US: Calif. to offer Nov. mail in ballots to all voters

California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an executive order Friday requiring counties to send out vote-by-mail ballots to all registered voters for the November 3 general election.

Newsom said the move reflects concern that state residents have access to a safe method of voting amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"We are reaching out to all registered eligible voters and giving them the opportunity and giving them the choice not to feel like they have to go in to a concentrated, dense environment where their health may be at risk," Newsom said during a briefing Friday.

Newsom, a Democrat, also noted that the mail-in option would not be an "exclusive substitute" to voting in person.

"We still want to have the appropriate number of physical sites for people to vote as well," Newsom said.

Gov. Newsom also announced a plan to deliver more protective face masks to wider segments of the California workforce, beyond the healthcare community, including more than two million masks to farm workers.

As the state begins easing stay-at-home orders on Friday, the rules about face coverings still vary from county to county and enforcement generally is done through restaurant and store employees and social pressure.

Now masks will be required for many employees at retailers reopening under new guidelines that call for curbside pickup and other methods of contact-free transactions, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday. Customers are strongly urged to wear face coverings.

The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends wearing face coverings such as non-medical masks or even T-shirts and bandannas to cover the nose and mouth, because the infection can spread from an asymptomatic person simply by speaking.

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.