Ohio Governor Orders Polls Closed for Tuesday Primary Vote

(Bloomberg) -- Ohio Governor Mike DeWine invoked a health emergency to close the polls in the state’s primary on Tuesday, after a judge rejected his recommendation to postpone voting because of the coronavirus threat.

Polls were set to open at 6:30 a.m., but late Monday the state’s health director, Amy Acton, issued an order closing them. DeWine said in a statement that allowing voting to proceed would “force poll workers and voters to place themselves at an unacceptable health risk.”

DeWine, a Republican, said that while the polls would be closed, officials would seek a remedy through the courts “to extend voting options so that every voter who wants to vote will be granted that opportunity.”

The governor had recommended that the state’s primary be delayed until June 2 and allow Ohioans to cast absentee ballots by mail before then.

But DeWine’s request was rejected when Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard Frye said the court shouldn’t step at the last minute while ruling on a lawsuit filed by two Ohio voters over age 65 who said they faced the choice between risking contracting the virus and not exercising their right to vote.

DeWine said in a joint statement with Secretary of State Frank LaRose before announcing the poll closings that holding the primary was untenable with the threat of the coronavirus to vulnerable voters and poll workers with federal guidelines limiting the size of gatherings.

“Logistically, under these extraordinary circumstances, it simply isn’t possible to hold an election tomorrow that will be considered legitimate by Ohioans,” DeWine and LaRose said in their statement. “They mustn’t be forced to choose between their health and exercising their constitutional rights.”

Ohio was one of four states scheduled to hold primaries on Tuesday. The other three, Florida, Arizona and Illinois, said their votes would proceed as planned.

Earlier Georgia, Wyoming and Louisiana had pushed back nominating contests scheduled for March and April. And on Monday, Kentucky delayed its primary from May 19 to June 23. Secretary of State Michael Adams said that he and Governor Andy Beshear had made the decision, adding, “my hope is that this delay will allow us to have a normal election.”

The debate over whether to hold the elections comes as President Donald Trump’s coronavirus task force is recommending people limit gatherings to just 10 people for the next eight weeks.

The two top Democratic presidential candidates -- Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders -- are urging voters in Tuesday’s primary states to participate in the elections, as long as they take precautions. Those include voting early or by mail or dropping off ballots curbside, where available, and maintaining six feet of distance from other voters while standing in line.

Biden has a near-insurmountable lead in delegates and polls showed him defeating Sanders by huge margins in Ohio.

Biden’s campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield, said before DeWine’s announcement that the campaign would “follow the guidance offered by state public health officials for how to best ensure their populations are looked after while encouraging participation in our democracy.”

The uncertainty about whether the Ohio primary would proceed was causing confusion among elections officials and poll workers. The Franklin County Board of Elections issued a release before the state’s action telling poll workers they should report in the morning and to monitor text and email for further updates.

Ned Foley, a former state solicitor and director of an election law program at Ohio State University, said the judge’s ruling denied a request for a temporary restraining order and that he thinks DeWine has the authority to delay voting in the public interest.

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