Earlier in the day, Ohio officials claimed they were ready to move forward with the election as well should the courts not grant the extension.
„If that was necessitated, I have no doubt that the patriotic Ohio election officials would get that job done,“ LaRose said.
Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said both state party chairs were consulted and supportive of the push to postpone the primary, though he acknowledged the last-minute nature of the announcement risks confusing voters.
„In deference to their expertise on this critical health crisis, I support that decision regarding in-person voting tomorrow,“ Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said in a statement following DeWine’s initial press conference. „Extending an election is an unprecedented step, so we as a party are weighing alternatives on how to best do so — including the possibility to conduct the primary election entirely by vote-by-mail, as is done in several other states, with a deadline much earlier than June 2.“
The move represented a significant escalation in state action to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Already, Ohio election officials had relocated or closed nearly 150 polling places that were originally supposed to be in nursing homes and assisted living facilities and recruited backup poll workers to replace those who were not comfortable serving due to their age or health status.
Over the weekend, before trying to move election day, Ohio officials ordered county boards of elections to set up curbside voting options and extend the deadline to request an absentee ballot for anyone impacted by the virus.
As recently as Friday, election officials from all four states voting Friday, including LaRose, said that the March 17 elections would go on as scheduled. After DeWine held his press conference, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said that he „feel[s] good about the decision to let the election go on tomorrow.“
„Look, we have to have our elections continue, in my opinion,“ Pritzker said. „This is the right thing to do. Our democracy needs to go on. We have to elect leaders.“
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot also said Monday that she wanted „to encourage everybody to go out and vote today and if you choose to vote tomorrow, it’s going to be safe.“
In Florida, Secretary of State Laurel Lee said Monday evening at a press conference that the state will still hold its primary on Tuesday. Lee said nearly 2 million people have already voted.
And in Arizona, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs said the election will also move forward on Tuesday. „What it all comes down to is that we have no guarantee that there will be a safer time to hold this election in the near future,“ Hobbs said at a press conference.
Election officials in the state have worked to minimize risk in polling places across the state, striking a delicate balance between making voting accessible and protecting public health.
„This is a dynamic situation. It’s changing day by day, hour by hour,“ Adrian Fontes, the Maricopa County recorder, told POLITICO in an interview on Monday. „While the state has closed all rec centers and libraries, we made sure they will still stay open as polling places. We have heightened cleanliness and sanitation protocols, and we’re paying close attention to mandates from federal, state and local authorities. … Election administrators have to be ready for anything. Except Godzilla.”
Natasha Korecki and Maggie Severns contributed to this report.
Source: politico.com
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