On April 8, Gov. Phil Murphy signed Executive Order 120 to postpone the federal and state primary elections from June 2 to July 7.

The executive order also reschedules any other election scheduled between May 13 through July 7 to be held on Tuesday, July 7.

The governor postponed the election due to the COVID-19 health emergency.

Additionally, postponement will allow state officials time to determine whether in-person voting can be held or if the election should be held by vote-by-mail.

Gov. Ralph Northam has announced the June 9 primary election will be postponed until June 23 due to concerns about COVID-19.

Northam has also requested the General Assembly postpone the May 5 municipal elections to coincide with the November 3 general election.

The General Assembly would need to reconvene to approve such a postponement.

The postponement may also extend current local official terms of office to facilitate the election of their successors.

Due to the current situation surrounding COVID-19, the Suffolk County Clerk of the Legislature announced under Executive Order 202.7, lobbyists preparing periodic reports for April 15 may have their report notarized remotely.

Additionally, the reports may be sent in digitally to meet the deadline.

If a lobbyist is unable to have their report notarized by April 15, the clerk’s office is requiring the report be submitted by the deadline.

Additionally, a notarized copy must be provided following their submission.

Gov. Tom Wolf granted the Department of State’s request to extend the deadline for filing lobbying reports and temporarily waive the notarization requirement for campaign finance reports.

The governor granted the request in response to COVID-19 and to minimize delays in required reporting.

The lobbying disclosure report deadline for the first quarter is extended until July 30.

The reports are required on the same date as the second quarterly report but must be filed separately.

The governor also granted a temporary waiver of the notarization requirement for campaign finance reports and campaign finance statements filed by political committees and candidates for public office.

The waiver allows the required documents to be filed online until the COVID-19 health emergency subsides.

Filers must sign, either physically or typed, and date their report or statement cover sheet.

For filers who file on paper, the department will accept emailed campaign finance reports for the duration of the emergency.

Filers must email the campaign finance reports to: RA-stcampaignfinance@pa.gov.

The Portland Auditor has temporarily suspended enforcement of lobbying and political consultant reporting requirements for first quarter reports due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The deadline for lobbyist reports covering activity for the period of January 1 to March 31 is extended until June 15.

The auditor’s office will not assess late fees or penalties for failure to:

• • File quarterly reports
  • Submit required updated information
  • Register as a lobbyist or political consultant

Lobbying entities, political consultants, and city officials are encouraged to file reports when they are able to do so.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ executive order delaying the state’s presidential primary over coronavirus fears.

The court ruled 4-2 Evers lacked the authority to move the election on his own.

The decision means the election will occur as originally scheduled on Tuesday.

Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday to count after the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the deadline in the first coronavirus-related case to reach the justices.

The California Legislature pushed back a scheduled return to the legislative session by three weeks to give public health officials more time to deal with the coronavirus spreading through the state.

The Legislature now is scheduled to reconvene on May 4.

Lawmakers had voted unanimously on March 16 to suspend its session until April 13.

The initial decision last month to suspend activities at the state Capitol was unprecedented in California history.

The decision came after legislators grappled for several days to balance public health concerns with the need for action to address the impact of the pandemic.

Both houses quickly passed a $1 billion relief plan on March 16 before putting a halt to all legislative business.

Whether a return in early May will be possible could depend on the state’s success or failure this month in slowing the rate of infection.

Early spring is traditionally one of the busiest times of the year for the Legislature, with hundreds of bills considered by policy committees before receiving final votes in either of the two houses by May 31.

Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order to delay the state’s presidential primary from April 7 until June 9 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

If Evers’ executive order holds, Wisconsin would become the 16th state to delay its election amid the pandemic.

Republicans are expected to immediately challenge the governor’s order in state court.

Evers had been reluctant to act due to concerns a postponement would be quickly overturned by the state Supreme Court and impact his authority to fight the pandemic.

Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) staff will hold an interested persons meeting on Monday, April 20, at 10:00 a.m.

The purpose of the meeting is to solicit public input regarding legislative and regulatory proposals to enhance disclosure of political activity by limited liability companies (LLCs) in California elections.

Current law enables LLCs to make contributions or independent expenditures solely in the name of the LLC without disclosing any information, or even a way to determine, the source of the funds expended by the LLC and individuals responsible for operating the LLC.

The FPPC is interested in increasing the amount of information available to the public concerning political activity by LLCs.

Regulatory proposals will be considered for adoption or amendment on or after the May 21 meeting.

Federal Judge Michael H. Watson declined to change the election plan Ohio lawmakers unanimously approved last month.

House Bill 197 requires the state’s primary election to be conducted mostly by mail.

Additionally, the bill extends absentee balloting until April 28 for the presidential and state primary elections.

In-person voting originally scheduled for March 17 was postponed by order of the state’s Health Department in response to COVID-19 concerns.

Legislative leaders declined the proposal of Gov. Tony Evers postponing in-person voting for the presidential primary and state elections Tuesday, April 7.

Evers called the Legislature into a special session on April 4 to take up legislation avoiding in-person voting.

The legislation created an all-mail election with a deadline of May 26 to return ballots.

An effort in federal court to delay the election also failed, but did result in a one-week extension for absentee ballots to be received.    

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced he wants to postpone the presidential primary and state Supreme Court elections scheduled for Tuesday, April 7.

Evers is calling the Legislature into a special session on April 4 to take up legislation to avoid in-person voting.

The legislation calls for an all-mail election with a deadline of May 26 to return ballots.

To contain the spread of COVID-19, lawmakers have extended the postponement of the legislative session for another week.

All General Assembly sessions and committee hearings for the week of April 6 to April 10, have been canceled.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Lobbying semimonthly reporting deadlines are now extended for 60 days, pushing the April 5 due date to June 4.

In response to the exponential spread of COVID-19, Gov. J.B. Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-18 on April 1.

The order extends prior executive orders for the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamations, which currently extends through April 30.

The Legislature also remains suspended through next week.

Additionally, lawmakers have been asked to keep their calendars clear for possible return dates.