouri, like many Midwestern states, is seeing a big rise in COVID-19 cases, and many of the illnesses are severe enough to require hospitalization. The state health department on Monday cited 1,659 hospitalizations statewide, eclipsing the record set a day earlier.
Montana
Great Falls: The state added 694 cases of COVID-19 early Sunday, bringing its total to 33,495 reports of the respiratory illness. Of those, 21,398 have recovered, and 11,721 remain active. The state has reported 375 deaths, one more than Saturday, with 376 people hospitalized, according to the state website covid19.mt.gov. The Cascade City-County Health Board on Wednesday reduced the number of people allowed to gather at events and in bars and restaurants, in an attempt to slow the rapid spread of COVID-19, which health officials say is stressing the health system in Great Falls. The board OK’d restricting maximum assembly at all group gatherings or planned events conducted at businesses, organizations and private residences to 50 people, both inside and outside. Gov. Steve Bullock recently said Montana is entering the cold and flu season, which will place an extra burden on health care workers and hospitals. He urged people to get a flu shot.
Nebraska
Omaha: Health care providers and elderly and vulnerable residents will be first in line to get a coronavirus vaccination when it becomes available as early as this year, state officials say. Gov. Pete Ricketts and public health officials said they plan to give those groups top priority in their plans to distribute their limited share of the vaccine, once it’s developed and shipped. “We expect that vaccine supply will be limited early on, and initial doses will go to health care personnel and critical populations,” said Angie Ling, incident commander for the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. The state’s hospitals saw a record number of coronavirus patients Sunday. Public health officials reported 613 active hospitalizations Sunday, up slightly from the day before. The numbers have surged over the past month, according to the state’s online tracking portal. Overall, 3,050 people in Nebraska have been hospitalized since the pandemic began.
Nevada
Las Vegas: A judge on Monday denied a legal bid by the Trump campaign and state Republicans to stop the count of mail-in ballots in Las Vegas, the state’s most populous and Democratic-leaning county. An immediate appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court is being considered, said Adam Laxalt, co-chairman of the Trump campaign in Nevada. Judge James Wilson Jr. acknowledged that state election law was reshaped last summer due to the coronavirus pandemic and that it allows in-person votes and mailed-in ballots to be physically handled differently. But “nothing the state or Clark County has done values one voter’s vote over another’s,” he said. Wilson heard a full day of arguments last Wednesday in Carson City during which attorney Jesse Binnall, representing the Trump campaign and state party, asked to stop the count until election officials in Las Vegas allowed “meaningful” oversight of ballot processing and let observers challenge ballots. Binnall did not challenge ballot processing in other Nevada counties, which lean Republican.
New Hampshire
Concord: The University of New Hampshire is extending its winter break for a week but eliminating spring break in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Like many schools, UNH is sending students home for Thanksgiving and then conducting classes and final exams remotely in December. Classes will resume on campus Feb. 1, a week later than originally scheduled, UNH President James Dean said. Given the extra-long break, officials have decided to cancel spring break, but some shorter breaks are planned, he said. Some campus buildings also will be closed in December and January to save money on heating, but arrangements will be made for those who need to work on campus. Dean said 201 staff members and 44 faculty members have accepted early retirement offers made as the university seeks to recover financially from the pandemic.
New Jersey
Montclair: A group of residents is planning a post-election rally they hope will never take place. The new, nonpartisan group, called Protect the Vote Montclair, released a flyer to residents Tuesday, inviting them to gather at Watchung Plaza at 3 p.m. Friday to “demand that all votes are counted.” “The outcome and aftermath of the election will be highly dynamic and fluid, and organizers stress the need to be flexible and prepared for action,” the flyer says. James Cotter, one of the rally organizers, said he hopes that Democrats, Republicans and media outlets will wait to declare victory until there is a clear winner based on certified state results and that the rally won’t be necessary. But he said the group is concerned that “if one side declares victory prematurely, it will throw the election into chaos.” The rally, Cotter said, would gather people to “get on the phones to state officials across the country.”
New Mexico
Santa Fe: Clashes continued Saturday between Republican election challengers and an absentee-ballot counting board in a southern New Mexico county at the center of a congressional swing district race. State Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce said another GOP challenger was ejected Saturday from a Dona Ana County vote counting facility as the person tried to get close enough to the ballot tallying machine to take a photograph of numbers on the machine. Four challengers were ejected Friday. Challengers are appointed by political parties in New Mexico to be present as county election boards verify and tally ballots and can dispute the veracity of ballots for a variety of reasons. A letter from Elections Director Mandy Vigil described reports from Dona Ana County officials that a Republican election challenger grabbed an election board member and that vote counting was interrupted.
New York
New York: Vehicles draped with banners supporting President Donald Trump snarled traffic around the metropolitan area two days before Election Day, and anti-Trump protesters clashed with police in Manhattan, leading to 11 arrests. Videos posted online showed hundreds of vehicles at a standstill around noon Sunday in the northbound express lanes of the Garden State Parkway near Lakewood, New Jersey. Police said the caravan caused a 5-mile traffic backup. A large caravan of Trump supporters was also seen on New York’s Mario Cuomo Bridge on Sunday afternoon prior to a rally at the Palisades Center in the Rockland County community of West Nyack. Anti-Trump demonstrators gathered at Madison Square Park in Manhattan to confront anticipated pro-Trump caravans that didn’t end up traveling through the area. Video by the New York Post showed police shoving protesters, who hurled insults at officers. Although there were reports on Twitter of journalists being among those arrested at the protest, police said none had official press credentials issued by the city.
North Carolina
Raleigh: The state’s elections office is predicting that at the end of Election Day it will be able to tally and report at least 97% of all ballots cast. The N.C. State Board of Elections said in a news release Sunday that it will post results as quickly as possible but that its primary objective will be an accurate count. Many states have made it easier to request a mail ballot amid the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about crowded polling places. But mail ballots generally require more time to process than ballots that are cast in person. In North Carolina, mail-in ballots are not due until Nov. 12 if postmarked by Election Day. The state board is set to meet Nov. 24 to certify the final results. North Carolina is a key battleground President Donald Trump needs to win to boost his prospects of defeating Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
North Dakota
Bismarck: The state entered November continuing to lead the nation in the number of new COVID-19 infections per 100,000 people, an unenviable distinction North Dakota has held many times in the past couple of months, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers. There were 1,718.9 new cases per 100,000 people in North Dakota over the past two weeks, which ranks first in the country for new cases per capita, according to the COVID Tracking Project. State health officials on Monday reported 975 new coronavirus cases and nine new deaths, bring the statewide death toll to 540. Health officials reported 265 of the deaths occurred in October. Hospitalizations from the disease caused by the coronavirus also reached a new high for the state at 215, with a net increase of 15 since Sunday. Hospitalizations have hit new highs in each of the past six days. There were only 209 available inpatient beds and 19 intensive care unit beds in North Dakota hospitals Monday.
Ohio
Cincinnati: Now-familiar barricades were erected around Hamilton County Courthouse and Justice Center on Monday morning ahead of Election Day – the most visible sign of preparations for possible unrest so far in the city as the country braces for Tuesday’s results. The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office officials did not mention any specific scenarios or threats. “We’re simply taking precautions to be prepared in case we see any unrest related to the election,” spokesman Mike Robison said Monday. The bicycle rack barricades were first deployed this year after windows at the Justice Center were smashed in late May following protests over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota. Cincinnati police officials declined to speak about any specifics but said they have been and are monitoring the situation. Gov. Mike DeWine has said the Ohio National Guard could be deployed if necessary.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City: Health officials reported 1,084 new confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state Monday and nine additional deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. The latest numbers reported from the Oklahoma State Department of Health bring the total number of confirmed cases in Oklahoma to 125,195 and the death count to 1,354. The true number of cases in Oklahoma is likely higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick. The agency also reported 907 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections on Sunday, the most recent data available. In a bit of good news for Oklahoma, the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in the state decreased over the past two weeks, going from 1,130.29 new cases per day Oct. 18 to 1,053.57 new cases per day Nov. 1, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Oregon
Salem: While national elections analysts are cautioning voters that there may not be definitive winners of tight races on election night due to the preponderance of mail ballots, the picture will likely be much clearer in the Beaver State. This is in large part due to Oregon’s experience with vote-by-mail elections and the systems in place at county elections offices that will allow them to announce a significant number of ballots immediately after polls close. There are a variety of systems at the county level to ensure the security and accuracy of elections. The Secretary of State’s Office must clear each one prior to the election. All vote-counting systems are certified by accredited agencies and tested for accuracy before any votes are counted. Voter fraud – both in Oregon and across the country – is nearly nonexistent. According to an analysis by the Legislative Fiscal Office released in mid-October, Oregonians cast about 60.9 million ballots between the years of 2000 and 2019. During that time, there were 38 criminal convictions related to voter fraud – a rate of 0.00006%.
Pennsylvania
Harrisburg: Get a smaller bird this year. That’s the advice of the state health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, who is urging residents to avoid gathering with friends and family on holidays such as Thanksgiving to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. “We are asking people to stay within their households and to contact their friends and their families in a more virtual way,” Levine said. “And that’s a tremendous sacrifice that we’re asking people to make, but it is absolutely necessary at this challenging time.” She cited small gatherings as a driver of the recent spike in COVID-19 both in the state and nationally. In Pennsylvania, new daily virus cases rose more than 50% over a recent two-week period to an average of more than 2,000 per day, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The average number of people hospitalized in Pennsylvania with COVID-19 more than doubled last month.
Rhode Island
Providence: The state’s largest hospital group announced Monday that it is suspending most visits in response to a rising number of coronavirus cases in the state. “We have decided after great deliberation to take this step in these highly unusual circumstances to protect our patients and our workforce,” Dr. Timothy Babineau, Lifespan president and CEO, said in a statement posted on the company’s website. Exceptions may be made in special circumstances, the statement said. Hasbro Children’s Hospital will allow one parent for each patient. Newport Hospital maternity services will allow for a birthing partner only. Emergency department patients will be limited to one accompanying adult, and the length of that person’s stay will be limited. Visitors will be screened for symptoms or potential exposure to COVID-19 and will be required to wear a mask.
South Carolina
Columbia: The state’s $175 million U.S. Senate race has received much of the attention this election cycle, but every South Carolina incumbent trying to return to Congress has a major party challenger in 2020. The most expensive and heavily watched U.S. House race involves Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, trying to win a second term after his upset of the century wining the seat anchored by Charleston and Hilton Head Island two years ago. His Republican opponent is state Rep. Nancy Mace. But each of the state’s seven U.S. House districts has a Republican taking on a Democrat. South Carolina voters have taken advantage of no-excuse absentee voting approved by the Legislature because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of the end of the day Friday, more than 1.2 million votes had already been cast, either in person or by mail, according to the state Election Commission. In the last presidential election in 2016, 2.1 million ballots were cast in the state. Two-thirds of the absentee ballots were cast in person. Election officials said about 57,000 absentee ballots have been sent out but not returned.
South Dakota
Sioux Falls: Nearly 3,000 people with COVID-19 have recovered in the past two days, while an additional 529 people have been infected with the disease, the state Department of Health reported Monday. One additional person died from the disease, bringing the statewide total of people dying with COVID-19 to 438. There were 402 people hospitalized with the disease, 19 fewer than the previous day. Minnehaha County residents accounted for 91 new infections, while Lincoln County had 33 residents test positive for coronavirus. Brown County accounted for 54 new infections, while Condington County had 40. The new results were based off 2,632 total tests, the fewest reported since Oct. 8. The state reported that 338 additional people were deemed to have recovered from the disease. That comes on top of record recoveries reported Sunday of 2,555.
Tennessee
Nashville: A lawsuit seeking the release of absentee ballot information has been filed against state elections officials. The suit was filed Sunday in Davidson County Chancery Court by the state Democratic Party and the campaign of Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Marquita Bradshaw. It accuses elections officials of refusing to release the ballot information as required by state law. Secretary of State Tre Hargett, a Republican, and elections coordinator Mark Goings are named as defendants. According to the lawsuit, the secretary of state’s office is required by Tennessee open records law to release if requested a list of voters who have not returned absentee ballots by the end of early voting, which was Saturday. The secretary of state’s office did not comply with the request, even instructing all 95 county election offices to withhold any information. Bradshaw faces Republican Bill Hagerty in Tuesday’s election for the seat left open by retiring Republican Lamar Alexander.
Texas
Austin: The Lone Star State has surpassed California in recording the highest number of positive coronavirus tests in the U.S. so far, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. As the pandemic surges across the nation, the data from Sunday – the most recent available – says there have been 937,317 cases in Texas, the nation’s second-largest state. California, the most populous state, has had 936,198 cases, followed by Florida with 807,412. In cases per 100,000 population, Texas ranks 19th. The Johns Hopkins data shows that Texas’ seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate has risen over the past two weeks from 7.12% to 10.72%, while the seven-day rolling average of daily new cases rose from about 4,470 new cases per day to about 6,070. Texas health officials have reported more than 18,000 deaths so far from COVID-19.
Utah
Provo: Thousands of people attended a Halloween party days after organizers claimed the event was canceled, authorities said. Utah County Sgt. Spencer Cannon said deputies learned about the large party Saturday near Utah Lake about 10 p.m. when a woman was taken to the hospital by ambulance after crowd-surfing, falling and being knocked unconscious. “Crowd tossing would probably be a better way to describe it. And the tossing side hadn’t communicated well with the receiving side, and she ended up landing on her head and received a pretty serious laceration and was unconscious for at least a period of time,” Cannon said. FOX 13 reported the woman is out of the hospital and is doing OK. The party was shut down shortly after because the event organizers did not have a permit to host a large-scale event, Cannon said, adding that no one was arrested but that the organizers could face criminal charges. Cellphone videos of the event posted on social media tagged The Tribe Utah and Utah Tonight and showed thousands of people close together without masks, the Deseret News reports.
Vermont
Burlington: The state’s health commissioner said he frequently hears people questioning why residents need to be so careful about the coronavirus, but health officials know better. “I am watching hospitalizations start to pick up very slowly but real,” Dr. Mark Levine said Friday during the governor’s twice-weekly virus briefing. “And we know this is an indicator that lags several weeks behind the increase in cases.” While the number of hospitalizations is small, it is something the Health Department is following very closely, he said. As the pandemic wore on, death rates have improved nationwide even if hospitalization rates are worsening, but there’s “no evidence that this is because the virus itself has changed or is less virulent at this time,” Levine said. Vermont has become really good at protecting the most vulnerable, who are living in long-term care facilities, prisons or at home, he said. There has also been significant research in therapies, and health care providers have learned how to handle newly identified complications, such as blood clots, more quickly and effectively, he said.
Virginia
Richmond: All state Department of Motor Vehicles centers are still operating by appointment only because of the coronavirus pandemic. And most are booked three months out. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports many residents are traveling outside their county or city to get an appointment. Gov. Ralph Northam announced in March that the DMV’s 75 locations would close their doors. They started opening again in May and throughout the summer. The agency served about 17,700 people a day before the pandemic. The DMV is now serving about 11,000 people per day on average across 73 centers. Two of the 75 remain closed due to their small spaces. The department does not have an estimate for when it will catch up to the demand. The state has said vehicle registration, driver’s license renewal and title replacements can still be done virtually.
Washington
Olympia: A record number of voters in the state have already returned their ballots in an election in which they’re weighing in on scores of federal and state races. Nearly 65% of the state’s more than 4.8 million registered voters had already cast their ballots by Friday night, and voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to drop their ballots off at almost 500 drop boxes around the state. Four years ago, just over 41% of voters had returned their ballots by the weekend before the election. Incumbent Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who is seeking to become the first incumbent elected to a third term in the state in more than 40 years, is facing Republican Loren Culp, the police chief of the small city of Republic who has campaigned against Inslee’s coronavirus restrictions. In the race for lieutenant governor, Democratic U.S. Rep. Denny Heck, who is retiring from Congress, faces fellow Democratic Sen. Marko Liias. All 10 of the state’s U.S. House seats are on the ballot.
West Virginia
Morgantown: Students at the West Virginia University College of Law will help staff an election protection hotline this Election Day. The students will work with the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union to help citizens overcome any roadblocks as they exercise their right to vote Tuesday, according to a news release. Students from the ACLU College of Law Chapter will be able to help with issues that include voter registration, problems at polling places and voter identification requirements. Law student Ian Shoulders said the combination of the pandemic and a contentious race that could bring out a lot of first-time voters means this won’t be a typical Election Day. “We will be on the phones making sure that people that want to vote are able to do it without any major issues,” he said. The hotline number is 304-355-5012.
Wisconsin
Madison: The state recorded another 3,433 coronavirus cases Monday and three more deaths, continuing a COVID-19 surge that began in early September. The seven-day average for new cases hit 4,463, nearly double what it was a month ago and more than six times as high as what it was before the surge began two months ago, based on figures from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. Wisconsin ranked third in the number of new cases per capita, behind only North Dakota and South Dakota. There have now been 2,050 deaths in Wisconsin attributed to COVID-19, which is the 27th highest in the country overall and the 39th highest per capita at 35 deaths per 100,000 people. Wisconsin’s first death from COVID-19 was reported March 20. It took nearly five months before the state recorded 1,025 deaths Aug. 14. But it’s taken less than three months for deaths to double.
Wyoming
Cody: Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson was recovering at a Denver-area hospital after suffering a minor stroke last week, his family said. Simpson, 89, was in good spirits with good vital signs at Swedish Medical Center in the Denver suburb of Englewood, said his son, Colin Simpson. The elder Simpson had been discharged from the hospital’s intensive care unit with the potential to return to his Wyoming home as soon as Saturday, Colin Simpson said Thursday. “The care at the hospital and the outreach to our family has been incredible,” said Colin Simpson, an attorney in Cody, Wyoming. Colin Simpson told the Cody Enterprise that his father suffered the stroke last Monday after recently having a blood clot removed from a carotid artery on his left side. He was taken to Cody Regional Hospital, then transferred to Swedish Medical Center on Tuesday. Alan Simpson served as a Republican senator from 1979 to 1997.
From USA TODAY Network and wire reports
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Dubious distinction, voting behind bars: News from around our 50 states