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Ballots are the core records of elections. Electronic records of actual ballots cast (cast vote records) are available to the public in some jurisdictions. However, they have been released in a variety of formats and have not been independently evaluated. Here we introduce a database of cast vote records from the 2020 U.S. general election. We downloaded publicly available unstandardized cast vote records, standardized them into a multi-state database, and extensively compared their totals to certified election results. Our release includes vote records for President, Governor, U.S. Senate and House, and state upper and lower chambers, covering 42.7 million voters in 20 states who voted for more than 2,200 candidates. This database serves as a uniquely granular administrative dataset for studying voting behavior and election administration. Using this data, we show that in battleground states, 1.9 percent of solid Republicans (as defined by their congressional and state legislative voting) in our database split their ticket for Joe Biden, while 1.2 percent of solid Democrats split their ticket for Donald Trump., Competing Interests: Competing interests: Authors declare no conflicting interests that might be perceived to influence the results and/or discussion reported in this paper. This project was determined as not human subjects research by the MIT and Yale Institutional Review Board (IRB)., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

A primary goal of the national human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) Strategy is to reduce HIV-related health disparities (1). Among all HIV diagnoses among women in the United States in 2014, non-Hispanic black or African American (black) women accounted for an estimated 62% of diagnoses, despite constituting only 13% of the female population (2,3). Although HIV diagnoses continue to occur disproportionately among black women, HIV surveillance data indicate a 13.5% decrease in diagnoses from 2012 to 2014 (2,4). However, widespread HIV testing and early linkage to care are critical for persons with HIV to achieve viral suppression and improved health outcomes, and to reduce transmission of HIV to others (5). Analysis of CDC-funded program data on HIV testing services provided to black females and submitted by 61 state and local health departments during 2012-2014 revealed that the number of new HIV diagnoses among black females decreased 17% from 2,177 in 2012 to 1,806 in 2014. Among black females with newly diagnosed HIV infection, the percentage who were linked to HIV medical care within 90 days of diagnosis increased 48.2%, from 33.8% in 2012 to 50.1% in 2014. However, in 2010 the National HIV/AIDS Strategy established a goal to link 85% of persons with newly diagnosed HIV infection to HIV medical care (1). Enhanced efforts to diagnose HIV infection among black females and link them to HIV medical care are critical to address HIV infections in the United States.

Background: Elevated blood lead levels lead to permanent neurocognitive sequelae in children. Resettled refugee children in the United States are considered at high risk for elevated blood lead levels, but the prevalence of and risk factors for elevated blood lead levels before resettlement have not been described., Methods: Blood samples from children aged 6 months to 14 years from refugee camps in Thailand were tested for lead and hemoglobin. Sixty-seven children with elevated blood lead levels (venous ≥10 µg/dL) or undetectable (capillary <3.3 µg/dL) blood lead levels participated in a case-control study., Results: Of 642 children, 33 (5.1%) had elevated blood lead levels. Children aged <2 years had the highest prevalence (14.5%). Among children aged <2 years included in a case-control study, elevated blood lead levels risk factors included hemoglobin <10 g/dL, exposure to car batteries, and taking traditional medicines., Conclusions: The prevalence of elevated blood lead levels among tested US-bound Burmese refugee children was higher than the current US prevalence, and was especially high among children <2 years old. Refugee children may arrive in the United States with elevated blood lead levels. A population-specific understanding of preexisting lead exposures can enhance postarrival lead-poisoning prevention efforts, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for resettled refugee children, and can lead to remediation efforts overseas.