Gov. Tate Reeves has ordered the special election for House District 88 set for April 21 be postponed until June 23.

The seat was vacated when Ramona Blackledge resigned in January.

Due to the House leadership ruling members could not collect legislative pay while also receiving state retirement funds.

On April 1, Gov. Jim Justice issued an executive order postponing the state’s primary election scheduled for May 12.

The election is postponed until June 9 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The order also suspends the rules and regulations regarding municipal elections allowing those elections to be rescheduled as necessary.

Although many states have postponed elections, as of April 1, Wisconsin plans to proceed with its primary on April 7 as planned despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several lawsuits were filed over the election.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Republican Party of Wisconsin

This will order a Dane County election official to change his guidance related to absentee voting and require strict compliance with voter identification laws.

Another federal lawsuit related to the election is still awaiting a verdict.

Formerly three separate cases, Federal Judge William Conley combined the three cases into a single case and heard arguments today.

A ruling in that case could happen any time.

The Democratic Party has canceled all county conventions and the in-person portion of its upcoming caucus over increasing concerns around the coronavirus outbreak.

All Wyoming Democrats registered by March 20 were automatically sent a ballot in the mail, to the address on their voter registration.

The deadline to request a replacement ballot was March 31.

Ballots must be mailed back to the Wyoming Democratic Party (postage paid envelope is included) and received by April 17.

Ballots received after April 17 will not be tabulated.

Caucus results will be released as soon as possible.

Counties will hold delegate elections and conventions electronically, no later than May 24.

The Ohio Ethics Commission has extended the financial disclosure statement deadline to July 15 for public officials required to file.

The general filing deadline applying to most filers was previously May 15.

Paul M. Nick, Executive Director of the Commission, stated the extension was to give filers adequate time to compile and file statements following the extended deadline of July 15 for federal and state tax returns in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Democratic Party of Hawaii announced the Democrat presidential primary election will take place on May 22 via mail-in ballots.

The election had originally been scheduled for April 4, but in-person voting was cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns.

To accommodate those who planned to vote in person, the party won’t count the ballots until late May to allow time for the extra round of ballots to be mailed, filled out, and returned.

Voters have until April 4 to register with the party and request a ballot.

Campaign Finance

National: “Biden Faces a Cash Gap with Trump. He Has to Close It Virtually.” by Shane Goldmacher (NewYork Times) for Salt Lake Tribune

California: “Watchdog to Review Rules Letting California Politicians Raise Money for Charity” by Laurel Rosenhall for Calmatters

Elections

National: “Campaigning in the Age of Pandemic: Biden and Sanders as amateur video hosts” by Annie Linskey and Matt Viser (Associated Press) for MSN

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Goes It Alone, Holding Elections Next Week Amid Fears of Infection and Voting Chaos” by Amy Gardner for Washington Post

Ethics

California: “‘They’re All Tainted by It.’ Federal Corruption Cases Deal New Blow to Trust in City Hall” by David Zahniser and Emily Alpert Reyes (Los Angeles Times) for Yahoo News

Michigan: “Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith Resigns Amid Criminal Charges Against Him” by Christina Hall for Detroit Free Press

Lobbying

Canada: “New B.C. Lobbying Laws Come into Force in May” by Haley Woodin for Business in Vancouver

Illinois: “Pandemic Derails Illinois’ Lobbying Reform Commission Ahead of Key Deadline” by Greg Bishop for The Center Square

New York: “Cuomo Pulls Back on Proposed Donor Disclosures for Nonprofits” by Kay Dervishi for City and State

In response to several states postponing congressional and presidential primary elections to limit exposure to the COVID-19 virus, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has been updating some of the campaign finance report due dates related to those elections.

The law requires many reports, such as pre-election reports, electioneering communications reports, and reports accounting for independent expenditures, base their due date and their covered periods upon the actual date of the election.

The FEC will adjust the deadlines for the relevant reports related to postponed elections.

Specifically, the FEC has directed that if a state postpones its election after the deadline for the applicable pre-election report, participating committees must file an additional pre-election report due 12 days before the new election date.

Otherwise, committees need only file the pre-election report for the new election date.

A political campaign affected by a postponement may continue to accept contributions until the date of the rescheduled election.

The Legislature adjourned on March 30 after holding its first electronic voting day for the last scheduled day of the 2020 session.

The electronic voting day considered bills vetoed by Gov. Kristi Noem and several new bills related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Legislature passed 9 of the 11 bills Noem requested to aid the state in battling the COVID-19 virus.

An approved bill includes the one that postponed elections.

House Bill 1298 postpones any election scheduled to be held from April 14 through May 26.

The bill requires the governing body of the political subdivision holding the election to choose any Tuesday in June as the alternate election date.

It also requires the absentee voting period to extend through 5:00 p.m. local time the day before the new election date.

A special session is tentatively planned for June to address lingering budget concerns caused by the pandemic.

Only 58 House members and 21 Senate members of the Louisiana Legislature returned briefly on March 31.

Lawmakers did not set a date for their next return, opting instead to recess upon the call of the presiding officer.

House Speaker Clay Schexnayder and Senate President Page Cortez will decide when the session will resume.

Gov. John Bel Edwards said March 31 he is likely to extend his statewide stay-at-home order until April 30 to coincide with federal guidelines.

In the meantime, official legislative proceedings are halted.

The legislature is prohibited by statutory, constitutional, and rule requirements from meeting remotely.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert announced March 31 he will call a special legislative session within two to three weeks to deal with growing COVID-19 concerns.

Gov. Herbert said several items will be at issue during the special session.

Items include extending the state’s personal income tax filing deadline from April 15 to July 15, and potentially opening the state’s General and Education funds.

It is unclear whether Gov. Herbert will ask lawmakers to take steps dealing with the spring and summer election deadlines.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

When the special session is called, all restrictions on contributions from individuals, lobbyists, principals, and political committees will apply.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Georgia Campaign Finance Commission’s physical office is closed.

The commission is no longer accepting paper registrations or payment of registration fees via mail.

All completed lobbyist new registrations and supplemental registrations must be submitted by email.

Lobbyists will then need to log into their e-file account to process the online payment for those new registrations and/or supplemental registration.

Lobbyist ID photos will be taken and badges issued once the physical office reopens.

After reconvening from the scheduled spring break, the Alabama Legislature has decided to suspend the legislative session.

The session is suspended as of March 31, due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.

Upon reconvening on April 28, the Legislature will have until May 18 to complete any pending legislation.

Legislation includes the constitutionally mandated budget bill for the fiscal year starting on October 1.

Due to the social distancing restrictions being implemented by the City of Austin, the Office of the City Clerk has closed to members of the public.

Correspondence and payments pertaining to lobbyist registrations/renewals may still be mailed in and will be processed based on their postage date.

Operations are continuing via telework, and employees may be reached via email.