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Examining the fallout from CNN’s report on Mark Robinson
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New York confirms its first case of EEE since 2015. Here’s what to know about the mosquito-borne virus.
NEW YORK — A New York resident has tested positive for the mosquito-borne eastern equine encephalitis virus, the state health department said Friday. It’s the first human case of EEE in the state in nearly 10 years.
The patient lives in Ulster County and is currently hospitalized, state health officials said. The Ulster County Department of Health is investigating. Earlier this summer, a horse in Ulster County also tested positive for the virus, according to health officials.
The last time there was a human case of EEE in New York state was in 2015.
There have been at least 10 cases of EEE reported across the United States this year, including one case in New Jersey and a deadly case in New Hampshire.
What is EEE?
According to the state health department, EEE is a rare but severe viral disease spread by infected mosquitoes.
Most people who are infected with EEE will not develop symptoms, health experts say, but early symptoms of severe cases include headache, high fever, chills and vomiting. It is deadly in approximately 30% of cases, and those who survive may suffer neurological impairment.
There is no vaccine for EEE.
Health officials urge New Yorkers to continue taking efforts to protect themselves from mosquito bites, such as wearing long sleeves and pants when outdoors, using insect repellents, putting screens in windows and doors, and getting rid of any standing water around yards and homes.
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Arizona Supreme Court rules that 98,000 people without confirmed citizenship docs can still vote in state races
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Friday that nearly 98,000 people whose citizenship documents hadn’t been confirmed can vote in state and local races.
The court’s decision comes after officials uncovered a database error that for two decades mistakenly designated the voters as having access to the full ballot.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, and Stephen Richer, the Republican Maricopa County recorder, had disagreed on what status the voters should hold. Richer asked the high court to weigh in, saying Fontes ignored state law by advising county officials to let affected voters cast full ballots.
Fontes said not allowing the voters who believed they had satisfied voting requirements access to the full ballot would raise equal protection and due process concerns.
The high court agreed with Fontes. It said county officials lack the authority to change the voters’ statuses because those voters registered long ago and had attested under the penalty of law that they are citizens. The justices also said the voters were not at fault for the database error and also mentioned the little time that’s left before the Nov. 5 general election.
“We are unwilling on these facts to disenfranchise voters en masse from participating in state contests,” Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer stated in the ruling.
Arizona is unique among states in that it requires voters to prove their citizenship to participate in local and state races. Voters can demonstrate citizenship by providing a driver’s license or tribal ID number, or they can attach a copy of a birth certificate, passport or naturalization documents.
Arizona considers drivers’ licenses issued after October 1996 to be valid proof of citizenship. However, a system coding error marked nearly 98,000 voters who obtained licenses before 1996 — roughly 2.5% of all registered voters — as full-ballot voters, state officials said.
The error between the state’s voter registration database and the Motor Vehicle Division would not have impacted the presidential race. But that number of votes could tip the scales in hotly contested races in the state Legislature, where Republicans have a slim majority in both chambers.
It also could affect ballot measures, including the constitutional right to abortion and criminalizing noncitizens for entering Arizona through Mexico at any location other than a port of entry.
In a post on the social platform X, Richer thanked the court for quickly reviewing the case and Fontes for partnering with him to address the error.