2020 Democratic Primary Election: Voting Postponed in 9 States and Territories – The New York Times

The Latest: Rhode Island is postponing its primary from April 28 to June 2. The Pennsylvania Legislature is considering the same move. Alaska is shifting its April 4 primary to voting by mail and is extending the deadline to receive ballots.

As the coronavirus pandemic upends the presidential campaign, states and territories around the country are postponing primary elections and expanding vote by mail options.

Indiana, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Ohio, Puerto Rico and Rhode Island have postponed their presidential primary elections, citing the outbreak. In Ohio, officials declared a public health emergency just hours before polls were set to open last week.

Five of those states have moved or have proposed moving their primaries to June 2, which is quickly becoming a major date on the Democratic primary calendar. It is among the last dates available before the June 9 deadline set by the Democratic National Committee for states to hold their nominating contests.

The Pennsylvania Legislature is expected to vote Tuesday on a bill to delay the states primary elections, also to June 2. In New York, officials are also considering whether the presidential primary election should be delayed. Alaska, Hawaii and Wyoming are switching to voting entirely by mail.

Tom Perez, the D.N.C. chairman, has urged states with upcoming contests to expand their use of voting by mail, no-excuse absentee voting, curbside ballot drop-offs and early voting.

Heres a running update of major changes in an election transformed, including rescheduled primaries and caucuses and a few other key races. You can also track our full primary election calendar.

The three states held their primaries as scheduled (and Joseph R. Biden Jr. won all of them).

Voting in major cities in Illinois was rife with confusion and turnout in many areas was significantly lower than expected, leading to complaints from poll workers and clashes between Chicago officials and the statehouse.

But Florida and Arizona exceeded turnout levels seen in the 2016 Democratic primary, despite the coronavirus outbreak. Both states had invested heavily in early voting systems, and they encouraged early voting and voting by mail as the outbreak worsened, in order to help reduce crowds at polling places on Primary Day.

A special election for Queens borough president in New York City was scheduled for March 24, but Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the election was canceled.

In a democratic society, the canceling of an election is such a rarity, Mr. de Blasio said. It should be avoided at all costs. But in this case with the nature of this crisis, Ive come to the decision that its necessary.

The mayor said there were no immediate plans for a future date for the borough president election, but details for potential options would be provided soon.

All three states scheduled to vote on April 4 have shifted to voting entirely by mail, and have set varying deadlines for receiving ballots and reporting results.

The Alaska Democratic Party canceled in-person voting in its presidential primary, citing the coronavirus outbreak, and will mount an effort to expand voting by mail. It also extended the deadline for the party to receive ballots by more than two weeks, to April 10 from March 24.

The state party is also making voter registration documents and ranked-choice paper ballots available to download on its website. It said it would announce the results all at once, no earlier than April 10 and no later than the end of the day on April 11.

The Alaska Democratic Party has already mailed ballots to over 71,000 registered Democrats across the state, seven times the number of people that participated in the 2016 caucuses, said Lindsay Kavanaugh, the executive director of the state party. We want to continue to allow for maximum participation in this historic primary while respecting the health and safety of our voters and volunteers.

Hawaii Democrats announced they were canceling in-person voting in response to the coronavirus outbreak. The state party will be mailing out a third round of ballots and is encouraging voters to register before April 4.

The final deadline for ballot submission has not been set, but party officials said they must allow enough time for people enrolling as late as April 4 to receive and return their ballots by mail. Results, therefore, are not expected until late May.

Previously, the state party said a large majority of the Democratic voters in Hawaii vote by mail anyway. The party said it had already mailed out about 57,000 ballots and would be sending out another 15,000.

Wyoming Democrats suspended the in-person portion of their caucuses, scheduled for April 4. Voters who registered as Democrats by March 20 will be sent ballots in the mail, and ballots received by April 17 will be counted, the party said.

The Wisconsin secretary of state says the presidential primary will still be held on April 7 but has made two changes to voting in response to the coronavirus.

Voters in nursing homes and care centers will automatically be sent absentee ballots. And municipal clerks have been given the option of relocating polling places currently slated to be in nursing homes and other care centers where public health is a concern.

Citing concerns about coronavirus transmission, the Wisconsin Democratic Party said it was encouraging everyone to vote early or absentee. Wisconsin voters may request an absentee ballot for any reason. Heres the link.

Gov. Wanda Vzquez signed a resolution postponing the primary election in Puerto Rico from March 29 to April 26.

The resolution, which was passed by the Puerto Rico legislature, also authorizes the chairman of Puerto Ricos Democratic Party and the president of the Puerto Rico State Commission on Elections to further postpone the primary if an emergency situation persists by April 26, without requiring a new resolution to be passed by the legislature.

Without a doubt, this is the time for preventative measures to stop the spread of the virus, said Charles Rodrguez, the chairman of the state party. But even in this crisis, both the legislature and the governor highlighted the democratic freedoms and rights that allow us to be a society based on the value of voting, as an expression of the will of the majority of our people.

Anthony Albence, Delawares state election commissioner, said there was no provision in state law for postponing an election, but urged voters to apply for absentee ballots, which permits people who are sick or disabled to vote absentee.

If we have an application that is complete and the voter specifies one of the reasons, we will certainly honor them, Mr. Albence said. This page provides information about applying for a Delaware absentee ballot.

Were making preparations to have sufficient materials in the polling places for cleaning, keeping the locations clean, Mr. Albence said. We will review that with our poll workers and try to ensure that we have best practices to clean the voting equipment.

Elections officials are discussing moving the presidential primary election from April 28 to June 23, the date of another scheduled statewide primary, in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has also modified election procedures to try to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.

In an executive order, he lowered the signature requirements for ballot access for congressional and state legislative and judicial races, meaning that door-to-door canvassing for signatures will probably be more limited.

Public health experts have been clear that one of the most common ways to communicate Covid-19 is through direct person to person contact, and we are doing everything in our immediate power to reduce unnecessary interactions, Mr. Cuomo said.

The Pennsylvania legislature was busy Monday discussing a bill to postpone the primary until June 2, according to Mike Straub, a spokesman for Bryan Cutler, a Republican and the majority leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

A vote will most likely be held Tuesday on the postponement, which affects state legislative and congressional races in addition to the presidential primary, Mr. Straub said.

The Pennsylvania secretary of state has reminded voters of the states mail-in ballot option, which permits any voter to request a ballot.

Our focus is on best ways to protect the integrity of the election while safeguarding public health, said Wanda Murren, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvanias Department of State.

Voters who would like to vote by mail may request a ballot through the state website.

Georgia officials announced that the states presidential primary, scheduled for March 24, would be delayed until May 19 in an effort to protect the public from possible coronavirus exposure.

The decision was announced by Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state.

Events are moving rapidly and my highest priority is the health of our poll workers, their families and the community at large, Mr. Raffensperger said. Given these circumstances, I believe it is necessary and prudent to suspend in-person voting in the presidential primary, and the local elections associated with them.

Gov. Ned Lamont announced that Connecticut was postponing its presidential primary from late April to early June.

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, Mr. Lamont wrote on Twitter.

Previously, Denise W. Merrill, Connecticuts secretary of state, urged Mr. Lamont to issue an emergency order permitting those worried about going to the polls during the outbreak to obtain absentee ballots. Under current law, concerns about disease contagion at a polling place are not a reason for voting absentee in Connecticut.

The governor was reviewing the request, a spokesman said at the time.

Gov. Eric J. Holcomb of Indiana signed an executive order suspending the states primary elections until June 2. The presidential primary was originally scheduled for May 5.

The governor announced the postponement of the primary with members of the Indiana Democratic and Republican parties.

The right of citizens to elect their leaders in a free and open election is one of the cornerstones of America, Mr. Holcomb said. In order to balance that right with the safety of county employees, poll workers and voters, delaying Indianas primary election is the right move as we continue to do all we can to protect Hoosiers health.

Officials also announced that the state would expand the option to vote by mail to all voters for the upcoming primary election, and that any mail-in ballots previously printed with a May 5 date on them would still be valid.

Gov. Larry Hogan announced that the April 28 primary would instead be held on June 2.

Mr. Hogan said at a news conference that state elections officials had raised concerns about the primary with him last week. Officials considered conducting the entire election by mail but did not believe they had enough time to make that work, Mr. Hogan said.

Like other states have done, all the primary elections will be postponed until June, which gives everyone time to prepare, Mr. Hogan said. Free and fair elections are the very foundation of American democracy, and while there are many valid reasons for unease and uncertainty right now, ensuring that the voices of Maryland citizens are heard shouldnt be one of them.

Mr. Hogan said that a special election in Marylands Seventh Congressional District to replace the late Representative Elijah E. Cummings would not be rescheduled from April 28. But that election will, in fact, be run entirely by mail the first time the state has done so for a congressional election.

The night before Ohios scheduled primary on March 17, Gov. Mike DeWine said he and top state heath officials would ignore a court ruling and postpone the states presidential primary by declaring a public health emergency because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr. DeWine said that the states health director, Dr. Amy Acton, had issued the order based on concerns that the coronavirus outbreak placed both voters and poll workers in potential danger.

His announcement came just hours after Judge Richard A. Frye of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas rejected the states request to push back voting to June 2.

During this time when we face an unprecedented public health crisis, to conduct an election tomorrow would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at an unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus, Mr. DeWine said on Twitter.

He added: While the polls will be closed tomorrow, Secretary of State Frank LaRose will seek a remedy through the courts to extend voting options so that every voter who wants to vote will be granted that opportunity.

Gov. Gina Raimondo will sign an executive order to move the states presidential primary election from April to June, her office announced on Monday.

Last week, the Board of Elections requested that the presidential primary election be postponed from April 28 to June 2 and that the election take place primarily by mail ballot, Ms. Raimondo said on Twitter. I am following the advice of the Board of Elections, and will sign an executive order to do this.

In a subsequent statement on Monday, Nellie M. Gorbea, the Rhode Island secretary of state, said she would begin working with the states Board of Elections and local canvassers to begin the process of changing the date of the election, and announced that the state would send all registered voters a mail ballot application with a postage-paid return envelope.

States rescheduling their primaries past a June 9 deadline set by the Democratic National Committee risk losing half of their delegates to the convention.

Louisiana postponed its April 4 primary for more than two months, rescheduling to June 20, the first state to adjust its election calendar in response to the coronavirus.

Today I have certified that a state of emergency exists and requested that the governor issue an executive order postponing the elections this spring, Louisianas secretary of state, R. Kyle Ardoin, said at a news conference. I want to thank the governor and his staff for working with us in a bipartisan manner to accomplish this mission.

The Democratic National Committee said in a statement that it would continue to work with every state party as they adjust their delegate selection plans around coronavirus, but that by moving its primary to June 20, which is past the June 9 deadline set by the D.N.C., Louisiana could face a penalty that would include a state losing at least half of its delegates.

Kentuckys secretary of state, Michael G. Adams, announced the state would delay its primary election to June 23 in a video on Twitter.

Postponing the primary was not an easy decision, but the Republican secretary of state and Democratic governor agreed, and so do county clerks from both parties, Mr. Adams said. My hope is that this delay will allow us to have a normal election. Even if not, this delay will allow me, the State Board of Elections and our county clerks time to assess what changes we must make to ensure a successful primary election.

Gov. Kay Ivey postponed the Republican runoff battle for a U.S. Senate seat, which pits former Attorney General Jeff Sessions against Tommy Tuberville, a former college football coach and ESPN analyst. The new date for the runoff is July 14.

The delay was proposed by Alabamas secretary of state, John Merrill, and sanctioned by Steve Marshall, the states attorney general. The health and well-being of the people of this state is of paramount importance, Mr. Merrill said.

The winner will face Senator Doug Jones, a Democrat, in a race that is closely watched because it could be a chance for Republicans to pick up a Senate seat in a red state.

President Trump has endorsed Mr. Tuberville against his onetime attorney general, Mr. Sessions, a longtime politician in Alabama who served in the U.S. Senate from 1997 to 2017.

Are we missing something? Let us know at onpolitics@nytimes.com.

Reporting was contributed by Maggie Astor, Reid J. Epstein, Shane Goldmacher, Patricia Mazzei and Matt Stevens.

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2020 Democratic Primary Election: Voting Postponed in 9 States and Territories - The New York Times