The coronavirus pandemic has thrown America’s electoral system
into shock, prompting officials in six states so far to move
presidential primaries as the federal government urges people not
to gather in large groups.
Connecticut became the latest state to push back its vote on
Thursday, and even more states are considering delays. Meanwhile,
election officials are also gaming out the changes they can make to
voting systems to allow Americans to participate in elections while
keeping themselves safe and preventing the spread of the virus. Tom
Perez, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has urged
states not to postpone their primaries and instead embrace expanded
voting by mail. But Perez has little authority over how individual
states conduct their elections.
23 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and other territories
have yet to vote in the presidential contest, and we are tracking
developments in every one as the calendar shifts and states puzzle
through when — and how — people can vote. Here’s what has
happened so far in all the states that were scheduled to vote from
mid-March through the end of April.
Six states have moved their presidential primaries
Connecticut (moved from April 28 to June 2)
Gov. Ned Lamont announced on March 19 that the state’s primary
would be moved to June 2. “In coordination with other states and
our Secretary of the State, and in an effort to carry out Democracy
while keeping public health a top priority, I have decided to move
our presidential primary to June 2nd,” Lamont tweeted.
Connecticut law only allows voters to cast ballots by mail with
a valid excuse, but Secretary of the State Denise Merrill also said
avoiding coronavirus is now a valid excuse for absentee voting in
the state. “Secretary Merrill has determined that for reasons of
public health, absentee ballots that are requested to avoid public
gatherings at polling places are requested because of illness, and
should be validly issued,” a statement from her office on March
13 read.
Georgia (moved from March 24 to May 19)
Georgia was one of the first states to
postpone its primary, moving it to May 19.
“Events are moving rapidly and my highest priority is
protecting the health of our poll workers, their families, and the
community at large,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger said in a statement on March 14.
The presidential primary in the state will now be held on the
same day as primaries in the state for local, state and
congressional offices.
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.
