Louisiana (moved from April 4 to June 20)
Louisiana also postponed its presidential primary, delaying its election until June 20. Notably, Louisiana’s new date moves the primary outside of the nominating contest window set by the Democratic National Committee, meaning the state could have its number of delegates cut unless the DNC changes or waives its current rules.
„We will continue to work with every state party as they adjust their delegate selection plans around coronavirus,” a Democratic National Committee spokesperson said in a statement on March 13. “This change would violate our rule on timing which provides that all states hold their contests by June 9. Any violation of our rules could result in a penalty that would include a state losing at least half of its delegates. This change will be reviewed by the Rules and Bylaws Committee.“
Kentucky (moved from May 19 to June 23)
Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams announced that he and Gov. Andy Beshear jointly agreed to delay the state’s May primary until June 23.
„There could be more changes, but this was a first step to buy us time,“ Adams said in his announcement.
Maryland (moved from April 28 to June 2)
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan postponed the state’s primaries to June 2 in response to the coronavirus.
“It would endanger public health to allow thousands of people to assemble … and it would put Marylanders at risk,” Hogan said at a March 17 press conference. “I am directing the state board of elections to develop a comprehensive plan by April 3 to conduct the primary election in a way that protects public health and preserves the integrity of the democratic process in our state.”
One election will still be held on April 28 in the state: The special election in Maryland’s 7th District to fill the seat of the late Rep. Elijah Cummings. That election will be mail-in only, and it could be an important test: Activists and some politicians are pushing for mail-in elections to be more widely adopted nationwide as part of the response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Ohio (delayed from March 17 to June 2)
Ohio was supposed to hold its primary on March 17. But Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration backed a court case to delay the election for public health reasons the day prior, and after a judge ruled the primary should go on, DeWine and his public health director shut down polling places due to a “health emergency.”
Following the closure, Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued a directive saying the primary was postponed until June 2 and prohibiting county election authorities “from tabulating and reporting any results“ until then.
But that doesn’t mean June 2 is set in stone. Ohio’s state legislature is set to meet starting on March 24 to take action on the primary, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported, with leaders noting that they have the power to set election details. „The legal authority to change the date rests with the Ohio General Assembly,“ House Speaker Larry Householder wrote in a memo. „No Ohio voter should ever wonder when they will have the opportunity to exercise their constitutional right to vote.“
Meanwhile, the Ohio Democratic Party filed a lawsuit over the move, looking for clarity for the new primary: “Yesterday’s actions did not create unchecked authority with the governor or secretary of state to run a new election. So authority for a new election must come from the legislature or from a court,” party chair David Pepper said. The party’s lawsuit, effectively, asks for a mail-in primary through April 28.
In other states, voting rules are changing instead of primary dates
Wyoming (April 4)
The Wyoming Democratic Party canceled the in-person portion of their caucuses in response to coronavirus.
“Our priority is ensuring that people are healthy and safe. Holding public events right now would put that in jeopardy, so this is the responsible course of action,“ the state party wrote in a statement. “Voters are highly encouraged to vote by mail; as of now, voters may still vote via ballot pickup and drop off on March 28 and April 4. We will continue to work with public health officials, and assess local conditions, to ensure voters’ health and safety.”
And some states are standing pat … so far
Alaska (April 4)
Alaska Democrats have not made changes to their party-run primary, which already had a significant mail-in component already. Alaska voters who were registered as Democrats by Feb. 18 had ballots mailed to them that need to be postmarked by March 24, with in-person voting scheduled for April 4.
A spokesperson for the state party told POLITICO that the party was “currently in the process of reaccessing” the procedure and said changes were coming soon.
Delaware (April 28)
Delaware is, for now, continuing on as planned with its election.
“Governor [John] Carney’s team is working closely with Elections Commissioner [Anthony] Albence, and we are continuing to move forward with planning, for now,” Carney spokesperson Jon Starkey wrote in an email to POLITICO. “We will continue to move forward — with plans to take additional health precautions to keep Delawareans healthy — until guidance from our public health experts makes clear we cannot safely hold the election on April 28.”
Hawaii (April 4)
A statement on Hawaii’s office of elections’ website8 says there are “no changes to the 2020 [e]lection schedule at this time.” However, Hawaii conducts its elections largely by mail already, so it may be able to continue as usual without significant disruption.
New York (April 28)
Discussions about moving New York’s primary have begun, but there is nothing definitive yet. Douglas A. Kellner, co-chair of the New York State Board of Elections, told The New York Times on March 15 that the presidential primary could move to June 23 (the date of other primaries in the state), but that decision would have to be made by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature.
But Cuomo said he has not given any thought to the idea yet. “I have virtually no political thoughts at this time and no thought about postponing an election,” he said at a March 17 press conference.
However, Cuomo has already delayed all village elections in New York until April 28. “Public health officials have been clear that reducing density is one of the most effective ways to stop the spread, and delaying village elections will help ensure poll workers and voters are not potentially exposed to the virus and at the same time maintain integrity in our election system,” he said in a statement on March 16.
Pennsylvania (April 28)
Gov. Tom Wolf said the state is considering moving its primary. “I’m not sure what impact it’s going to have on the primary,“ Wolf said at a press conference on March 16. “Obviously, we want to keep people safe, so to the extent that the state needs to move the April 28 date to another date, other states have already done this, Pennsylvania is certainly taking that into consideration.”
However, it is not entirely clear if Wolf has the authority to do so on his own. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that the clearest way to move the primary would be for the state legislature to do that — but there’s no consensus among lawmakers. Wolf may be able to use his emergency powers to move the primary.
Puerto Rico (March 29)
Puerto Rico is on the verge of rescheduling its primary. At the request of the island’s Democratic Party, the Puerto Rico Senate passed a resolution on March 16 pushing the primary until April 26, with the potential to further postpone the primary at a later date if the emergency persists.
A statement from the party on March 16 said the Puerto Rico House of Representatives is expected to also pass the bill, and Gov. Wanda Vazquez has indicated she will sign the bill.
Rhode Island (April 28)
Election officials in the state are split on what to do. The state board of elections voted on March 17 to ask Gov. Gina Raimondo to postpone the presidential primary from April 28 to June 2 — but Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea’s office is recommending the April 28 primary stay in place as a “predominantly mail-ballot” election.
The governor’s office told the Associated Press that Raimondo was “open to the idea” of moving the primary following the board’s vote.
Wisconsin (April 7)
Wisconsin is in a tougher situation than other states: Not only is the presidential primary scheduled for April 7, but so are general elections for state and local offices, including state Supreme Court and mayor of Milwaukee.
Gov. Tony Evers has beaten back calls to postpone the election. „How long do we potentially leave offices unfilled because we’re into July or August and we haven’t held a general election?“ he asked reporters on a conference call on March 17, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Evers has urged voters to vote absentee.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Democratic Party and the DNC have filed a lawsuit to expand voting access. The suit seeks to extend electronic and mail registration to April 3, axe photo ID and residency document requirements for absentee ballot and registration requests, and extend the mail-in deadline to count votes postmarked by Election Day and received within 10 days of the election.
Mark Jefferson, the chair of the state GOP, put out a statement: “The best course of action during elections in times of crisis is to ensure equal access to the polls, not to suspend all common-sense regulations that ensure fair elections in a democracy,” he said. “We call on local election officials to make early-voting available immediately and we are exploring what legal options may be available. Suspending rules that ensure fair elections is simply not an acceptable solution.”
Alice Miranda Ollstein and Elena Schneider contributed reporting.
Source: politico.com
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