Misinformation, gig economy, ‘Fair Tax’ defeat: News from around our 50 states

Alabama

Birmingham: Voters have approved an amendment that would begin the process of deleting racist language from the state’s 119-year-old constitution, which was approved to entrench white supremacy as state law during the Jim Crow era. Voters in the majority-white, conservative state rejected similar proposals twice since 2000, but this measure passed easily Tuesday. Courts have long since struck down the legalized segregation that was enshrined in the 1901 Alabama Constitution, but language banning mixed-race marriage, allowing poll taxes and mandating school segregation remains. The amendment passed with 67% support, but more than 585,000 people voted against it. Passage eased the fears of supporters who worried conservative backlash to the Black Lives Matter movement could hurt the proposal. Partly because even local issues require constitutional changes, the document already has been amended more than 900 times and is considered the nation’s longest constitution.

Alaska

Anchorage: The governor said imposing mask mandates to stem the coronavirus’ spread should be implemented by local governments, but some municipal leaders argue they do not have the power. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has resisted imposing a statewide mandate, Alaska Public Media reports. Some cities have adopted mandates, including Anchorage, Juneau, Dillingham and Cordova. But as cases spiked last week, Alaska Chief Medical Officer Anne Zink said the virus spread fastest in the Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula boroughs, which have not. “Home rule” municipalities including Anchorage, Juneau and Cordova can exercise powers not explicitly barred by the Legislature, said Nils Andreassen, executive director of the Alaska Municipal League. But “second class boroughs” like the Kenai Peninsula, Matanuska-Susitna and Fairbanks North Star boroughs only have powers the state explicitly grants them, although they can add powers through resident votes, Andreassen said.

Arizona

Window Rock: Navajo Nation health officials have reported 72 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths. The latest figures released Tuesday night bring the total number of known cases to 11,947 with 586 known deaths. Tribal health officials said 127,179 people have been tested for COVID-19 since the pandemic started, and 7,605 have recovered. A shelter-in-place order, mask mandate, daily curfews and weekend lockdowns remain in effect on the Navajo Nation. Meanwhile, Arizona’s known death toll from the coronavirus outbreak exceeded 6,000 on Tuesday as state officials reported that the state’s total of known COVID-19 cases was nearing 250,000. The Department of Health Services reported 38 additional deaths and 1,679 additional cases. COVID-19-related hospitalizations continued to inch upward, reaching 956 as of Monday, a level last reported in late August.

Arkansas

Little Rock: The number of deaths due to COVID-19 has surpassed 2,000, and the illness is now the third-leading cause of death in the state, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Tuesday. Cancer and heart attacks are the first and second causes of death, Hutchinson said, with 219.8 and 94.4 deaths per 100,000 population. The COVID death rate is 65.8. “It is a deadly virus that takes people’s lives. We want to make sure everybody understands the seriousness of it,” he said. There were 18 more deaths reported to bring the total to 2,003 since the pandemic began and 858 newly reported confirmed and probable cases, for a total of more than 114,000, according to Hutchinson. Dr. Jose Romero, the state’s health secretary, said families should limit gatherings during the coming holidays to no more than 10 people at a time. “Especially Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s – we need to really think seriously this year whether it is advisable to bring 20, 30 members into a home,” Romero said.

California

Los Angeles: Uber, Lyft and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services spent $200 million in a winning bet to circumvent state lawmakers and the courts to preserve their business model by keeping drivers from becoming employees eligible for benefits and job protections. The titans of the so-called gig economy bankrolled the most expensive ballot measure in state history, which was decided Tuesday with 58% of more than 11 million voters choosing to keep drivers classified as independent contractors able to set their own hours. Shares of both companies surged 11% to 13% before the opening bell Wednesday after the huge victory. San Francisco-based Uber and Lyft had threatened to pull out of California if they lost. They got additional support in the fight from DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart, which all could have had their businesses upended if it failed.

Colorado

Aspen: A school district in northern Colorado has announced plans to start voluntary testing of its staff and students beginning this week through the end of the year. Aspen School District Superintendent David Baugh said the district will be able to provide about 2,000 COVID-19 oral swab tests a week from a Los Angeles lab, with results expected in about 48 hours, The Aspen Times reports. “It’s kind of a big deal. We are pretty excited about it,” Baugh told The Aspen Times. “It’s something we know our staff has been wanting for a long time, and we are thrilled we were finally able to figure out how to make it happen.” Pitkin County recently received 1,000 of the same COVID-19 tests, but the deal is separate from the district’s arrangement, officials said. The state is using leftover money from coronavirus relief aid to pay for the district’s tests through December.

Connecticut

New Haven: An election employee has tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to a dozen other workers being quarantined, city officials said Wednesday. Maritza Bond, the city’s public health director, said the employee has not been to work since experiencing symptoms last week. The 12 people placed in quarantine were temporary employees who spent Tuesday in the city clerk’s office counting absentee ballots and had no known contact with voters. Everyone was wearing masks and taking other precautions, Bond said. Gage Frank, a spokesman for Mayor Justin Elicker, said it didn’t appear vote-counting was affected. The pandemic also played a role on Election Day in Stamford, with the state Elections Enforcement Commission issued a cease-and-desist order compelling the town clerk to provide emergency ballots to quarantined voters. The Hartford Courant reported at least two voters had complained after being denied those emergency ballots.

Delaware

Dover: Democrats maintained their control of state politics Tuesday, keeping hold of the congressional delegation, the governor’s seat and all statewide offices. Democratic Gov. John Carney defeated Republican challenger Julianne Murray. The race was seen partly as a referendum on Carney’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. His closures and restrictions on businesses led to thousands of Delawareans losing their jobs and filing unemployment claims in record-shattering numbers. “I think it’s an affirmation of our response to COVID-19,” Carney said of his victory, noting the coronavirus pandemic was a key issue in the race. Murray, an attorney, sued Carney herself over a ban on short-term rentals he imposed early in the virus outbreak. The lawsuit remains pending in federal court. Carney has defended his actions and said he will continue to work to protect Delawareans from COVID-19.

District of Columbia

Washington: More than 1,000 people protesting President Donald Trump converged on Black Lives Matter Plaza on Tuesday night, just a block from the White House, while hundreds more marched through parts of downtown Washington, sometimes blocking traffic and setting off fireworks. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, with people shouting, “Whose streets? Our streets!” and “If we don’t get no justice, they don’t get no peace!” Groups of teenagers danced in the street as onlookers cheered. Large banners, including one reading “Trump lies all the time,” were unfurled. At one point, some marchers stabbed the tires of a parked police van to flatten them. Hundreds of businesses in cities across the U.S. boarded up their doors and windows ahead of the election. “Some people would like to cause mayhem and trouble,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said earlier in the day. She said she had never seen so many businesses being boarded up: “That all saddens me.”

Florida

Tallahassee: Voters approved a measure raising the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour over the next six years, which advocates say will lift the pay for hundreds of thousands of workers in the state’s service-heavy economy. A supermajority of voters approved the amendment to the Florida Constitution that will raise the minimum wage from the current $8.56 an hour to $15 an hour by 2026. Although the state’s current minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, supporters of Amendment 2 had said it is impossible to live on that wage given the state’s cost of living. Opponents of Amendment 2 said it would stifle growth as Florida’s battered tourism economy recovers from the impact of the new coronavirus. All state constitutional amendments require a 60% supermajority for approval.

Georgia

Atlanta: Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories in a series of online videos, has won a U.S. House seat representing northwest Georgia. Her candidacy was bolstered by President Donald Trump, who has called her a “future Republican Star.” Greene was heavily favored in the conservative district even before Democratic challenger Kevin Van Ausdal suddenly dropped out in September, saying he was moving out of state. Greene is a businesswoman and political newcomer who’s gained large followings on social media in part by posting incendiary videos and comments. She has claimed in online videos that Black and Hispanic men are being held back by “gangs and dealing drugs,” alleged an “Islamic invasion” of government offices and accused Jewish billionaire George Soros of collaborating with Nazis.

Hawaii

Lihue: Businesses in the state’s fishing and aquaculture sectors can begin applying for federal coronavirus relief funding. The U.S. Department of Commerce opened the application period Monday for qualified fisheries impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, The Garden Island reports. More than $300 million in federal funding was allocated for fisheries and aquaculture, including more than $4.3 million for Hawaii businesses. Applications must be submitted to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission by Nov. 23. Applicants should be able to claim revenue losses of more than 35% compared to their previous five years of average revenue or negative impacts to their subsistence, cultural or ceremonial fisheries. Eligible applicants include commercial fishing operations, charter and for-hire fishing businesses, aquaculture operations, and wholesale seafood dealers and processors.

Idaho

Boise: Three members of the state’s U.S. congressional delegation kept their seats, and voters amended the Idaho Constitution to permanently set the number of legislative districts at 35. The state currently has 35 legislative districts – with one senator and two representatives elected from each – but the Constitution previously allowed as few as 30 or as many as 35 districts to be set during redistricting, which occurs every 10 years. Idaho Secretary of State Lawrence Denney on Tuesday told voters to ignore suspicious robocalls telling them to “stay home, stay safe.” He said the calls were not from any official office, though they appear to come from a local area code. The secretary of state’s office said it appeared about 80% and possibly up to 82% of registered voters cast a ballot for the election. Chad Houck, chief deputy in the office, said that would be a record-high turnout.

Illinois

Springfield: Voters have rejected a proposal to abolish the state’s flat-rate income tax for one that would take a greater share from wealthier taxpayers. The outcome of Tuesday’s vote handed Gov. J.B. Pritzker the first major defeat of his 22-month tenure. The Democrat campaigned on establishing a progressive tax that he said would make tax payments the same or lower for 97% of the state, while those making more than $250,000 would pay on a graduated scale. Dubbed the “Fair Tax” by Pritzker and supporters, it was to generate an extra $3 billion a year to help pay down an $8.3 billion backlog in past-due bills, fill revenue gaps in the state budget that lawmakers had hoped federal pandemic relief would fill, and make a dent in billions of dollars more in debt. Pritzker warned that defeat of the amendment would mean a general increase of the flat rate, 15% to 20% across-the-board cuts in spending or other painful measures.

Indiana

Indianapolis: The state’s hospitals were treating the largest number of COVID-19 patients Monday since the state began releasing public reports on coronavirus hospitalizations in the spring, health officials said. Indiana had 1,867 coronavirus hospitalizations as of Monday, surpassing the previous peak of 1,799 COVID-19 hospitalizations reported April 13, the Indiana State Department of Health said Tuesday. The hospitalizations as of Monday marked a 95% jump in Indiana’s COVID-19 patients during the past month, the data shows. The health department also added 50 more coronavirus-related deaths to Indiana’s pandemic toll, raising it to 4,439, including confirmed and presumed coronavirus infections. Indiana had a seven-day rolling average of 28 daily deaths as of Monday that represented one of the highest levels since May and nearly double from a month ago. Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb, who won reelection Tuesday, has resisted calls for reinstating coronavirus restrictions since lifting nearly all limits in late September, just as the state started recording sharp increases in hospitalizations, deaths and new infections.

Iowa

Des Moines: Hospitalizations in the state continued to accelerate Wednesday, reaching new highs with 777 people in hospitals and 164 additional people admitted in the past 24 hours. Another record was set in the past 24 hours with 182 people in intensive care with serious COVID-19 illness. Iowa doctors and hospital administrators have recently sounded alarms that the increasing virus infections will soon overwhelm hospitals. Many are already dealing with high rates of virus infections among hospital staff, further reducing the ability to care for patients with the virus or unrelated illnesses. Data posted by the Iowa Department of Public Health shows no sign of an improving situation. More than 2,800 new confirmed cases were identified Wednesday and 26 additional deaths, raising the state total to 1,781. The seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Iowa has risen over the past two weeks from about 26% on Oct. 20 to nearly 39% on Nov. 3, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. That rate places Iowa second in the nation behind South Dakota, which had a rate over 50%.

Kansas

Wichita: A former band teacher has been elected to serve as the first transgender lawmaker in the state. Democrat Stephanie Byers defeated Republican Cyndi Howerton in Tuesday’s election for the Kansas 86th District, a Democratic-leaning district that includes parts of Wichita. Unofficial results showed Byers with 54.4% of the vote to Howerton’s 45.6%. Byers, a retired band teacher at Wichita North High School, said throughout her campaign that being transgender is only part of her identity and that she plans to focus on other issues, such as health care. “We’ve done something in Kansas most people thought would never happen, and we did it with really no pushback by just focusing on the issues,” Byers told The Wichita Eagle. But she acknowledged her election would give hope to the transgender community, particularly in deeply conservative Kansas.

Kentucky

Louisville: Republicans expanded their already dominant 62-seat supermajority in the state House on Tuesday, flipping at least 10 seats currently occupied by Democrats and defending several targeted incumbents. By Wednesday morning, Republicans had picked up at least 10 of these seats from Democrats and led in three more races in Democratic-held districts where most of the votes were counted. This would give Republicans a 72-to-28 supermajority in the House chamber, with the possibility of expanding to 75 seats once the other races are called. Republican House candidates were boosted throughout the state by President Donald Trump at the top of the ballot, who won a blowout victory over Joe Biden by 27 points. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also won reelection to a seventh term by more than 20 points over Democrat Amy McGrath.

Louisiana

New Orleans: Four incumbent Republicans and an incumbent Democrat all won reelection to the U.S. House in Tuesday’s election, while a race to replace a Republican who is stepping down from Congress will be settled in a December runoff. Republican Rep. Ralph Abraham is stepping down from his northeast Louisiana-based district. Nine people sought to fill the open seat. His chief of staff, Luke Letlow, was assured a runoff spot, but it was unclear late Tuesday whether he would face another Republican or a Democrat. Also on the ballot, along with the races for president and U.S. Senate, were seven proposed changes to the Louisiana Constitution, including one to make sure nothing in the document is construed as granting women the right to abortion. The ballot language states that “a right to abortion and the funding of abortion shall not be found in the Louisiana Constitution.” It was approved by voters Tuesday.

Maine

Windham: An outbreak of coronavirus at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham has grown to more than 80 cases. The positive cases included more than 70 inmates and at least nine staff members, the Portland Press Herald reports. State officials had not identified the source of the outbreak Wednesday. The outbreak is the second major incident of spread of the virus at a jail or correctional facility in Maine. The York County Jail in Alfred reported more than 80 cases of the virus during the summer. Officials have said the Maine Correctional Center outbreak is contained to two units at the facility, and the affected inmates will now be housed in the same unit. Meanwhile, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday reported one of the heaviest single-day tolls from the virus since the pandemic began. An additional 151 coronavirus cases and two deaths have been reported in the state, the Maine CDC said.

Maryland

Annapolis: Voters approved legalizing sports betting in the state Tuesday. Details on where sports wagering will be allowed and whether to allow it online will be decided later by state lawmakers. Legislation approved by the General Assembly to put sports betting on the ballot requires that the state would spend its proceeds primarily on education. Voters also approved a constitutional amendment to give the Maryland General Assembly more power over the state’s budget process. It will allow the legislature to increase, decrease or add items to the budget, as long as the changes don’t exceed the total proposed by the governor. For more than 100 years, when Maryland’s governor has submitted the state budget to the General Assembly each January, lawmakers have only been able to cut from the proposal.

Massachusetts

Boston: Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday defended his new measures aimed at stemming the rising number of new COVID-19 cases in the state, which include earlier closing times for restaurants and some other businesses. The alternative, he said, is an overwhelmed health care system. “We have a 300% increase in daily positive case rate since Labor Day, a 150% increase in daily hospital COVID census since Labor Day, and a lot of concern in our health care and hospital community about what this trend will mean if it keeps running for another eight to 10 weeks,” the Republican governor said. He said he understands that the regulations are “disruptive” to the restaurant industry but said it’s better to take targeted measures now rather than suffer the consequences in several weeks. He also reiterated the importance of face coverings. “If people would just wear these things religiously for 30 days, we could kill the virus,” Baker said.

Michigan

Hudsonville: A judge on Tuesday ruled in favor of local health officials in western Michigan in a dispute with a school over masks and a coronavirus infection. Libertas Christian School in Hudsonville sued to stop the Ottawa County health department from closing the school. But U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney declined to upset the agency’s orders. The health department said Libertas refused to make masks mandatory and had failed to supply information about a virus case involving a teacher. The judge, however, declined to rule on the school’s challenge to the mask order from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration. Maloney said state courts can consider it. The health department said Libertas can reopen Friday for in-person learning if students wear masks. “This is the same mandate being enforced by all other Ottawa County schools,” the department said.

Minnesota

Minneapolis: The state’s positivity rate for coronavirus tests increased to 9% Tuesday, after previously hovering around 5% – an unwelcome sign that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in the state. The Minnesota Department of Health reported 3,483 new positive cases and 15 additional deaths compared to Monday. A total of 157,096 people have been infected with the coronavirus in Minnesota, and 2,499 people have died. It’s not just one or two big events that have caused cases to rise rapidly, state Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm told the Star Tribune. “It’s the happy hour at the end of the long week with just a couple friends or brunch on the weekend with maybe a few cousins … it’s the weddings,” Malcolm said. “Everybody really tries hard during the ceremony to comply with the safety guidance and much of the reception, but as the night wears on, people start letting their guards down.”

Mississippi

Jackson: Mississippians have voted in favor of eliminating a Reconstruction-era electoral college provision in races for governor and other statewide offices. The Mississippi Constitution currently requires a statewide candidate to win a majority of the popular vote and a majority of the electoral vote. One electoral vote goes to the candidate receiving the most support in each of the 122 state House districts. If nobody wins both the popular vote and the electoral vote, the race is decided by the state House. But representatives are not obligated to vote as their districts did. Mississippi is the only state with the multistep process for electing a governor. The process was written when white politicians across the South were enacting laws to erase Black political power gained during Reconstruction. The separate House vote was promoted as a way for the white ruling class have the final say in who holds office.

Missouri

Kansas City: Jackson County voters have rejected a proposal to remove two statues of President Andrew Jackson that stand in front of the county’s two courthouses. Activists pushed to have the statues removed because Jackson was a slave owner who also signed a law in 1830 that forced Native Americans east of the Mississippi River to move west, causing thousands to die. The proposal to take down the statues failed Tuesday with about 59% opposed and 41% in favor. Racial injustice protests across the country this year led to the removal of several statues of famous U.S. leaders who had racially problematic backgrounds. Jackson County was named after Jackson in 1826 after he became famous as a general in the U.S. Army. He was president from 1829 to 1837. The statues were erected in Independence and Kansas City in the early 20th century.

Montana

Helena: Republican Greg Gianforte won the race to become the next governor, defeating Lt. Gov. Mike Cooney in Tuesday’s election and expanding the GOP’s hold on the state following one of the most competitive gubernatorial races of the 2020 election. The seat was up for grabs because Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock had termed out. He lost his bid Tuesday to win a U.S. Senate seat. Gianforte, 59, who serves as Montana’s lone member of the U.S. House, was endorsed by President Donald Trump. He will be Montana’s first Republican governor in 16 years, with Great Falls attorney Kristen Juras as his lieutenant governor. One of the wealthiest members of Congress, Gianforte touted his business experience, which includes founding a startup technology company in his hometown of Bozeman that was eventually sold for almost $2 billion.

Nebraska

Omaha: After decades of rejecting casino gambling, voters overwhelmingly approved measures Tuesday to allow it at state-licensed horse racing tracks in Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, Columbus and South Sioux City. Opponents fought hard to keep the issue off the ballot, including filing a lawsuit in September that was rejected by the Nebraska Supreme Court. Now voters have approved a change to the state constitution to allow slot machines and table gambling, as well as two laws that will regulate and tax casino gambling. Opponents had argued the change would lead to social ills, such as crime and bankruptcy fueled by gambling addiction. Supporters countered that those problems already exist in Nebraska because of easy access to neighboring states’ casinos and that legalizing casinos in Nebraska would create jobs and a new source of tax revenue.

Nevada

Carson City: State health officials on Tuesday reported 911 new COVID-19 cases and 23 additional deaths, the highest single-day coronavirus death toll since the state reported 26 on Sept. 15. State Department of Health and Human Services officials said the total number of coronavirus cases now is 103,025 since the pandemic started with 1,807 known deaths. They said all 23 of the latest deaths were in Clark County, the state’s largest that includes metro Las Vegas. Clark County also had 710 of the 911 new cases with 84,129 of the total cases and 1,540 of the deaths. Gov. Steve Sisolak has urged residents follow public health guidance, including wearing face coverings, practicing social distancing, avoiding large crowds and washing hands frequently.

New Hampshire

Concord: U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen along with Democratic Reps. Annie Kuster and Chris Pappas were reelected Tuesday, ensuring Democrats maintain their dominance of the state’s congressional delegation. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu defeated Democrat Dan Feltes to win a third term. As it did for the September primary, the coronavirus pandemic significantly changed the processes of campaigning and voting alike. Safety precautions were in place at the polls, and anyone with concerns about the virus was allowed to vote by absentee ballot. Secretary of State Bill Gardner on Monday said he expected more than 800,000 ballots to be cast, surpassing the record of 755,850 set in 2016. As of Tuesday morning, more than 235,000 absentee ballots had been returned to city and town clerks. The state’s Joint Information Center said there were long lines at some polling stations but no signs of problems.

New Jersey

Trenton: Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy on Wednesday signed legislation prohibiting single-use plastic and paper bags and plastic foam containers. The ban, which goes into effect in May 2022, prohibits the type of bags customers get from restaurants that do takeout and from groceries and other stores. The ban doesn’t apply to reusable bags, defined in the measure as those made out of polypropylene – like the large blue bags Ikea has – or nylon, cloth, hemp or other washable fabrics. Bags with stitched handles are also exempt under the measure. New Jersey joins eight states in banning plastic bags. While some states impose a fee on paper bags, and Hawaii has a de facto ban on bags with less than 40% recycled material, New Jersey lawmakers say it’s the first state with a paper bag ban. The prohibition stems from environmental concerns.

New Mexico

Albuquerque: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has proposed a $25 million stimulus package for the state’s tourism industry. The proposal Monday came after the most recent employment report said the state’s leisure and hospitality industry has lost 24,500 jobs this year, or about a 24.5% decrease from a year ago. “In both rural and urban communities, tourism offers entrepreneurs a path to create opportunity for their families and offers communities of all sizes a reliable building block for their own economic recovery strategy,” Lujan Grisham said. She said she will ask lawmakers to consider the package during the legislative session that opens in January. The governor’s office said the pandemic has cost the state’s tourism industry $4.3 billion this year. The figure does not include long-term losses due to business closures and workers moving out of the state.

New York

Albany: Just under 50,000 New Yorkers tested positive for the coronavirus in October, roughly doubling from September, according to state statistics. The increase mirrored one that has happened across the U.S. and in other nations this autumn, as people have relaxed their guard against the disease and returned to schools, shops, restaurants and other indoor activities. Gov. Andrew Cuomo noted that the rise in New York has been slower than in some other states. But he cautioned that there are “danger signs all around us.” “All I can do is warn New Yorkers and ask them to remember what worked for us, and what worked for us is discipline and (being) smart; that’s what worked for us, and we have to keep it up because these are dangerous, dangerous times,” Cuomo said. Over the last seven days in October, an average of about 2,040 people per day tested positive for the virus in the state, up from about 680 the last seven days in August.

North Carolina

Raleigh: Republicans have withstood a massive effort by Democrats inside the state and nationally to retake both General Assembly chambers. Election results Tuesday showed GOP candidates winning majorities in the 50-seat Senate and 120-seat House so the party could extend control for another two years and retain its conservative policy agenda. Democrats had been on a multimillion-dollar spending push to win several additional seats in each chamber and flip power. The GOP majorities mean Republicans will be able in 2021 to redraw district maps for the next decade. Republicans controlled redistricting in the 2010s. Their maps were almost continuously in court after Democrats and their allies filed lawsuits. Republicans won’t obtain the veto-proof majorities they held from 2013 to 2018. That means Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who won reelection Tuesday, will be able to continue to use his veto to check the GOP’s legislative activities.

North Dakota

Grand Forks: Opponents of the city’s mask mandate marched outside City Hall on Monday to make sure their message was heard. Business owners, students and others say they want city leaders to know that people should have the freedom to chose whether to wear a mask and that it should not be mandated by the government. Demonstrators chanted “facts not fear” as they marched in a circle. Midwest Public Health Coalition spokesman David Waterman claimed there’s no science that wearing a mask is going to stop the coronavirus or any kind of bacterial or viral infection. “We want people to know that they can breathe fresh air and not be afraid of this thing,” he said. City leaders imposed the mask mandate last week. It does not have penalties for failing to comply, but violators can be removed from businesses if they don’t wear a mask, KVLY-TV reports. City leaders aren’t budging on the policy, saying masks do help stop the spread of the virus.

Ohio

Columbus: The state’s GOP-drawn congressional map remains unbeaten, with all 16 incumbents winning. The Republicans have held a 12-4 majority in the state’s U.S. House delegation since the map took effect in 2012. GOP legislators will keep “supermajorities” in the Statehouse, even after a federal bribery scandal involving their former House speaker. But a Democrat won one of two Supreme Court positions being contested, narrowing the GOP edge to 4-3. On the local level, of 123 public school district tax issues that were on the ballot Tuesday, voters passed 83, or about two-thirds, according to the Ohio School Boards Association. The measures approved included a levy that could help Cleveland schools dodge big cuts. Ohio has been trending Republican in recent statewide elections.

Oklahoma

Oklahoma City: Republican state Sen. Stephanie Bice defeated U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn on Tuesday and won back the only Democratic-held seat in Oklahoma’s congressional delegation. Bice, 46, earned a reputation as a political moderate in her two terms in the Senate, writing a series of bills to help overhaul the state’s antiquated alcohol laws and inviting a Hindu leader to deliver a prayer after the Legislature faced criticism for its lack of religious diversity. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to be standing before you as the next congresswoman from the 5th District,” Bice told a GOP watch party, prompting a roar from the crowd. “I am thrilled that once again Oklahoma, on the federal level, is 100% red.” Horn, 44, narrowly won the Oklahoma City-area House seat in 2018 in a district that President Donald Trump had won two years earlier by nearly 14 points, tapping into a network of enthusiastic women and young people in increasingly diverse Oklahoma City.

Oregon

Portland: The mayor has declared victory after a bruising campaign that sandwiched him between a tough challenger to his political left and anger from moderate voters and business owners frustrated with five months of near-nightly protests that made the city a frequent lightning rod for President Donald Trump. Mayor Ted Wheeler said he had prevailed in a brief speech late Tuesday with more than 90% of the vote counted. If his lead holds, Wheeler would become the first mayor to win a second term in the notoriously hard-to-govern city in 20 years. The Associated Press has not yet declared a winner. Challenger Sarah Iannarone, who has never held an elected office, said late Tuesday that she was going to bed and urged her supporters to wait until every vote had been counted. Write-in candidates won a whopping 13% of the vote. Supporters of Black Lives Matter activist Teresa Raiford, who didn’t make it past the primary, helped account for the high number.

Pennsylvania

Scranton: A single voting machine jammed for just minutes Tuesday morning at a precinct in Joe Biden’s hometown – but misleading posts from conservative social-media influencers and websites claimed multiple machines in Scranton were down for hours. Pennsylvania emerged as a hot spot for online misinformation on Election Day. Facebook and Twitter scrambled to take down false posts about polling locations in Scranton, Philadelphia and beyond to minimize the spread of misinformation and prevent it from sowing doubt about the election process. Misleading claims about voting in the key battleground state were shared thousands of times on Facebook and Twitter – even reaching their way to the Twitter feed of the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr. Results in the closely watched state might be delayed because of the surge of mail-in ballots this year, even though that delay doesn’t indicate a problem with the vote. Twitter and Facebook also removed a false post from an Instagram user who claimed to be discarding hundreds of ballots cast for Trump while working at a polling place in Erie County.

Rhode Island

Providence: The seven-day average coronavirus test positivity rate in the state remains well above 3%, while the seven-day average of daily new cases remains above 440, according to new data. The Rhode Island Department of Health on Wednesday reported 466 new confirmed cases the previous day and two more virus-related fatalities. There have now been more than 35,100 confirmed cases and 1,214 deaths in the state. The new cases were out of nearly 13,000 tests, a daily positivity rate of 3.6%. The seven-day rolling average of the positivity rate in Rhode Island has risen over the past two weeks from 2.12% on Oct. 20 to 3.35% on Tuesday, according to data from the COVID Tracking Project. There were 169 patients with COVID-19 in Rhode Island hospitals on Monday, the most recent date for which the information was available, down from 177 the previous day. Twenty-one were in intensive care.

South Carolina

Columbia: Republican Nancy Mace has defeated incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, dealing a blow to the gains South Carolina Democrats made two years ago. Mace, a member of the state House, beat Cunningham in a seat Republicans loudly announced they were determined to flip back days after the Democrat’s win in 2018. She will be only the second woman elected to a full term in the U.S. House from South Carolina. Mace got support from President Donald Trump on Twitter and once worked on the president’s campaign. But, while trying to link Cunningham to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Mace stayed fairly quiet about Trump’s support. Anger about the president helped Cunningham make his bipartisan push to win in 2018. Mace is the first woman to graduate from The Citadel.

South Dakota

Sioux Falls: An emergency order for a coronavirus mask mandate is advancing in the city. The City Council voted Tuesday night to send the ordinance on for a second reading Nov. 10. The mandate would require face coverings in all indoor public places where 6 of social distancing isn’t possible. The proposal comes after weeks of rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in the state. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 hit a new high Tuesday at 480, according to the South Dakota Department of Health. Mayor Paul TenHaken has long said that while he strongly encourages residents to wear masks, he believes any sort of law requiring them would be “unenforceable.” Curt Soehl, who sponsored the measure, cited the need to relieve public health systems and rises in hospitalizations. If passed, Soehl said, those who violate the mandate would receive a $50 fine, according to KSFY-TV.

Tennessee

Nashville: Republican Bill Hagerty has won the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Lamar Alexander. The former U.S. ambassador to Japan under President Donald Trump rode the president’s endorsement to a win against Democrat Marquita Bradshaw. During a victory party alongside Gov. Bill Lee, Sen. Marsha Blackburn and other Tennessee Republicans, Hagerty said Trump told him in a phone call that he was “very happy with the results in Tennessee.” Republicans have held both Senate seats in Tennessee since 1994. Trump remained popular enough in the state that Hagerty mentioned the president at every turn in his contested primary and the general election campaign. Hagerty is a Nashville businessman who sits on the board of a private investment firm. He served as the economic development commissioner for former Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.

Texas

El Paso: Local hospitals are near a “breaking point,” with 3,100 new cases of the coronavirus reported in El Paso on Wednesday, an official said. “Hospitalizations continue to rise sharply, and unfortunately more people we know will continue to succumb to the complications of this disease,” said Dr. Hector Ocaranza, El Paso’s city and county health authority. There were 1,041 hospitalizations Wednesday, health officials said. Texas recently surpassed California in recording the highest number of positive tests for the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s data. The latest numbers show 950,345 reported Texas cases. The true number of infections is likely higher because many people haven’t been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected and not feel sick. El Paso has become a hot spot, with the governor sending additional medical personnel and equipment and local officials ordering a two-week shutdown of nonessential activities.

Utah

Logan: Utah State University’s Latinx Creative Society has dedicated an altar to those who have died in the coronavirus pandemic. The club’s founders, alumni and community members on Monday made an “ofrenda” outside the Taggart Student Center on campus. The altar features 30 photos of local residents who died as a result of the pandemic, The Herald Journal reports. “A lot of people who died didn’t have the opportunity to say goodbye,” said Crescencio Lopez-Gonzalez, an associate professor at the university and the head of the club. “This is a way to say, ‘It’s OK to come back.’ ” Of Utah’s 620 coronavirus deaths, 126 have been Latinos, despite making up only 14.2% of the state’s population, according to the state Department of Health. Utah on Tuesday reported its highest number of hospitalizations from the coronavirus since the pandemic began with 366, breaking Monday’s record by 18. The state also reported six new deaths Tuesday.

Vermont

Montpelier: The state’s top health official is advising residents not to travel for the holidays if they can avoid it and says any visitors from outside the state, including returning college students, will need to quarantine amid a rise in coronavirus cases in parts of the country, including the Northeast. “We know that social gatherings often among trusted family and friends are a driving force behind much of the virus’s spread right now across the nation,” Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine said Tuesday. “Adding the element of travel to the mix only adds to the risk.” Any out-of-state visitors who Vermonters are inviting to their homes should wear a mask in common places, use a separate bathroom, eat separately, stay 6 feet apart and otherwise not be in close contact with other household members, he said. “Celebrating the holidays at home will be different for many people this year, but maybe like Halloween we can come up with some new holiday traditions and innovations,” Levine said.

Virginia

Richmond: Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria has held on to her seat in a congressional district that includes suburban and rural areas and the world’s largest naval base. The former U.S. Navy commander defeated Republican Scott Taylor in Tuesday’s election. Taylor is a former Navy SEAL who represented the district for one term before Luria bested him in 2018. The contest was one of three closely watched House races in Virginia, one of which was won by a Republican, and the other was still too early to call. Luria’s win is a boost to Democrats, who have scored a series of victories during President Donald Trump’s term. Presidential candidate Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Mark Warner easily won statewide contests, but Democrats’ strength was shakier outside the heavily populated liberal suburbs of northern Virginia.

Washington

Olympia: Republicans only hold two statewide elected positions in the state and could soon be down to just one. Incumbent Secretary of State Kim Wyman appeared to be holding off Democratic state Rep. Gael Tarleton with nearly 52% of the vote in early returns, but Treasurer Duane Davidson was far behind Democratic state Rep. Mike Pellicciotti. If reelected to a third term, Wyman would continue a more than five-decade trend of Republicans holding that office. She is the fifth Republican to hold the office since 1965. And with Democrats appearing to reclaim the secretary of state’s office in Oregon in Tuesday’s election, Wyman would be the only Republican statewide elected official on the West Coast of the contiguous U.S. Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy at Washington State University, said while the Republican Party’s hold on Washington’s secretary of state office is an outlier, “they’ve done an outstanding job by and large running nonpartisan elections in the state.”

West Virginia

Huntington: Marshall University will limit the number of people who can attend events that will mark the 50th anniversary of the worst disaster in U.S. sports history. The restrictions on attendance are part of safety measures put into place due to the coronavirus pandemic, school officials said. The Marshall football team’s chartered plane crashed short of an airport near Huntington while returning from a game Nov. 14, 1970. Among the 75 people killed were 36 football players. In a news release, Marshall said it still plans to rededicate a restored statue honoring the 1970 team Nov. 10 near the Marshall Rec Center in Huntington, but plans now call for the ceremony to be presented online only for the public. On Nov. 13, Marshall will honor each student who died in the crash with a posthumous degree in their program of study at the Joan C. Edwards Playhouse. On Nov. 14, the 50th annual Memorial Fountain Ceremony will be held at the Marshall Student Center Plaza. That’s when the fountain is turned off until spring. It will be by invitation only but will also have a virtual stream.

Wisconsin

Madison: The conservative-leaning state Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to consider reinstating Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ coronavirus restrictions limiting the size of public gatherings, deferring to a lower court to decide. Evers’ administration issued an order in early October that limited the size of indoor public gatherings to 25% of a building or room’s occupancy or 10 people in places without an occupancy limit. The order was designed to curb the spread of COVID-19. The powerful Tavern League of Wisconsin filed a lawsuit challenging the order, arguing it would drive bars and restaurants out of business. A Sawyer County judge blocked it Oct. 14 only to have a Barron County judge reinstate it five days later. That sparked an appeal from The Mix-Up bar in Amery and Pro-Life Wisconsin, which argues that the capacity restrictions limit its fundraising gatherings.

Wyoming

Cheyenne: The governor tested negative for the coronavirus for a second time but remained in isolation after being exposed at a meeting that included the coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force. A White House spokesperson didn’t immediately return a message Tuesday asking whether the coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx, had been tested since the meeting at the Wind River Casino in Riverton on Oct. 28. Birx visited Wyoming on a multistate trip to discuss the pandemic with state, tribal and local officials. Gov. Mark Gordon will work from the Governor’s Residence in Cheyenne in isolation for the rest of this week out of an “abundance of caution,” spokesman Michael Pearlman said Tuesday. Gordon might get a third test after the negative rapid and conventional test results, Pearlman said.

From USA TODAY Network and wire reports