Georgia Delays March Democratic Primary to May Due to Virus

(Bloomberg) -- Election officials in Georgia will postpone the Democratic primary scheduled for March 24 until May 19 due to worries about the coronavirus pandemic, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Saturday.

“Events are moving rapidly and my highest priority is protecting the health of our poll workers, their families, and the community at large,” said Raffensperger, a Republican.

A person familiar with the decision said it was made after poll workers said they would stay away from work on primary day for fear of being exposed to the highly-infectious Covid-19 virus. At least 66 people in Georgia have contracted the coronavirus and one has died.

“Our priority is to protect the health and safety of all Georgians and to ensure that as many Georgians as possible have an opportunity to vote,” said State Senator Nikema Williams, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “Continued in-person voting could compromise both goals.”

Early voting in the Georgia primary started March 2. Williams said that votes already cast in person or by mail would count, but that people could still cast their presidential preference ballot on May 19, in addition to voting in the U.S. House and Senate primaries already scheduled for that day.

Absentee Voting

Georgia is looking at sending every registered voter over 65 -- considered by medical experts to be more likely to become seriously ill if they contract the novel coronavirus -- absentee ballot applications for the May primary, said Jordan Fuchs, deputy secretary of state.

David Worley, Democratic member of Georgia’s State Election Board, said he was concerned the pandemic would still be a danger in May and that rather than risking in-person voting, the state should go to “all mail-in ballots.”

Georgia’s decision comes after Louisiana said Friday it would move its April 4 contest to June 20 because of the coronavirus. In addition, Wyoming has suspended the in-person part of its Democratic caucuses, also scheduled for April 4. Officials are urging people to vote by mail instead.

The coronavirus has also shifted the way candidates are conducting their campaigns, with both Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders replacing in-person rallies and appearances with virtual events.

Four states -- Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio -- are scheduled to hold primaries on Tuesday.

The Georgia decision was reported earlier by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

(An earlier version corrected reference to voters being able to void their ballots.)

To contact the reporters on this story: Anita Sharpe in Atlanta at asharpe6@bloomberg.net;Gregory Korte in Washington at gkorte@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: James Ludden at jludden@bloomberg.net, Ros Krasny, Max Berley

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