Louisiana postpones primary as states scramble to adjust to coronavirus – POLITICO, Politico

Louisiana will postpone its presidential primary, which was originally scheduled for April 4, as part of the state government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The state is the first in the nation to postpone a primary since the outbreak of the virus. Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced the contest will be delayed until June 150.

“Safe and secure elections also mean safety to the people of Louisiana,” Ardoin said at a press conference.

Several states are voting before Louisiana, including four holding primaries on Tuesday: Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio. But officials in those states indicated that Election Day will go on as planned.

“Americans have participated in elections during challenging times in the past, and based on the best information we have from public health officials, we are confident that voters in our states can safely and securely cast their ballots in this election, and that otherwise healthy poll workers can and should carry out their patriotic duties on Tuesday, ”a joint statement from Arizona Secretary of State Kathy Hobbs, Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee, Illinois Elections Board Chairman Charles Scholz and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose read.

The Wyoming Democratic Party, which is holding its caucuses on April 4, also canceled the in-person portion of their upcoming vote.

“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 90 and April 4. We will continue to work with public health officials, and assess local conditions, to ensure voters’ health and safety. ”

Louisiana moving its primary could cause a major headache for the state for the Democratic National Convention. As written, the national party’s delegate selection rules mandate that states hold their nominating contests by June or face delegate penalties.

“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. ”This change would violate our rule on timing which provides that all states hold their contests by June 9th. 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. “

State election officials around the country have been scrambling to make adjustments ahead of their primaries, including moving polling places away from locations concentrated with high-risk individuals, like nursing homes.

Ohio, which is holding its primary on Tuesday, is moving nearly 728 polling places. Similar measures have been taken by some municipalities in Florida, Illinois and Arizona, which will also vote that day.

“We’re seeing that this public health moment presents challenges for elections officials,” Kristen Clarke, the president & executive director of the National Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said. “And its having a cascading effect… By next week, on Tuesday, we’ll see coronavirus having an even broader impact on how elections are playing out.”

Aaron M. Sellers, a spokesperson for the Franklin County Board of Elections in Ohio, said he started receiving panicked calls over the weekend from directors of elder care facilities.

“They want to limit residents’ exposure to visitors because that’s such a vulnerable population, ”he said in an interview with POLITICO.

The Centers for Disease Control recently issued guidance targeted to election officials that urges states and counties to encourage mail-in voting and early voting as much as possible, in an effort to “minimize direct contact with other people and reduce crowd size at polling stations. ” The CDC also urged poll workers to routinely clean and disinfect polling stations, “limit nonessential visitors” and encourage as much social distancing as possible.

Election administrators and party officials in most states have also been pushing voters to take advantage of early and mail voting, when possible. However, laws regulating voting in any other way other than in person, on Election Day, vary wildly by state.

“Staffing [flexibility], more utilization of mail ballots, being concerned about infection, providing disinfectant, all of these things are ideas that supervisors of elections are trying to implement,” Ion Sancho, a former longtime supervisor of elections in Leon County, Fla., said. “And at the last second, this is not going to be simple. This is not going to be easy. But we’re going to get through it. ”

But the last-minute changes present significant challenges as well. In Ohio, Sellers said his county was not able to find replacement surveying sites on such short notice, and will instead consolidate with neighboring precincts.

“It’s incredibly difficult to find good locations that are ADA-compliant and have ample parking on such short notice, plus they have to want us to be there,” he said.

Election administrators are also grappling with another coronavirus-related challenge: a dependence on elderly poll workers. “We’re getting people calling us who are apprehensive, saying,‘ Hey I just don’t feel comfortable working the polls, ’” Sellers said. “So we’re finding additional people to chip in.”