latimes--2020-10-28--Latino immigrants who've survived electoral violence are anxious about Nov. 3

“ I never thought this could happen here.
” An uneasy sensation eats away at Aldo Waykan , a Guatemalan businessman and translator who does not quite understand what is happening in his adopted United States .
He came here in 1990 seeking refuge from a brutal civil war that tore apart his native country .
But the tense scenario unfolding before the Nov. 3 election reminds him of what he left behind in his Central American homeland , where he was abducted and beaten by paramilitaries in league with the national government .
For some Latinos with firsthand experience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voter suppression and stolen elections , the countdown to election day is stirring old anxieties .
Compounding the stress for some is the fear of becoming targets because of President Trump ’ s anti-immigrant harangues and the white supremacist groups they appeal to .
“ Going to the extreme of weapons is uncomfortable , ” Waykan said .
“ You feel a fear , because it is a threat to the community , to the democracy of the country and , of course , it does remind me of what happened in Guatemala @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wants to forcefully impose his ideas.
” Some political analysts have likened the charged atmosphere of this election season to the 1960s , when the social movements that culminated in passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts provoked a backlash of suppression and intimidation against Black Americans .
The mobilization of extremist groups like the Proud Boys and the spectacle of last summer ’ s political street clashes remind some Latinos of the crackdowns that were their daily bread during years under military rule .
Some survivors of fratricidal conflicts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — which were financially fueled by the United States government — are experiencing flashbacks , induced by post-traumatic stress disorder , of torture , disappearances and murders .
“ It ’ s like living those moments from where all these social convulsions began in the ’ 80s and ’ 90s , I think that for most of the people who migrated for that reason — and who are the majority — they find it worrying , ” said Ester Hernández , an anthropologist at Cal State Los Angeles .
Regardless of who wins @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that high levels of partisan polarization and distrust have made violent outbreaks all but inevitable .
According to the “ hate map ” published by the Southern Poverty Law Center , the number of hate groups rose from 918 in 2016 to 941 in 2019 .
“ The Trump presidency has ignited them .
It is very difficult to reverse that process now , ” said Raúl Moreno Campos , professor of political science at Cal State Channel Islands .
“ Everything indicates that there is going to be violence and a social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sanabria , a Salvadoran former student activist , knows what can happen when elections are sabotaged or the losing party refuses to accept the results .
In the 1972 presidential contest in El Salvador , pitting José Napoleón Duarte against Col. Arturo Armando Molina , a sudden power outage caused election polls to shut down .
The capital , San Salvador , went dark and shouting rang out at voting centers .
“ That was the moment the regime used for its political assault troops to enter the electoral precincts and fill the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their candidate , ” said Sanabria , who was 12 at the time .
The colonel ’ s victory was denounced internationally as fraud , helping to set the stage for the 12-year civil war that broke out in 1980 and ultimately took 75,000 lives .
Sanabria , now executive director of the immigrant rights organization El Rescate , believes that President Trump ’ s stated refusal to accept unconditionally the outcome of next week ’ s election is inflaming the spirits of extremist groups .
“ That is a hypocritical , demagogic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accept what is going to benefit you , ” the activist said .
Omar Corletto , an economist , arrived in Los Angeles at the end of 1983 .
His father , who was kidnapped Usulután , El Salvador , was among the 8,000 Salvadorans who disappeared during the 1980-92 war .
While some Americans are busily arming themselves to the teeth , Corletto has witnessed the consequences of violent civil unrest .
“ We know how sad it is and how it ruins the lives of future generations , ” he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ psychology and migration at Loyola Marymount University , said that threats of electoral violence are clearly being targeted at voters of color .
“ Its primary purpose is to intimidate and prevent these populations from making their voices heard through the voting process , ” Pérez said .
“ That is the contemporary form of those repression processes that many of us in Central America have been escaping from their conflicts and governments , ” added Pérez , who arrived from El Salvador in 1984 .
Equally troubling , analysts say , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ escalate between aggrieved groups that fear and distrust each other .
Edna Sandoval , a UCLA student working on her master ’ s degree in Latin American studies , said Black and Latino communities that have pushed back against Trump administration policies on issues such as immigration and policing are being met with a stepped-up , increasingly hostile response from white supremacist groups .
“ It is inevitable that violence occurs when there are people resisting , ” said Sandoval , a native of Guatemala .
Miguel Tinker Salas , professor of Latin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ historical trajectory ” of the United States reveals recurring efforts to suppress minorities ’ right to vote .
This suppression is intensifying under Trump because the nation ’ s dwindling white majority feels threatened by the growing influence of people of color , he said .
Non-Latino white people “ reject the notion that the United States is not the bastion of an Anglo-Saxon culture and , therefore , while that issue is on the table , I believe that this polarization continues and could become even more acute , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation reminds activist Mario Avila of when the Guatemalan government and military suspected any person who identified with popular movements as being in league with leftist guerrillas .
He was targeted for organizing agricultural workers who grew corn , coffee , jocote , tangerines and oranges , among other products .
“ The fact that you were organizing the population put you inside that insurgent box , ” said the Izabal native who left for Mexico in 1980 , before arriving in Los Angeles in 1990 .
Ávila , 76 , survived two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 1976 , suffering electric shocks , cigarette burns and being held underwater .
On a recent hot afternoon in L.A. 's Westlake neighborhood , Waykan , the businessman , was working his second job at a warehouse filled with disposable plates , Mayan costumes and imported foods .
He also works as a translator in the federal courts .
Waykan , 49 , speaks the Q ’ anjob ’ al language of his ancestors , and thanks to his command of Spanish and English he has served as a translator for his monolingual @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a native of Huehuetenango , emigrated after he was attacked by one of the paramilitary groups that operated during the war under the orders of the army .
“ Right now just mentioning it makes my heart race , ” said Waykan , who in 2018 became a naturalized American after a long process of political asylum .
The intimidation that is swarming now in the United States , Waykan said , is something that the inhabitants of Nanqultaq village , in the municipality of Santa Eulalia , lived with .
The town @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people who grew corn and cutting coffee .
In their village , they were in a crossfire between the guerrillas and the army .
As an 18-year-old student leader , he was targeted by the military , which suspected such students of being potential guerrilla recruits .
One night in 1989 at a student event , seven armed men pushed their way in and struck Waykan with blows and stomps .
“ I only remember that they kicked me and several came to hit me , ” he recalled about the incident that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beating , he left Guatemala .
At first , he had a grudge and a thirst for revenge .
Today , he relives the trauma when memories are shaken loose .
On Nov. 3 , he will vote in a U.S. presidential election for the first time .
He plans to cast his ballot in person , at a voting center .

Aldo Waykan is a translator businessman in the Westlake area of Los Angeles. Tensions surrounding the November election have triggered memories of political violence in his native Guatemala.
“I never thought this could happen here.”
An uneasy sensation eats away at Aldo Waykan, a Guatemalan businessman and translator who does not quite understand what is happening in his adopted United States.
He came here in 1990 seeking refuge from a brutal civil war that tore apart his native country. But the tense scenario unfolding before the Nov. 3 election reminds him of what he left behind in his Central American homeland, where he was abducted and beaten by paramilitaries in league with the national government.
For some Latinos with firsthand experience of political violence, revolutionary upheaval, voter suppression and stolen elections, the countdown to election day is stirring old anxieties. Compounding the stress for some is the fear of becoming targets because of President Trump’s anti-immigrant harangues and the white supremacist groups they appeal to.
“Going to the extreme of weapons is uncomfortable,” Waykan said. “You feel a fear, because it is a threat to the community, to the democracy of the country and, of course, it does remind me of what happened in Guatemala, because by wanting to use weapons he wants to forcefully impose his ideas.”
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Some political analysts have likened the charged atmosphere of this election season to the 1960s, when the social movements that culminated in passage of the Civil Rights and Voting Rights acts provoked a backlash of suppression and intimidation against Black Americans.
The mobilization of extremist groups like the Proud Boys and the spectacle of last summer’s political street clashes remind some Latinos of the crackdowns that were their daily bread during years under military rule. Some survivors of fratricidal conflicts in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua — which were financially fueled by the United States government — are experiencing flashbacks, induced by post-traumatic stress disorder, of torture, disappearances and murders.
“It’s like living those moments from where all these social convulsions began in the ’80s and ’90s, I think that for most of the people who migrated for that reason — and who are the majority — they find it worrying,” said Ester Hernández, an anthropologist at Cal State Los Angeles.
Regardless of who wins the presidential election, some analysts fear that high levels of partisan polarization and distrust have made violent outbreaks all but inevitable. According to the “hate map” published by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the number of hate groups rose from 918 in 2016 to 941 in 2019.
“The Trump presidency has ignited them. It is very difficult to reverse that process now,” said Raúl Moreno Campos, professor of political science at Cal State Channel Islands.
“Everything indicates that there is going to be violence and a social outbreak,” he added.
Immigrant rights activist Salvador Sanabria stands beside a mural dedicated to the victims of the civil war in El Salvador. He recalls the election disruption in the 1970s that set the stage for the 12-year conflict. (Soudi Jiménez / Los Angeles Times en Español)
Salvador Sanabria, a Salvadoran former student activist, knows what can happen when elections are sabotaged or the losing party refuses to accept the results.
In the 1972 presidential contest in El Salvador, pitting José Napoleón Duarte against Col. Arturo Armando Molina, a sudden power outage caused election polls to shut down. The capital, San Salvador, went dark and shouting rang out at voting centers.
“That was the moment the regime used for its political assault troops to enter the electoral precincts and fill the ballot boxes with ballots in favor of their candidate,” said Sanabria, who was 12 at the time.
The colonel’s victory was denounced internationally as fraud, helping to set the stage for the 12-year civil war that broke out in 1980 and ultimately took 75,000 lives.
Sanabria, now executive director of the immigrant rights organization El Rescate, believes that President Trump’s stated refusal to accept unconditionally the outcome of next week’s election is inflaming the spirits of extremist groups.
“That is a hypocritical, demagogic and authoritarian position, when you only accept what is going to benefit you,” the activist said.
Omar Corletto, an economist, arrived in Los Angeles at the end of 1983. His father, who was kidnapped Usulután, El Salvador, was among the 8,000 Salvadorans who disappeared during the 1980-92 war.
While some Americans are busily arming themselves to the teeth, Corletto has witnessed the consequences of violent civil unrest. “We know how sad it is and how it ruins the lives of future generations,” he said.
William Pérez, a professor of psychology and migration at Loyola Marymount University, said that threats of electoral violence are clearly being targeted at voters of color.
“Its primary purpose is to intimidate and prevent these populations from making their voices heard through the voting process,” Pérez said.
“That is the contemporary form of those repression processes that many of us in Central America have been escaping from their conflicts and governments,” added Pérez, who arrived from El Salvador in 1984.
Equally troubling, analysts say, is the way in which aggressive responses can escalate between aggrieved groups that fear and distrust each other.
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Edna Sandoval, a UCLA student working on her master’s degree in Latin American studies, said Black and Latino communities that have pushed back against Trump administration policies on issues such as immigration and policing are being met with a stepped-up, increasingly hostile response from white supremacist groups.
“It is inevitable that violence occurs when there are people resisting,” said Sandoval, a native of Guatemala.
Miguel Tinker Salas, professor of Latin American studies at Pomona College, said the “historical trajectory” of the United States reveals recurring efforts to suppress minorities’ right to vote. This suppression is intensifying under Trump because the nation’s dwindling white majority feels threatened by the growing influence of people of color, he said.
Non-Latino white people “reject the notion that the United States is not the bastion of an Anglo-Saxon culture and, therefore, while that issue is on the table, I believe that this polarization continues and could become even more acute,” Tinker Salas said.
The current U.S. situation reminds activist Mario Avila of when the Guatemalan government and military suspected any person who identified with popular movements as being in league with leftist guerrillas. He was targeted for organizing agricultural workers who grew corn, coffee, jocote, tangerines and oranges, among other products.
“The fact that you were organizing the population put you inside that insurgent box,” said the Izabal native who left for Mexico in 1980, before arriving in Los Angeles in 1990. Ávila, 76, survived two rounds of torture, in 1969 and 1976, suffering electric shocks, cigarette burns and being held underwater.
On a recent hot afternoon in L.A.’s Westlake neighborhood, Waykan, the businessman, was working his second job at a warehouse filled with disposable plates, Mayan costumes and imported foods. He also works as a translator in the federal courts.
Waykan, 49, speaks the Q’anjob’al language of his ancestors, and thanks to his command of Spanish and English he has served as a translator for his monolingual compatriots since 1998. The Guatemalan, a native of Huehuetenango, emigrated after he was attacked by one of the paramilitary groups that operated during the war under the orders of the army.
“Right now just mentioning it makes my heart race,” said Waykan, who in 2018 became a naturalized American after a long process of political asylum.
The intimidation that is swarming now in the United States, Waykan said, is something that the inhabitants of Nanqultaq village, in the municipality of Santa Eulalia, lived with. The town’s roughly 1,000 residents were indigenous people who grew corn and cutting coffee.
In their village, they were in a crossfire between the guerrillas and the army. As an 18-year-old student leader, he was targeted by the military, which suspected such students of being potential guerrilla recruits.
One night in 1989 at a student event, seven armed men pushed their way in and struck Waykan with blows and stomps.
“I only remember that they kicked me and several came to hit me,” he recalled about the incident that left him unconscious.
Shortly after that beating, he left Guatemala. At first, he had a grudge and a thirst for revenge. Today, he relives the trauma when memories are shaken loose.
On Nov. 3, he will vote in a U.S. presidential election for the first time.
He plans to cast his ballot in person, at a voting center.


latimes--2020-10-28--L.A. campuses unlikely to reopen until at least January amid high COVID-19 rates, school leaders say

Los Angeles public school campuses are unlikely to reopen before January because COVID-19 infection rates may not drop quickly enough — and even if they do , it would be too disruptive to switch from online learning so close to the end of the fall semester , two leaders from the school board told The Times .
L.A. Unified School District Board of Education President Richard Vladovic and Vice President Jackie Goldberg said that even January may be too soon to reopen campuses .
“ If you look at a calendar , it would be difficult to do , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ I think best-case scenario is there ’ ll be some form of return in January , whatever that is.
” “ It ’ s more complicated than anyone could imagine on a school site — the complexities and the interrelationships , because of our varied instructional programming , ” he added .
Goldberg talked of additional complications , including the need for last-minute classroom changes , because some students would remain in distance-only learning , and some teachers would be unable to return to campus because of health issues that could put @ @ @ @ @ @ @ finals time for the high-schoolers and the end-of-the-semester assessments for all the other grades , ” Goldberg said .
“ Why would we want to go back in December ?
Which would be probably the earliest we could possibly go .
...
This is the wrong time to do that.
” Adding to the frustration of L.A Unified parents is the fact that schools in adjacent Orange and Ventura counties are cleared to reopen .
And even in L.A. County , many schools outside of L.A. Unified are offering more services to students @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other 79 school districts — and many private schools — are taking advantage of waivers that allow classes for students in transitional kindergarten through second grade .
Another exception allows small groups of students with special needs to attend classes on campus , up to 25 % of enrollment at any given time .
L.A. Unified has not yet provided these options , although it is in negotiations with the United Teachers Los Angeles union to ramp up services .
The district is also well into developing an ambitious COVID-19 testing program , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ adult school students and employees — and perhaps family members as well — totaling at least 700,000 people , in an effort to create a data-driven path to safely reopening campuses .
But such testing efforts are not going to lead to general campus reopening until health conditions improve in L.A. County — and this applies to all schools , public and private , county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the City Council on Wednesday .
Her department is not willing to divide the county into areas where schools can and can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have low virus infection rates compared with others , she said .
State regulators , for their part , also have not divided counties when determining which sectors can open and in what way .
Ferrer said the boundaries separating “ safe ” communities from others become less meaningful when schools open — and employees from other communities travel in to work .
In the same meeting , L.A. schools Supt .
Austin Beutner said such a scenario plays out at many L.A. schools , which become gathering places for people from across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who on Saturday took part in a downtown rally to reopen campuses , said any sort of return would be an improvement — “ even if it means three weeks before the end of the semester.
” “ My kids are suffering , ” said Rosenthal , who has a son at Warner Avenue Elementary School in Westwood and another in a special program for students with disabilities .
“ They are mentally going downhill , have anxiety and depressed .
They miss their friends , they miss routine , they miss seeing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ neither one is putting the same kind of effort into their work.
” Heather Thompson , who has a seventh-grader at Hesby Oaks Leadership Charter in Encino , said the district and the teachers union should be moving with more urgency .
“ So many other places have prepared to open that LAUSD doesn ’ t even need to build their own wheel , ” Thompson said .
“ It just needs to be adapted to our district and school sites.
” Many families in other districts are choosing to remain online even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ New York City , the nation ’ s largest district , just over a fourth of students have returned to in-person instruction , Mayor Bill de Blasio said this week .
L.A. Unified has been accelerating efforts to provide one-on-one tutoring — both online and in person , which is permitted under state rules .
Also , district officials said they would set aside $ 1 million to help some 30,000 students who are in foster care or are members of homeless families .
The goal is to provide a supervised place to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ one-on-one tutoring .
Care packages will include surge outlets , noise-canceling headphones , school supplies and personal protective equipment such as face coverings .
The latest state evaluation , released Tuesday , puts L.A. County firmly in Tier 1 ( purple ) , the most restrictive category , signifying that there is widespread transmission of the coronavirus .
And a key indicator — average daily cases per 100,000 people — has gotten worse in recent weeks .
Even if case rates start dropping immediately , it could take several weeks for them to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reopening schools , according to the state ’ s rubric .
For L.A. County to enter the red Tier 2 , it must qualify for this tier for two weeks .
Once the county is officially in the red tier , it must stay there for two more weeks before schools can reopen .
A setback could restart the clock .
At the earliest , campuses could not reopen until after Nov. 23 .
But that ’ s Thanksgiving week , when L.A. Unified schools are closed — and then there would be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Goldberg added that L.A. Unified hasn ’ t completed a final plan for hybrid education and has not yet surveyed parents about whether they would prefer to remain online-only or opt for a schedule that is staggered to keep classes small and allow for social distancing .
Hybrid plans typically call for students to come to campus part-time while continuing to do much of their schooling from home .
She and Vladovic both expressed concern that even January might prove too soon .
“ Honest to goodness , we really do not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ We do not know what ’ s going to happen with the virus.
” Both board members spoke for themselves , not on behalf of the district .
Both praised teachers and other district staff for responding to the crisis with creativity and long hours .
In remarks during his regular Monday broadcast , Supt .
Beutner may have laid the groundwork for a difficult official announcement .
In contrast to L.A. County , Beutner said , “ the Bay Area remains at levels well below the state guidelines for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Oakland and San Francisco have announced they ’ ll not return to schools before January.
” He added : “ The health and safety of all in the school community is not something we can compromise on .
”

Los Angeles children pick up school supplies in Sylmar. Two L.A. school board members this week said it’s unlikely schools will be able to open this semester.
Los Angeles public school campuses are unlikely to reopen before January because COVID-19 infection rates may not drop quickly enough — and even if they do, it would be too disruptive to switch from online learning so close to the end of the fall semester, two leaders from the school board told The Times.
L.A. Unified School District Board of Education President Richard Vladovic and Vice President Jackie Goldberg said that even January may be too soon to reopen campuses.
“If you look at a calendar, it would be difficult to do,” Vladovic said of a late-semester switch. “I think best-case scenario is there’ll be some form of return in January, whatever that is.”
“It’s more complicated than anyone could imagine on a school site — the complexities and the interrelationships, because of our varied instructional programming,” he added.
Advertisement
Goldberg talked of additional complications, including the need for last-minute classroom changes, because some students would remain in distance-only learning, and some teachers would be unable to return to campus because of health issues that could put them at risk.
“This is finals time for the high-schoolers and the end-of-the-semester assessments for all the other grades,” Goldberg said. “Why would we want to go back in December? Which would be probably the earliest we could possibly go. ... This is the wrong time to do that.”
Adding to the frustration of L.A Unified parents is the fact that schools in adjacent Orange and Ventura counties are cleared to reopen. And even in L.A. County, many schools outside of L.A. Unified are offering more services to students. Some of the county’s other 79 school districts — and many private schools — are taking advantage of waivers that allow classes for students in transitional kindergarten through second grade. Another exception allows small groups of students with special needs to attend classes on campus, up to 25% of enrollment at any given time.
L.A. Unified has not yet provided these options, although it is in negotiations with the United Teachers Los Angeles union to ramp up services. The district is also well into developing an ambitious COVID-19 testing program, designed to encompass K-12, preschool and adult school students and employees — and perhaps family members as well — totaling at least 700,000 people, in an effort to create a data-driven path to safely reopening campuses.
But such testing efforts are not going to lead to general campus reopening until health conditions improve in L.A. County — and this applies to all schools, public and private, county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer told the City Council on Wednesday. Her department is not willing to divide the county into areas where schools can and cannot reopen, even if some communities have low virus infection rates compared with others, she said.
State regulators, for their part, also have not divided counties when determining which sectors can open and in what way.
Ferrer said the boundaries separating “safe” communities from others become less meaningful when schools open — and employees from other communities travel in to work.
In the same meeting, L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner said such a scenario plays out at many L.A. schools, which become gathering places for people from across the county.
Parent Danna Rosenthal, who on Saturday took part in a downtown rally to reopen campuses, said any sort of return would be an improvement — “even if it means three weeks before the end of the semester.”
Advertisement
“My kids are suffering,” said Rosenthal, who has a son at Warner Avenue Elementary School in Westwood and another in a special program for students with disabilities. “They are mentally going downhill, have anxiety and depressed. They miss their friends, they miss routine, they miss seeing their teacher in person. Lastly, neither one is putting the same kind of effort into their work.”
Heather Thompson, who has a seventh-grader at Hesby Oaks Leadership Charter in Encino, said the district and the teachers union should be moving with more urgency.
“So many other places have prepared to open that LAUSD doesn’t even need to build their own wheel,” Thompson said. “It just needs to be adapted to our district and school sites.”
Many families in other districts are choosing to remain online even when they can go back. In New York City, the nation’s largest district, just over a fourth of students have returned to in-person instruction, Mayor Bill de Blasio said this week.
L.A. Unified has been accelerating efforts to provide one-on-one tutoring — both online and in person, which is permitted under state rules. Also, district officials said they would set aside $1 million to help some 30,000 students who are in foster care or are members of homeless families. The goal is to provide a supervised place to study, access to child care and one-on-one tutoring. Care packages will include surge outlets, noise-canceling headphones, school supplies and personal protective equipment such as face coverings.
The latest state evaluation, released Tuesday, puts L.A. County firmly in Tier 1 (purple), the most restrictive category, signifying that there is widespread transmission of the coronavirus. And a key indicator — average daily cases per 100,000 people — has gotten worse in recent weeks.
Even if case rates start dropping immediately, it could take several weeks for them to decrease enough to begin a countdown toward reopening schools, according to the state’s rubric. For L.A. County to enter the red Tier 2, it must qualify for this tier for two weeks. Once the county is officially in the red tier, it must stay there for two more weeks before schools can reopen. A setback could restart the clock.
At the earliest, campuses could not reopen until after Nov. 23. But that’s Thanksgiving week, when L.A. Unified schools are closed — and then there would be only three weeks left before winter break.
Goldberg added that L.A. Unified hasn’t completed a final plan for hybrid education and has not yet surveyed parents about whether they would prefer to remain online-only or opt for a schedule that is staggered to keep classes small and allow for social distancing. Hybrid plans typically call for students to come to campus part-time while continuing to do much of their schooling from home.
She and Vladovic both expressed concern that even January might prove too soon.
“Honest to goodness, we really do not know, do we?” Goldberg said. “We do not know what’s going to happen with the virus.”
Both board members spoke for themselves, not on behalf of the district. Both praised teachers and other district staff for responding to the crisis with creativity and long hours.
In remarks during his regular Monday broadcast, Supt. Beutner may have laid the groundwork for a difficult official announcement.
In contrast to L.A. County, Beutner said, “the Bay Area remains at levels well below the state guidelines for schools to consider reopening, but both Oakland and San Francisco have announced they’ll not return to schools before January.”
He added: “The health and safety of all in the school community is not something we can compromise on.”


latimes--2020-10-28--'Ripe for error': Ballot signature verification is flawed — and a big factor in the election

Mail-in ballots are pouring in by the millions to election offices across the country , getting stacked and prepared for processing .
But before the count comes the signature test .
Election workers eyeball voter signatures on ballots one by one , comparing the loop of an “ L ” or the squiggle of an “ S ” against other samples of that person ’ s writing .
When performed by professionals in criminal cases or legal proceedings , signature verification can take hours .
But election employees in many states must do the job in as little as five @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uncertainty amid the pandemic , the signature verification process represents one of the biggest unknowns : whether a system riddled with vulnerabilities will work on such a massive scale .
In 2016 , mismatched signatures were the most common reason that mail ballots were rejected , according to federal officials .
With record numbers of people voting by mail this cycle , ballots thrown out for signature problems and other issues have the potential to decide races where the margin of victory is slim .
Candidates could mount legal battles over the verification @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump has repeatedly asserted , with no evidence , that mail-in voting is rife with fraud .
Rejected mail-in ballots have been a significant factor in recent elections .
This year a New York congresswoman won a primary by 3,200 votes , a margin smaller than the number of mail-in ballots disqualified in that election .
In 2018 in Florida , the number of mail ballots tossed was greater than the 10,033 votes that secured one candidate a U.S. Senate seat .
More than 45 million Americans have already returned mail ballots , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
That includes nearly 5 million voters in the battlefield states of Texas , Michigan and Pennsylvania , where elections workers will have to verify , process and count ballots in a matter of days .
More than 25 states have taken steps to broaden access to mail voting during the pandemic , including investing in technology and staff .
Some also have created processes for voters to fix signature problems if their ballots are challenged — which should lead to a lower rate of rejection , experts say .
But experts say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be disenfranchised than those who vote in person .
That ’ s particularly true for young people , who are more likely to experiment with various handwriting styles ; the elderly , whose signatures sometimes change with age ; people with disabilities ; and those voting by mail for the first time — a category that this year includes millions of Americans .
People tasked with verifying signatures often receive little or no instruction .
According to one study , those without formal training are more likely to flag a genuine signature as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as real .
“ It is just ripe for error , ” said Linton Mohammed , a forensic document examiner in California who has been an expert witness in lawsuits over ballot signature rules .
Voters whose ballots are rejected aren ’ t always given the opportunity to correct , or cure , the issue .
In states like Mississippi , West Virginia and Wisconsin , ballots aren ’ t counted until the day of the election , so voters there will have little , if any , time to correct errors .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ chance to fix a perceived signature mismatch .
Officials there aren ’ t allowed to reject ballots on the basis of a signature problem alone , but a signature discrepancy paired with another problem , like a wrong address , could trigger a review .
In Texas , the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that officials can exclude mail ballots with signature discrepancies , and do not have to notify voters of the decision until after the election .
Here ’ s how signature verification works in many states : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the ballot envelope , which pulls up the voter ’ s file on a computer screen .
That may include a single signature from a driver ’ s license or voter registration card , or several signatures that the state has collected over time .
The election worker compares the signatures and makes a decision in as little as five seconds .
If the worker determines the signatures match , the ballot moves on to be counted .
If not , the ballot is set aside for further review .
In some populous @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Clark County , Nev. , a computer program takes the first pass at ballots , scanning for possible handwriting mismatches .
If a discrepancy is found , the signature is given a second , and sometimes third , look by humans .
But in smaller counties with fewer resources , and in states where mail-in voting wasn ’ t widespread until this year , election workers rely on their own eyes .
In Texas ’ Hidalgo County , the process is so low-tech that election workers use a paper clip to attach a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ application to the ballot envelope , so that employees can glance at the two signatures .
In Detroit , employees from across City Hall are being reassigned to process an estimated 200,000 mail-in votes .
“ It ’ s more on-the-job training , ” said Gerrid Uzarski , the elections director in Kent County , Mich. , home to Grand Rapids .
“ Someone starts off , someone who ’ s done this before shows them what they ’ re looking for.
” A forensic-level analysis isn ’ t the goal , many @ @ @ @ @ @ @ check to see if signatures look similar enough to be counted , and don ’ t reflect the wrong name or diverge drastically from the one in the voter ’ s file .
“ We are not real picky as long as it looks similar , ” said Jennie Aines , elections director for Franklin County , Pa. She said her staff does not receive any type of instruction in signature analysis .
“ There ’ s no training , ” she said .
“ We are all just office workers trying to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vote margins are close , the verification signature process could become the “ hanging chad ” of the election , experts say , as differences in how counties handle the process could open the door to legal challenges .
Until this year , many states did not require elections officials to notify voters of issues or give them a chance to fix them .
But a series of court rulings have held almost unanimously that discarding a vote without notice is a violation of a voter ’ s due process rights .
Rules @ @ @ @ @ @ @ however , vary widely by state .
Rosalie Weisfeld , a 64-year-old who has voted in every election for the last 30 years , said she was never given the chance to fix her ballot after it was rejected in a McAllen , Texas , election in 2019 .
“ I truly believe that my voice is heard through my vote , ” Weisfeld said .
“ All it would have taken is a quick phone call to me.
” Without a cure process , rejecting ballots for handwriting issues isn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a forensic document examiner who has taught signature verification classes for Florida election workers .
Vastrick suggests multiple layers of review , including a check by a supervisor with more training and an inspection by a bipartisan panel of elected officials or outside experts .
“ We always err on the side of the voter , ” said Robert Rodriguez , a spokesman for the Miami-Dade County Elections Department .
Only election workers who have been trained and passed a test are allowed to verify signatures , Rodriguez said .
Of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , 80 do verifications .
The county is also hiring 2,000 temporary workers to process ballots , some of whom do signature work , Rodriguez said .
Elections workers contact voters with flagged signatures and ask them to fill out an affidavit .
Disputed signatures will be sent to county canvassing boards for a final decision — the same group in the national spotlight after the 2000 election that scrutinized hanging chads and other imperfections on discarded ballots .
Signatures that don ’ t match do not always signal fraud .
In addition @ @ @ @ @ @ @ voters whose first language is written right to left — such as Arabic or Urdu — are less likely to have a consistent signature in English , experts say .
Medication can also affect one ’ s handwriting , as can fine motor skills issues , disabilities and injuries .
North Dakota resident Maria Romo didn ’ t learn until this year that her vote in the 2018 midterm election had been rejected due to a perceived signature mismatch .
Romo said her already messy handwriting has gotten worse since she was diagnosed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go numb and she struggles to grip a pen .
Sitting down , standing up or resting her arm on a chair can change the look of her writing — all of which she would have told elections officials , she said , had they asked .
“ I was surprised to learn that they could just throw the ballot away , and I was wondering why I was never told , or given the chance to explain , ” Romo said .
She joined a lawsuit against North Dakota this year that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ notify voters of issues with their ballots and give them a chance to fix them .
Emily Will , a forensic document examiner in North Carolina , said she ’ s troubled by the idea that workers may be comparing ballot signatures to just one , or even a few , samples from the voter ’ s file .
She said she likes to have at least 20 examples of a voter ’ s past signature when she performs a verification , with several having been written recently .
“ Think about signing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your will or your mortgage papers , ” she said .
“ Some people might consider their ballot signature very important , but some might think this is just nothing and they just scrawl it out.
” Amy Campbell of Philadelphia said she thinks she signed her ballot correctly in the June primary but election officials canceled her vote , claiming they “ could not obtain ” her signature .
The 26-year-old , who voted by mail due to concerns of COVID-19 , said she was angry that she was not given the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I thought I had done what I was supposed to do to vote and make sure I was doing my part to keep my city safe , ” Campbell said .
“ It was frustrating that some minor clerical issue disqualified my vote.
” The interactive questions included in this story are hypothetical ballot scenarios using real matching and non-matching signatures from a variety of sources .
Times staff writers Priya Krishnakumar and Swetha Kannan contributed to this report .

Mail-in ballots are pouring in by the millions to election offices across the country, getting stacked and prepared for processing. But before the count comes the signature test.
Election workers eyeball voter signatures on ballots one by one, comparing the loop of an “L” or the squiggle of an “S” against other samples of that person’s writing.
When performed by professionals in criminal cases or legal proceedings, signature verification can take hours. But election employees in many states must do the job in as little as five seconds.
In an election marked by uncertainty amid the pandemic, the signature verification process represents one of the biggest unknowns: whether a system riddled with vulnerabilities will work on such a massive scale.
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In 2016, mismatched signatures were the most common reason that mail ballots were rejected, according to federal officials. With record numbers of people voting by mail this cycle, ballots thrown out for signature problems and other issues have the potential to decide races where the margin of victory is slim.
Candidates could mount legal battles over the verification process to challenge election outcomes. President Trump has repeatedly asserted, with no evidence, that mail-in voting is rife with fraud.
Rejected mail-in ballots have been a significant factor in recent elections.
This year a New York congresswoman won a primary by 3,200 votes, a margin smaller than the number of mail-in ballots disqualified in that election. In 2018 in Florida, the number of mail ballots tossed was greater than the 10,033 votes that secured one candidate a U.S. Senate seat.
More than 45 million Americans have already returned mail ballots, according to the U.S. Elections Project. That includes nearly 5 million voters in the battlefield states of Texas, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where elections workers will have to verify, process and count ballots in a matter of days.
More than 25 states have taken steps to broaden access to mail voting during the pandemic, including investing in technology and staff.
Some also have created processes for voters to fix signature problems if their ballots are challenged — which should lead to a lower rate of rejection, experts say.
Election worker Cassandra Ramirez, standing, works with Jonathan Borja on verifying ballot signatures at the San Diego Registrar of Voters office this month. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune)
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But experts say mail voters are far more likely to be disenfranchised than those who vote in person.
That’s particularly true for young people, who are more likely to experiment with various handwriting styles; the elderly, whose signatures sometimes change with age; people with disabilities; and those voting by mail for the first time — a category that this year includes millions of Americans.
People tasked with verifying signatures often receive little or no instruction. According to one study, those without formal training are more likely to flag a genuine signature as a fake rather than identify false signatures as real.
“It is just ripe for error,” said Linton Mohammed, a forensic document examiner in California who has been an expert witness in lawsuits over ballot signature rules.
Voters whose ballots are rejected aren’t always given the opportunity to correct, or cure, the issue. In states like Mississippi, West Virginia and Wisconsin, ballots aren’t counted until the day of the election, so voters there will have little, if any, time to correct errors.
Voters in Pennsylvania are not guaranteed a chance to fix a perceived signature mismatch. Officials there aren’t allowed to reject ballots on the basis of a signature problem alone, but a signature discrepancy paired with another problem, like a wrong address, could trigger a review.
In Texas, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that officials can exclude mail ballots with signature discrepancies, and do not have to notify voters of the decision until after the election.
Here’s how signature verification works in many states: An election employee scans the barcode on the ballot envelope, which pulls up the voter’s file on a computer screen. That may include a single signature from a driver’s license or voter registration card, or several signatures that the state has collected over time.
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The election worker compares the signatures and makes a decision in as little as five seconds.
If the worker determines the signatures match, the ballot moves on to be counted. If not, the ballot is set aside for further review.
In some populous areas, like Los Angeles County and Clark County, Nev., a computer program takes the first pass at ballots, scanning for possible handwriting mismatches. If a discrepancy is found, the signature is given a second, and sometimes third, look by humans.
But in smaller counties with fewer resources, and in states where mail-in voting wasn’t widespread until this year, election workers rely on their own eyes.
In Texas’ Hidalgo County, the process is so low-tech that election workers use a paper clip to attach a copy of each voter’s ballot application to the ballot envelope, so that employees can glance at the two signatures.
In Detroit, employees from across City Hall are being reassigned to process an estimated 200,000 mail-in votes.
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“It’s more on-the-job training,” said Gerrid Uzarski, the elections director in Kent County, Mich., home to Grand Rapids. “Someone starts off, someone who’s done this before shows them what they’re looking for.”
A forensic-level analysis isn’t the goal, many election officials said. Instead, workers check to see if signatures look similar enough to be counted, and don’t reflect the wrong name or diverge drastically from the one in the voter’s file.
“We are not real picky as long as it looks similar,” said Jennie Aines, elections director for Franklin County, Pa. She said her staff does not receive any type of instruction in signature analysis.
“There’s no training,” she said. “We are all just office workers trying to get stuff done in here.”
If vote margins are close, the verification signature process could become the “hanging chad” of the election, experts say, as differences in how counties handle the process could open the door to legal challenges.
How can I ensure that my mail-in ballot is counted? Read the instructions carefully Make sure that you fill out the ballot as instructed. Marking a selection improperly -- for example, putting an X through a bubble instead of filling it in -- could result in your ballot being rejected. Don’t forget to sign the envelope Many states require that you sign your ballot envelope, as well as include the date and your address. Others require a signature from a witness or a notary. Failing to include this could result in your ballot being rejected. Add your contact information If there is a designated space on your ballot for a phone number, an email address, or both, fill it out. Elections officials will use this information to contact you if they believe there is a problem with your ballot. Put the ballot in the correct envelope Some states provide a “secrecy” envelope for the ballot, which goes inside the carrier envelope that you send to the elections office. Without the secrecy envelope, your ballot may not be counted. Sign up for ballot tracking, answer your phone and check your mail regularly Most states are using some form of electronic tracking that will tell you when your ballot has been received, and whether it will be counted.
If there’s a problem with your ballot, and your state allows you to fix that issue so your vote can be counted, you may be contacted by phone, email or even in person. Put your ballot in a drop box right away The USPS says it cannot guarantee delivery by Election Day if you mail your ballot within a week of Nov. 3. Use an official drop box, take your ballot to an election office center or deposit your ballot at a vote center, if there’s one in your area.
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Until this year, many states did not require elections officials to notify voters of issues or give them a chance to fix them. But a series of court rulings have held almost unanimously that discarding a vote without notice is a violation of a voter’s due process rights.
Rules and timelines for curing signature issues, however, vary widely by state.
Rosalie Weisfeld, a 64-year-old who has voted in every election for the last 30 years, said she was never given the chance to fix her ballot after it was rejected in a McAllen, Texas, election in 2019.
“I truly believe that my voice is heard through my vote,” Weisfeld said. “All it would have taken is a quick phone call to me.”
Without a cure process, rejecting ballots for handwriting issues isn’t fair to voters, said Thomas Vastrick, a forensic document examiner who has taught signature verification classes for Florida election workers.
Vastrick suggests multiple layers of review, including a check by a supervisor with more training and an inspection by a bipartisan panel of elected officials or outside experts.
“We always err on the side of the voter,” said Robert Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade County Elections Department.
Only election workers who have been trained and passed a test are allowed to verify signatures, Rodriguez said. Of the county’s 105 permanent election workers, 80 do verifications. The county is also hiring 2,000 temporary workers to process ballots, some of whom do signature work, Rodriguez said.
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Election workers move around the ballot sorting room at the San Diego Registrar of Voters this month. (Eduardo Contreras / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Elections workers contact voters with flagged signatures and ask them to fill out an affidavit. Disputed signatures will be sent to county canvassing boards for a final decision — the same group in the national spotlight after the 2000 election that scrutinized hanging chads and other imperfections on discarded ballots.
Signatures that don’t match do not always signal fraud.
In addition to the young and the elderly, voters whose first language is written right to left — such as Arabic or Urdu — are less likely to have a consistent signature in English, experts say.
Medication can also affect one’s handwriting, as can fine motor skills issues, disabilities and injuries.
North Dakota resident Maria Romo didn’t learn until this year that her vote in the 2018 midterm election had been rejected due to a perceived signature mismatch.
Romo said her already messy handwriting has gotten worse since she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Her hands sometimes go numb and she struggles to grip a pen. Sitting down, standing up or resting her arm on a chair can change the look of her writing — all of which she would have told elections officials, she said, had they asked.
“I was surprised to learn that they could just throw the ballot away, and I was wondering why I was never told, or given the chance to explain,” Romo said.
She joined a lawsuit against North Dakota this year that led to a requirement that election officials notify voters of issues with their ballots and give them a chance to fix them.
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Emily Will, a forensic document examiner in North Carolina, said she’s troubled by the idea that workers may be comparing ballot signatures to just one, or even a few, samples from the voter’s file. She said she likes to have at least 20 examples of a voter’s past signature when she performs a verification, with several having been written recently.
“Think about signing a credit card receipt as opposed to your will or your mortgage papers,” she said. “Some people might consider their ballot signature very important, but some might think this is just nothing and they just scrawl it out.”
Amy Campbell of Philadelphia said she thinks she signed her ballot correctly in the June primary but election officials canceled her vote, claiming they “could not obtain” her signature.
The 26-year-old, who voted by mail due to concerns of COVID-19, said she was angry that she was not given the chance to cure her ballot.
“I thought I had done what I was supposed to do to vote and make sure I was doing my part to keep my city safe,” Campbell said. “It was frustrating that some minor clerical issue disqualified my vote.”
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The interactive questions included in this story are hypothetical ballot scenarios using real matching and non-matching signatures from a variety of sources.
Times staff writers Priya Krishnakumar and Swetha Kannan contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-10-28--Firefighters gaining control over Orange County blazes that forced 100,000 from their homes

Two wind-driven fires that forced nearly 100,000 people to evacuate in Orange County continued to burn Wednesday , raining smoke and ash on many parts of Southern California .
The fierce Santa Ana winds that fueled the blazes eased significantly Tuesday , and firefighters were starting to gain the upper hand after two days of pitched battle defending subdivisions from Yorba Linda to Lake Forest .
Together , the Silverado and Blue Ridge fires have consumed more than 27,000 acres , but destruction to property has been relatively light .
Officials initially said 10 homes were damaged in the Yorba @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to eight .
All of the massive evacuations in Irvine have been lifted , and by late Wednesday afternoon all evacuations were lifted in Yorba Linda .
Evacuation orders for several canyon areas and parts of Lake Forest were still in place for the Silverado fire .
By Wednesday morning , crews were optimistic as containment expanded to 16 % on the Blue Ridge fire and 25 % on the Silverado fire , said Capt .
Jason Fairchild of the Orange County Fire Authority .
Fairchild attributed the gains to improvements in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ winds .
“ We had very favorable weather overnight , and we were able to get a lot more crews out and around the fire , ” Fairchild said .
“ It ’ s going to be a good day for us , I think.
” Still of concern are two gravely injured firefighters , ages 26 and 31 , who were placed on ventilators after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies while battling the blazes .
They remain in critical condition , Fairchild said .
Orange County residents , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than 1,300 firefighters hustle to keep control of the flames .
“ It ’ s a risk whenever you move near these hills , ” said Mission Viejo resident Marc Church .
Church , 63 , moved to the area only a year and a half ago because his wife wanted to be closer to the hills .
As he joined other passersby surveying the canyon where patches of charred black peeked through brown haze Tuesday , he said they feared the wind could carry burning embers that would ignite their backyard .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of important documents — car titles , birth certificates , bank information — and spent the morning gathering other necessities , including clothes , computers and chargers .
They took shifts sleeping and keeping watch overnight , he said , awakening to voluntary evacuations and the sound of helicopters circling .
“ We didn ’ t get a lot of sleep , ” Church said .
“ If we have to go , we ’ ll have to go.
” Even people who live far from the flames felt the effects of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ gusts topping 90 mph Monday .
Winds coating the ground from the Bobcat fire earlier this month back into the skies , choking Southern California with air so bad it ranked the worst in the nation .
The South Coast Air Quality Management District extended its advisory through Wednesday , citing “ substantial amounts of smoke.
” “ Smoke impacts in the South Coast Air Basin will likely continue until fire activity decreases for the Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires , ” the advisory said .
And the battle is far from over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ separated by a mountain range , the smoke from each blaze can be seen from the other .
“ We ’ re supposed to get some light winds today , and in the wrong circumstances , light winds can still push fire pretty good , ” he said .
Gov .
Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said California had received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency allowing 75 % reimbursements for fighting the Silverado and Blue Ridge fires .
California is experiencing its worst fire season on record , with the Orange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blazes .
“ We talk in historic terms , ” Newsom said , “ and I remind you that six of the top 20 wildfires in our state ’ s history have occurred in 2020.
” More than 4 million acres have burned this year , and wildfires across the state have resulted in at least 30 fatalities , he said .

Two wind-driven fires that forced nearly 100,000 people to evacuate in Orange County continued to burn Wednesday, raining smoke and ash on many parts of Southern California.
The fierce Santa Ana winds that fueled the blazes eased significantly Tuesday, and firefighters were starting to gain the upper hand after two days of pitched battle defending subdivisions from Yorba Linda to Lake Forest.
Together, the Silverado and Blue Ridge fires have consumed more than 27,000 acres, but destruction to property has been relatively light. Officials initially said 10 homes were damaged in the Yorba Linda area but later downgraded that number to eight.
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All of the massive evacuations in Irvine have been lifted, and by late Wednesday afternoon all evacuations were lifted in Yorba Linda. Evacuation orders for several canyon areas and parts of Lake Forest were still in place for the Silverado fire.
On Wednesday morning, crews were optimistic as containment expanded to 16% on the Blue Ridge fire and 25% on the Silverado fire, said Capt. Jason Fairchild of the Orange County Fire Authority.
Fairchild attributed the gains to improvements in the weather, including increased humidity and slowing winds.
“We had very favorable weather overnight, and we were able to get a lot more crews out and around the fire,” Fairchild said. “It’s going to be a good day for us, I think.”
Still of concern are two gravely injured firefighters, ages 26 and 31, who were placed on ventilators after suffering second- and third-degree burns over half their bodies while battling the blazes. They remain in critical condition, Fairchild said.
Orange County residents, too, are on edge as more than 1,300 firefighters hustle to keep control of the flames.
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“It’s a risk whenever you move near these hills,” said Mission Viejo resident Marc Church.
Church, 63, moved to the area only a year and a half ago because his wife wanted to be closer to the hills. As he joined other passersby surveying the canyon where patches of charred black peeked through brown haze Tuesday, he said they feared the wind could carry burning embers that would ignite their backyard.
The family had packed a few boxes of important documents — car titles, birth certificates, bank information — and spent the morning gathering other necessities, including clothes, computers and chargers. They took shifts sleeping and keeping watch overnight, he said, awakening to voluntary evacuations and the sound of helicopters circling.
“We didn’t get a lot of sleep,” Church said. “If we have to go, we’ll have to go.”
Even people who live far from the flames felt the effects of the Santa Ana windstorm, which saw gusts topping 90 mph Monday.
Winds stirred ash and soot coating the ground from the Bobcat fire earlier this month back into the skies, choking Southern California with air so bad it ranked worst in the nation.
Residents watch the Blue Ridge fire from Vellano Club Drive on Tuesday in Chino Hills. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
The South Coast Air Quality Management District extended its advisory through Wednesday, citing “substantial amounts of smoke.”
“Smoke impacts in the South Coast Air Basin will likely continue until fire activity decreases for the Blue Ridge and Silverado Fires,” the advisory said.
And the battle is far from over: Fairchild said although the fires are separated by a mountain range, the smoke from each blaze can be seen from the other.
“We’re supposed to get some light winds today, and in the wrong circumstances, light winds can still push fire pretty good,” he said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said California had received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency allowing 75% reimbursements for fighting the Silverado and Blue Ridge fires.
California is experiencing its worst fire season on record, with the Orange County fires much smaller than many other blazes.
“We talk in historic terms,” Newsom said, “and I remind you that six of the top 20 wildfires in our state’s history have occurred in 2020.”
More than 4 million acres have burned this year, and wildfires across the state have resulted in at least 30 fatalities, he said.
Herman Termeer watches the Blue Ridge fire burn Tuesday inside Chino Hills State Park from the roof of his home. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)
Times staff writer Joseph Serna contributed to this report.


latimes--2020-10-29--Introducing the Latinx Files, a newsletter dedicated to the American Latinx experience

You ’ ve probably seen the numbers : Nearly half of Los Angeles County , nearly 40 % of California and nearly a fifth of the United States is Latino .
Even if you aren ’ t up on the latest census data , a look around our city , state and country makes pretty clear the important role Latinos play in what the future will look and sound like .
With that in mind , the Los Angeles Times is introducing a free weekly newsletter , the Latinx Files , to highlight the issues affecting our community — from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from critiques of our exclusion from mainstream culture emerging from Hollywood ( because we all know that will continue ) to the latest Bad Bunny release , and everything in between .
Sign up at latimes.com/latinx-files or latimes.com/newsletters to get it in your inbox .
Every Thursday beginning Nov. 12 , audience engagement editor Fidel Martinez will combine original reporting with the best of The Times ’ coverage of the ideas , issues and culture that matter most to our communities .
We ’ ll talk with newsmakers and go behind the scenes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We ’ ll dig into how and why COVID-19 is being felt more in our communities than others , while also going deeper into the latest Latinx star on social media .
While the Los Angeles Times hasn ’ t historically covered Latino communities well ( when it has covered them at all ) , today there are close to 100 Latino journalists working at The Times to tell their stories , in English and in Spanish .
We ‘ ll build on that coverage and deliver it every week to your inbox @ @ @ @ @ @ @ if it doesn ’ t reflect our city , and the Latinx Files is just one part of our commitment finally to tell the stories that have gone underrepresented in our pages for too long .
Like many of us whose playlists contain Los Tigres del Norte alongside Metallica , who root for las Chivas on Saturday and the Raiders on Sunday or whose Thanksgiving plate is shared by turkey and tortillas , the Latinx Files will showcase all aspects of what it means to be a Latino living in the United States @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a Los Angeles flavor to it , we ’ ll hit on the topics that matter to the wider Latino community .
The Latinx Files will be as much about its readers as it is about the journalism it showcases every week , and we want your input on how to make it better .
Email us at latinxfiles @ latimes.com .
If you see a local business thriving in your neighborhood , let us know .
If a musician has caught your attention , reach out .
If you have thoughts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means to you , tell us .
Our goal is to reflect these realities and think more deeply about the stories we tell , and your perspective will be vital .

You’ve probably seen the numbers: Nearly half of Los Angeles County, nearly 40% of California and nearly a fifth of the United States is Latino. Even if you aren’t up on the latest census data, a look around our city, state and country makes pretty clear the important role Latinos play in what the future will look and sound like.
With that in mind, the Los Angeles Times is introducing a free weekly newsletter, the Latinx Files, to highlight the issues affecting our community — from the pandemic and recession to immigration, from critiques of our exclusion from mainstream culture emerging from Hollywood (because we all know that will continue) to the latest Bad Bunny release, and everything in between. Sign up at latimes.com/latinx-files or latimes.com/newsletters to get it in your inbox.
Every Thursday beginning Nov. 12, audience engagement editor Fidel Martinez will combine original reporting with the best of The Times’ coverage of the ideas, issues and culture that matter most to our communities. We’ll talk with newsmakers and go behind the scenes with the reporters telling their stories. We’ll dig into how and why COVID-19 is being felt more in our communities than others, while also going deeper into the latest Latinx star on social media.
While the Los Angeles Times hasn’t historically covered Latino communities well (when it has covered them at all), today there are close to 100 Latino journalists working at The Times to tell their stories, in English and in Spanish. We‘ll build on that coverage and deliver it every week to your inbox. There can be no L.A. Times if it doesn’t reflect our city, and the Latinx Files is just one part of our commitment finally to tell the stories that have gone underrepresented in our pages for too long.
Like many of us whose playlists contain Los Tigres del Norte alongside Metallica, who root for las Chivas on Saturday and the Raiders on Sunday or whose Thanksgiving plate is shared by turkey and tortillas, the Latinx Files will showcase all aspects of what it means to be a Latino living in the United States. And while the newsletter will definitely have a Los Angeles flavor to it, we’ll hit on the topics that matter to the wider Latino community.
The Latinx Files will be as much about its readers as it is about the journalism it showcases every week, and we want your input on how to make it better. Email us at latinxfiles@latimes.com. If you see a local business thriving in your neighborhood, let us know. If a musician has caught your attention, reach out. If you have thoughts to share on what your own identity means to you, tell us. Our goal is to reflect these realities and think more deeply about the stories we tell, and your perspective will be vital.
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latimes--2020-10-29--L.A.'s surge in homicides fueled by gang violence, killings of homeless people

Curtis DeTurk had always been a “ drifter , ” but he had a dream , according to his sister Shelby Schnitz .
A religious man from a tight-knit family , DeTurk , 27 , had recently moved from Indiana to Los Angeles with the hope of becoming a famous guitar player .
“ He just wanted a fresh start where no one knew him and he could become famous , ” she said .
Instead , DeTurk was shot dead earlier this month while asking for change outside a North Hollywood pizzeria — a tragic fate similar to those @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in L.A. this year .
“ It ’ s beautiful and not so beautiful at the same time , ” Schnitz said of L.A .
In a year defined by challenges , L.A. is approaching a benchmark of violence not seen in a decade : 300 homicides in a single year .
It hasn ’ t happened since 2009 .
There had been 274 killings in the city as of Wednesday .
The causes are complex and varied — and some sadly familiar .
Out of nearly 80 homicides in Central Los Angeles @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than half were suspected of being gang-related , and more than 30 involved victims who were experiencing homelessness , according to the Los Angeles Police Department .
In the department ’ s South Bureau , more than a quarter of the 81 killings were suspected of being gang-related — with the motives in many others still unclear — and several involved homeless people .
Killings across the city have also been driven by drug disputes , domestic violence and robberies .
Some seem inexplicable .
The figures — broken down in a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last week — reflect the latest police intelligence on a surge of violence that has catapulted L.A. past its total number of killings in each of the past two years .
The data reflect a broader uptick in homicides nationally , which President Trump has made an election talking point .
They also reflect entrenched problems in L.A. that officials believe have been exacerbated by the realities of 2020 — particularly a cratered economy and social stresses related to the COVID-19 pandemic .
Longtime gang intervention worker Skipp Townsend said another likely factor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some on the street have told him was bankrolled in part by stimulus checks sent by the federal government to help shore up people ’ s finances amid massive job losses .
“ Now they have the means and opportunity to go and hurt each other , ” Townsend said of newly armed young men with petty beefs and unsettled scores .
For families who have lost loved ones this year in L.A. , the violence is devastating and senseless .
Akeem “ AJ ” Coburn , 30 , was fatally shot while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Harbor Gateway neighborhood .
A father of two young girls , Coburn worked as a lineman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power , according to his family .
Police are still trying to determine a motive and are offering a $ 50,000 reward for information .
Joel Bishop , Coburn ’ s cousin , said the family worries that so much time has passed without an arrest and that the pandemic is slowing down the investigation .
Coburn deserved better , Bishop said , adding , “ He was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrong time.
” According to the LAPD ’ s analysis , the overwhelming number of killings this year have occurred outdoors , with certain neighborhoods in South and Central L.A. bearing the brunt of the violence .
In response , police are rushing to provide anti-violence programs and have enlisted principals , clergy members , gang intervention workers and other volunteers to assist .
Communities across the city are running neighborhood watch programs .
Still , the increased gun violence has persisted , with police struggling to keep up .
Of the city @ @ @ @ @ @ @ half have been solved , according to LAPD data .
From the beginning of August through the first week of October , the department ’ s South Bureau saw a 50 % increase in homicides and a 146 % increase in shootings , compared with the same period last year .
In Southeast L.A. , there were 40 shootings during that time frame , compared with 12 last year — a 233 % increase .
In the 77th Street area , there were 61 shootings , compared with 23 last year .
Shootings @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Bureau and the West and Valley bureaus , though the volume of incidents in the latter two was smaller .
Homicides also are up this year in the areas around the city that are covered by the Los Angeles County Sheriff ’ s Department , including East L.A. and parts of South L.A. , Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday .
While the LAPD ’ s identification of individual gang members has not always been reliable , the involvement of gangs in street violence is not in question .
Gang violence is a perennial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ though police and community members have made great strides in reducing the impact from the 1980s and 1990s , when some years saw more than 1,000 people killed .
Beyond the gang violence in Central and South L.A. , a dozen killings each in the Valley and West bureaus are suspected of being gang-related .
Police say gang gunfire has struck down suspected gang members but also innocent bystanders , including children and elderly residents .
Townsend said that while there has been an increase in gang shootings , the LAPD ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overbroad — relying more on suspected gang affiliations among the people involved than on actual motivations in specific crimes .
What he has seen on the street of late , Townsend said , is arguments over women , fights over unpaid debts and domestic violence — people cooped up with new grievances and financial woes .
Homeless individuals are particularly susceptible to street violence , and L.A. has more than 35,000 people estimated to be living on the street .
Last year , nearly 3,600 people experiencing homelessness were reported to be victims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than 5,700 were either arrested or suspected in such crimes , according to LAPD data .
In addition to the 31 homeless people who were killed in the Central Bureau area , 13 homeless people there were identified as homicide suspects , LAPD data show .
In the South Bureau , one killing involved a homeless suspect , one involved two homeless victims and another involved a suspect and victim who both were homeless , according to the data .
During a virtual meeting of the Police Commission last week , LAPD @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tracking the surge in violence and strategically deploying officers in an attempt to hold perpetrators accountable .
Moore agreed that there is “ a much higher presence of people carrying guns and bringing guns into disputes ” this year and said increased gun thefts from vehicles are also a factor .
Officers in the department ’ s Metropolitan Division , a specialized citywide unit that focuses in part on crime suppression , have been redeployed to help investigate shootings , and Moore said that work will continue even as the department begins to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changes in coming weeks in response to a $ 150-million cut to its budget .
While the department has been criticized by activists and community advocates who say officers are heavy-handed and biased in communities of color , Moore said it is those same communities that have been “ the most tremendously impacted ” by the violence and are crying out for help .
Dany Carrillo-Ramos , 22 , was killed in August after using an ATM in Watts .
Carrillo-Ramos was walking to his car when a man walked up to him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two struggled , and Carrillo-Ramos was shot , police said .
Anthony Dajuan Hodge , 26 , was charged in August with murder , robbery and two gun charges , according to court records .
Carrillo-Ramos came to the United States when he was 17 in order to work and send money back to his mother , brother and daughter in Guatemala , said his cousin Yenifer Menchu .
He never met his 5-year-old daughter , Menchu said , but was motivated to work by the prospect of paying for a good education @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t involved in drugs or gangs .
“ He was a very responsible person , ” Menchu said .
“ He never messed with anybody.
” “ We still can ’ t accept the fact that we ’ re never going to see him again , ” she added .

Gangs, homelessness and other issues are cited in an LAPD report on the recent surge in homicides.
Curtis DeTurk had always been a “drifter,” but he had a dream, according to his sister Shelby Schnitz.
A religious man from a tightknit family, DeTurk, 27, had recently moved from Indiana to Los Angeles with the hope of becoming a famous guitar player. “He just wanted a fresh start where no one knew him and he could become famous,” she said.
Instead, DeTurk was shot dead earlier this month while asking for change outside a North Hollywood pizzeria — a tragic fate similar to those of dozens of other people experiencing homelessness in L.A. this year.
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“It’s beautiful and not so beautiful at the same time,” Schnitz said of L.A.
In a year defined by challenges, L.A. is approaching a benchmark of violence not seen in a decade: 300 homicides in a single year. It hasn’t happened since 2009. There had been 274 killings in the city as of Wednesday.
The causes are complex and varied — and some sadly familiar.
Out of nearly 80 homicides in Central Los Angeles through the end of last month, more than half were suspected of being gang-related, and more than 30 involved victims who were experiencing homelessness, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
In the department’s South Bureau, more than a quarter of the 81 killings were suspected of being gang-related — with the motives in many others still unclear — and several involved homeless people.
Killings across the city have also been driven by drug disputes, domestic violence and robberies. Some seem inexplicable.
The figures — broken down in a homicide analysis sent to the Police Commission last week — reflect the latest police intelligence on a surge of violence that has catapulted L.A. past its total number of killings in each of the past two years.
The data reflect a broader uptick in homicides nationally, which President Trump has made an election talking point. They also reflect entrenched problems in L.A. that officials believe have been exacerbated by the realities of 2020 — particularly a cratered economy and social stresses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Longtime gang intervention worker Skipp Townsend said another likely factor is a spike in gun ownership that some on the street have told him was bankrolled in part by stimulus checks sent by the federal government to help shore up people’s finances amid massive job losses.
“Now they have the means and opportunity to go and hurt each other,” Townsend said of newly armed young men with petty beefs and unsettled scores.
For families who have lost loved ones this year in L.A., the violence is devastating and senseless.
Akeem “AJ” Coburn, 30, was fatally shot while standing in a driveway July 29 in the Harbor Gateway neighborhood. A father of two young girls, Coburn worked as a lineman for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, according to his family. Police are still trying to determine a motive and are offering a $50,000 reward for information.
Joel Bishop, Coburn’s cousin, said the family worries that so much time has passed without an arrest and that the pandemic is slowing down the investigation. Coburn deserved better, Bishop said, adding, “He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
According to the LAPD’s analysis, the overwhelming number of killings this year have occurred outdoors, with certain neighborhoods in South and Central L.A. bearing the brunt of the violence.
In response, police are rushing to provide anti-violence programs and have enlisted principals, clergy members, gang intervention workers and other volunteers to assist. Communities across the city are running neighborhood watch programs.
Still, the increased gun violence has persisted, with police struggling to keep up. Of the city’s 274 killings, fewer than half have been solved, according to LAPD data.
From the beginning of August through the first week of October, the department’s South Bureau saw a 50% increase in homicides and a 146% increase in shootings, compared with the same period last year. In Southeast L.A., there were 40 shootings during that time frame, compared with 12 last year — a 233% increase. In the 77th Street area, there were 61 shootings, compared with 23 last year.
Shootings also were up substantially in the Central Bureau and the West and Valley bureaus, though the volume of incidents in the latter two was smaller.
Homicides also are up this year in the areas around the city that are covered by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, including East L.A. and parts of South L.A., Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday.
Capt. Joe Mendoza, a sheriff’s spokesman, said there had been 158 homicides as of Monday, a more than 22% increase over the same period last year and already more than the 141 homicides seen in all of 2019. The sheriff’s department also is investigating another 27 homicides for smaller cities in the L.A. area that don’t have their own homicide detectives — a nearly 50% increase in such cases compared to the same period last year, Mendoza said.
“Obviously there’s a surge in murders all across the county,” Mendoza said.
While the LAPD’s identification of individual gang members has not always been reliable, the involvement of gangs in street violence is not in question. Gang violence is a perennial driver of killings in the city, though police and community members have made great strides in reducing the impact from the 1980s and 1990s, when some years saw more than 1,000 people killed.
Beyond the gang violence in Central and South L.A., a dozen killings each in the Valley and West bureaus are suspected of being gang-related.
Police say gang gunfire has struck down suspected gang members but also innocent bystanders, including children and elderly residents.
Townsend said that while there has been an increase in gang shootings, the LAPD’s categorization of killings as gang-related can be overbroad — relying more on suspected gang affiliations among the people involved than on actual motivations in specific crimes.
What he has seen on the street of late, Townsend said, is arguments over women, fights over unpaid debts and domestic violence — people cooped up with new grievances and financial woes.
Homeless individuals are particularly susceptible to street violence, and L.A. has more than 35,000 people estimated to be living on the street. Last year, nearly 3,600 people experiencing homelessness were reported to be victims of violence or property crimes, while more than 5,700 were either arrested or suspected in such crimes, according to LAPD data.
In addition to the 31 homeless people who were killed in the Central Bureau area, 13 homeless people there were identified as homicide suspects, LAPD data show. In the South Bureau, one killing involved a homeless suspect, one involved two homeless victims and another involved a suspect and victim who both were homeless, according to the data.
During a virtual meeting of the Police Commission last week, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said the department is tracking the surge in violence and strategically deploying officers in an attempt to hold perpetrators accountable. Moore agreed that there is “a much higher presence of people carrying guns and bringing guns into disputes” this year and said increased gun thefts from vehicles are also a factor.
Officers in the department’s Metropolitan Division, a specialized citywide unit that focuses in part on crime suppression, have been redeployed to help investigate shootings, and Moore said that work will continue even as the department begins to reduce its force and implement other structural changes in coming weeks in response to a $150-million cut to its budget.
While the department has been criticized by activists and community advocates who say officers are heavy-handed and biased in communities of color, Moore said it is those same communities that have been “the most tremendously impacted” by the violence and are crying out for help.
Dany Carrillo-Ramos, 22, was killed in August after using an ATM in Watts. Carrillo-Ramos was walking to his car when a man walked up to him and tried to rob him. The two struggled, and Carrillo-Ramos was shot, police said. Anthony Dajuan Hodge, 26, was charged in August with murder, robbery and two gun charges, according to court records.
Carrillo-Ramos came to the United States when he was 17 in order to work and send money back to his mother, brother and daughter in Guatemala, said his cousin Yenifer Menchu. He never met his 5-year-old daughter, Menchu said, but was motivated to work by the prospect of paying for a good education for her back home. He wasn’t involved in drugs or gangs.
“He was a very responsible person,” Menchu said. “He never messed with anybody.”
“We still can’t accept the fact that we’re never going to see him again,” she added.


latimes--2020-10-29--Judge orders U.S. Postal Service to boost service amid concerns that late mail ballots won't be coun

Judge orders U.S. Postal Service to boost service amid concerns that late mail ballots won't be counted

In a last-minute move to ensure mail ballots are delivered in time for the election , a federal judge has ordered the U.S .
Postal Service to rescind guidelines that slowed mail delivery over the summer and boost the numbers of late and extra truck trips .
The nationwide order from Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the District of Columbia comes as new data show that on-time mail delivery in some parts of the country has dropped to levels lower than in July , when millions of Americans went days , even weeks , without mail .
Ballots arriving late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ election cycle in states with strict ballot deadlines , data show .
Some states with tight deadlines have seen a deterioration of on-time delivery this year , including the battleground states of Georgia , South Carolina and Florida .
The Postal Service delivered 83.76 % of first-class mail on time in that region in mid-July , a rate that sank to 82.69 % the week of Oct. 10 , according to the Postal Service .
Normal performance is around 92.4 % .
The Postal Service told voters in August that the agency could @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mailed later than the Tuesday before election day .
But Sullivan ’ s order Tuesday could speed up the delivery of election mail already in the system and could expedite ballots sent by voters who are dropping their votes in the mail in the final days before the deadline .
Speedier delivery could make a difference in more than a dozen states , including the battlefield states of Florida and Wisconsin , that will not count mail-in ballots that arrive later than election day .
Others require that ballots be postmarked by election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ballots have been thrown out by the thousands in previous elections .
More than 6,400 mail-in ballots were rejected in Michigan ’ s August primary because they arrived too late to be counted , according to the state .
More than 15,000 votes were rejected in Pennsylvania for the same reason , and about 8,400 in Georgia .
California ’ s deadline is the nation ’ s most generous : As long as mail-in ballots are postmarked by election day , they can arrive as late as Nov. 20 and still be counted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have had mixed success : The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that North Carolina can accept mail ballots up to nine days after the election , provided they are postmarked by Nov. 3 .
But a federal appeals court this month told Michigan officials that they can not count any mail-in votes that arrive after election day .
The Supreme Court made a similar call Monday in a ruling that bars Wisconsin ’ s elections officials from counting any mail-in ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. on election day .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in mail performance over the summer and still have not fully recovered .
Changes made by new Postmaster Gen. Louis DeJoy in July led to chaos and delays for all types of mail , including rent payments , unemployment checks and prescription medication .
In the Detroit area , where ballots that arrive after election day will not be counted , on-time performance for first-class mail dropped 20 percentage points between January and October , according to data released by U.S. House officials Tuesday .
The week of Oct. 10 , about 71.6 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sullivan had issued a preliminary injunction earlier this month to stop the Postal Service from implementing its policy against late and extra truck trips and to order the agency to allow overtime so that employees can deliver election mail on time .
The move was akin to orders over the last several weeks by three other federal judges in parallel lawsuits — including one case filed by California Atty .
Gen. Xavier Becerra — that sought to reverse sweeping cost-cutting measures put in place by DeJoy .
Those measures included a mandate that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that additional trips be curtailed , even if mail is left behind — a practice that ran counter to the agency ’ s ethos of delivering “ every piece , every day.
” The plaintiffs in the D.C. case , four individual voters , argued that the Postal Service didn ’ t adhere to the injunctions issued by judges over the last several weeks .
Sullivan , siding with the plaintiffs , ordered the Postal Service to immediately issue a notice revoking its cost-cutting guidelines from July and to provide data on its @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and extra trips .
Tuesday night , the Postal Service appeared to comply with one of the requirements of the order by sending a notice to employees , according to an email provided to The Times .
“ USPS personnel are instructed to perform late and extra trips to the maximum extent necessary to increase on-time mail deliveries , particularly for Election Mail , ” said the message , sent by Robert Cintron , vice president of logistics for the Postal Service .

A worker at the USPS Processing & Distribution Center in City of Industry in May 2020.
In a last-minute move to ensure mail ballots are delivered in time for the election, a federal judge has ordered the U.S. Postal Service to rescind guidelines that slowed mail delivery over the summer and boost the numbers of late and extra truck trips.
The nationwide order from Judge Emmet G. Sullivan of the District of Columbia comes as new data show that on-time mail delivery in some parts of the country has dropped to levels lower than in July, when millions of Americans went days, even weeks, without mail. Ballots arriving late could disenfranchise thousands of voters in this election cycle in states with strict ballot deadlines, data show.
Some states with tight deadlines have seen a deterioration of on-time delivery this year, including the battleground states of Georgia, South Carolina and Florida. The Postal Service delivered 83.76% of first-class mail on time in that region in mid-July, a rate that sank to 82.69% the week of Oct. 10, according to the Postal Service. Normal performance is around 92.4%.
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The Postal Service told voters in August that the agency could not guarantee on-time delivery for any ballots mailed later than the Tuesday before election day.
But Sullivan’s order Tuesday could speed up the delivery of election mail already in the system and could expedite ballots sent by voters who are dropping their votes in the mail in the final days before the deadline.
Speedier delivery could make a difference in more than a dozen states, including the battlefield states of Florida and Wisconsin, that will not count mail-in ballots that arrive later than election day. Others require that ballots be postmarked by election day and arrive soon thereafter.
Late-arriving ballots have been thrown out by the thousands in previous elections. More than 6,400 mail-in ballots were rejected in Michigan’s August primary because they arrived too late to be counted, according to the state. More than 15,000 votes were rejected in Pennsylvania for the same reason, and about 8,400 in Georgia.
California’s deadline is the nation’s most generous: As long as mail-in ballots are postmarked by election day, they can arrive as late as Nov. 20 and still be counted.
Lawsuits aimed at extending ballot deadlines have had mixed success: The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that North Carolina can accept mail ballots up to nine days after the election, provided they are postmarked by Nov. 3.
But a federal appeals court this month told Michigan officials that they cannot count any mail-in votes that arrive after election day. The Supreme Court made a similar call Monday in a ruling that bars Wisconsin’s elections officials from counting any mail-in ballots that arrive after 8 p.m. on election day.
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Some of those areas saw dramatic drops in mail performance over the summer and still have not fully recovered. Changes made by new Postmaster Gen. Louis DeJoy in July led to chaos and delays for all types of mail, including rent payments, unemployment checks and prescription medication.
In the Detroit area, where ballots that arrive after election day will not be counted, on-time performance for first-class mail dropped 20 percentage points between January and October, according to data released by U.S. House officials Tuesday. The week of Oct. 10, about 71.6% of mail was on time.
Sullivan had issued a preliminary injunction earlier this month to stop the Postal Service from implementing its policy against late and extra truck trips and to order the agency to allow overtime so that employees can deliver election mail on time.
The move was akin to orders over the last several weeks by three other federal judges in parallel lawsuits — including one case filed by California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra — that sought to reverse sweeping cost-cutting measures put in place by DeJoy.
Those measures included a mandate that mail trucks leave exactly on time and that additional trips be curtailed, even if mail is left behind — a practice that ran counter to the agency’s ethos of delivering “every piece, every day.”
The plaintiffs in the D.C. case, four individual voters, argued that the Postal Service didn’t adhere to the injunctions issued by judges over the last several weeks.
Sullivan, siding with the plaintiffs, ordered the Postal Service to immediately issue a notice revoking its cost-cutting guidelines from July and to provide data on its mail delivery performance and number of late and extra trips.
Tuesday night, the Postal Service appeared to comply with one of the requirements of the order by sending a notice to employees, according to an email provided to The Times.
“USPS personnel are instructed to perform late and extra trips to the maximum extent necessary to increase on-time mail deliveries, particularly for Election Mail,” said the message, sent by Robert Cintron, vice president of logistics for the Postal Service.