Ohio Gov Declares ‘Health Emergency’ to Postpone Primary; Florida, Illinois, Arizona Keep Polls Open

Ohio governor Mike DeWine greets President Donald Trump at Akron-Canton airport in Canton, Ohio, March 20, 2019. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) Ohio Governor Mike DeWine declared a “health emergency” to close the state’s primary polls on Tuesday over coronavirus, despite a judge denying an initial request to postpone. “During this time when we face an unprecedented public health …

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine declared a “health emergency” to close the state’s primary polls on Tuesday over coronavirus, despite a judge denying an initial request to postpone.

“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. As such, Health Director Dr. Amy Acton will order the polls closed as a health emergency. 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,” DeWine said in a statement.

His office had filed a lawsuit in Franklin County to ban in-person voting and extend the primary to June 2, following the Center for Disease Control’s Sunday recommendation that groups of over 50 should not gather together to help limit the spread of coronavirus. “We cannot conduct this election tomorrow,” DeWine told reporters.

But after a judge overruled the recommendation, DeWine went ahead with the decision anyway.

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

Ohio is the first of four states with primaries Tuesday to close over coronavirus. Arizona, Florida, and Illinois all said Tuesday that they would still have their primaries.

“I wanted to let you know that Illinois is proceeding with plans for tomorrow’s primary as scheduled,” Illinois State Board of Elections public information officer Matt Dietrich wrote in an email to reporters.

Earlier Monday, Florida’s Secretary of State Laurel M Lee tweeted “we are aware of voters’ concerns over #COVID19. FL Dept of Health has assured healthy Floridians it’s safe to work the polls for & vote in Tuesday’s election. Supervisors of Elections are ensuring polls are prepared for voters.”

Arizona Governor Steve Ducey also announced that his state’s primary would go ahead as planned.

“We’ve made sure that election officials have the equipment and the support they need for the polling places to function tomorrow. Our elected leaders have been working overtime to ensure that voting is safe,” the governor said.

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