WHITE PLAINS CITIZENETREPORTER SETS RECORD VISITS FOR YEAR 7,017,658 VISITS! 2,098,003 VISITORS MADE 6 VISITS A DAY EVERY DAY. 63,330 UNIQUE VISITORS MADE 133,730 VISITS IN DECEMBER. WPCNR AVERAGED 17,284 VISITORS A WEEK, VISITING 31,270 TIMES.

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WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2020. November 7, 2020:

Christopher Burdick told WPCNR Saturday afternoon that absentee ballots cast in the NY Assembly District 93 race, which Mr. Burdick currently leads by 11,000 votes, will not begin to be counted by the Westchester County Board of Elections until after November 10.

This sets the stage for a replay of the long wait for absentee ballots to be counted that decided the Democratic Primary contest for District 93 Mr. Burdick won that primary officially 37 days after the election due to the delay in counting 100,000 absentee ballots cast in that June 22 primary. This was essentially due to a long counting delay due to lack of counting personnel.

The count in June was slow as reported by other participants in that primary race. Hopefully the Board of Elections has learned from the June experience and added personnel so they can complete all absentee ballots for all contests before Thanksgiving, which would be 15 days after the 10th, which would be a significant improvement. If they take as long as June to count them, we will not have the result until approximately December 9.

However they may have just as many as 100,000 absentee ballots to go through and as many as 137,000, according to a Board of Elections statement last week to News 12.

Here is Mr. Burdick’s statement on his contest District 93 absentee ballot situation:

” Thanks for your e-mail.  My understanding is that they will wait to count the absentee ballots.  All absentee ballots must be received by the BOE by November 10.   I do not know how many are to be counted since we do not know how many will have been received by the cut-off. 

As of November 1, the BOE had received and sent out requests for 19,919. 

Unofficial results show me in the lead through in person voting (early voting and November 3) by approximately 11,000 votes (30,265 to 19270). 

We anticipate that my lead will increase when the absentee ballots are counted given the distribution by party of the requests for absentee ballots.  Democrats requested 11,324 and Republicans requested 3,185.   

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WPCNR SATURDAY CORONAVIRUS REPORT From Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. November 7, 2020:

Uptick in cases in PORT CHESTER. The Department of Health is coordinating with the Westchester County Department of Health and Open Door Family Medical Center to provide rapid testing at a new site.

Rapid testing will be available at the Open Door medical clinic in Port Chester, NY on Saturday, November 7, from 9am – 2pm; Monday, November 9, from 10am – 6pm; and Tuesday, November 10, from 10am – 6pm. Residents must make an appointment—either online or by calling 914-995-7425.  

Public health experts predicted that with the arrival of fall, we would see COVID infections rise—and that is indeed the case.

The challenge for our state, like all other states, is managing the increase.

Today, we announced modifications to our existing micro-cluster zones in response to the latest metrics.

Micro-cluster zone maps have changed in Brooklyn, Rockland County and Orange County in response to declining positivity rates.

The Yellow Zone in Far Rockaway has been removed.

However there is a new Yellow Zone in Westchester County. Micro-cluster zones in Queens – Kew Gardens/Forest Hills, Broome County, Steuben County and Chemung County remain unchanged. 

Maps of each micro-cluster zone and further details are available here.

As we identify outbreaks, we will continue to take quick action to contain and eliminate them. As always—we need your help, too. Wear a mask. Get tested. Stop the spread. 

Map of the Day: Brooklyn’s Red Zone has new boundaries, as does its surrounding Yellow Zone. All of NY’s micro-cluster maps are available here. 

Here’s what else you need to know Saturday morning on COVID-18: 

1. The positivity rate in the micro-cluster focus areas was 3.16 percent yesterday. The statewide positivity rate excluding these areas was 1.84 percent. Of the 160,705 tests reported yesterday, 3,209, or 1.99 percent, were positive. Total hospitalizations were at 1,321. Sadly we lost 18 New Yorkers to the virus.  

2. SUNY colleges and universities will conduct exit testing for in-person students before sending them home for Thanksgiving. 

Students who go home for Thanksgiving will then be required to stay home and switch to remote learning for the rest of the semester (instead of returning to campus for the short period between Thanksgiving break and the winter holidays). We are asking private colleges to consider adopting similar plans.  

3. Buffalo Bills fans will have to wait to attend in-person games. Unfortunately, due to an uptick in COVID cases in Western New York, it would be dangerous to allow fans to attend games at Bills Stadium. 

 Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: To help handle the stress of the pandemic, a mother and daughter from Trumansburg started a daily tradition of visiting State Parks to hike and unwind in the great outdoors. The duo, Amy Dawson and daughter Elizabeth, went on 200 consecutive hikes before their streak ended this fall. The Dawsons logged 593.8 miles of trail while writing about their hiking journey.    If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State’s Coronavirus Updates here.

 Ever Upward, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo

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Governor Cuomo Announces New Guidelines
Allowing Out-of-State Travelers to “Test Out” of
Mandatory 14-Day Quarantine

The new protocol is effective beginning, Wednesday, November 4.

• Travelers Must Get Tested Within Three Days Prior to Landing in New York, Quarantine for at Least Three Days Upon Arrival, and Get a Test on Day Four of Arrival
• If Travelers Receive a Negative Test On Day Four of Quarantine They May Exit Quarantine When They Receive Negative Result
• States that are Contiguous with New York Continue to Be Exempted from Quarantine Protocol — Essential Workers Also Continue to be Exempted
• Travelers Who Were Only Out of State for Less Than 24 Hours Do Not Need to Quarantine but Must Get a Test on Day Four of Arrival Back in NY
• All Travelers Covered by The Advisory Must Continue to Fill Out Traveler Health Form Upon Arrival Into New York State

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced new guidelines allowing out-of-state travelers to New York to “test out” of the mandatory 14-day quarantine. Travelers from states that are contiguous with New York will continue to be exempt from the travel advisory; however, covered travelers must continue to fill out the Traveler Health Form. Essential workers will continue to be exempt as well. Click here for more details.

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WPCNR NEWS & COMMENT. Special to WPCNR from Dr. Steven White, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Syracuse Univeristy. November 6, 2020:

Editor’s Note: Dr. Steven White, an assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University who has studied Southern politics extensively. Dr. White specializes in American politics, American political development, race and politics.

Dr. White notes the impact of this possibility is crucial for many reasons, most notably Vice President Biden’s ability to fill a cabinet (should he win) with progressive choices who would not get confirmation with a Republican controlled Senate.

“If Democrats win the two Senate races in Georgia, their odds of being able to pass the legislation in their platform goes up dramatically.

That said, even then this would still be constrained by the pivotal votes of more conservative Democrats like Senator Joe Manchin.

If Democrats lose, though, their options are a lot more limited.

Not only would they need the support of more moderate Republican Senators like Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, they would also have to deal with agenda control by the Republican majority.

Senator Mitch McConnell might simply try to keep bills from coming to a floor vote, even if there might very well be a bipartisan majority coalition in favor of them. 

This also speaks to remarkable changes in the political environment of Georgia. Even in her loss to Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton only lost Georgia by about 5 points (similar to Obama’s 2008 loss margin).

In the 2018 gubernatorial election, Stacey Abrams came within about a point and a half of defeating her Republican opponent, Brian Kemp.

If Biden ends up ahead—and if the state elects one and possibly two Democratic Senators—it would be an astonishing shift that brings to fruition the state’s gradual transition from being a red state to a purple one.”