Politics & Government
GA Primary Pushed Back Again To June 9 Over Coronavirus Concerns
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger postponed Georgia's primary to June 9 because of the recently extended state of emergency.
ATLANTA, GA — State officials have again postponed Georgia’s primary election, this time until June 9. The announcement was made Thursday from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's office.
The primary already had been postponed to May 19, but as the coronavirus pandemic worsened Raffensperger was urged in early April by House Speaker David Ralston to consider a second postponement. At the time Raffensperger declined, telling the Associated Press that “I execute elections, I don’t create them.”
In a statement issued Thursday, though, he said he felt “comfortable exercising the authority” to do so after Gov. Brian Kemp extended Georgia’s state of emergency to May 13.
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Ralston originally had asked to postpone the primary until June 16. Raffensperger set the date a week earlier. The primarily had originally been scheduled for March 24.
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Reports of obstacles to actually holding an election, especially in southwest Georgia, contributed to Raffensperger’s decision. Dougherty County is Georgia's worst hotspot, with more coronavirus deaths reported — 62 — than in any other county as of Wednesday evening.
“I certainly realize that every difficulty will not be completely solved by the time in-person voting begins for the June 9 election, but elections must happen even in less than ideal circumstances,” Raffensperger said in his statement. “This postponement allows us to provide additional protection and safety resources to county election officials, poll workers, and voters without affecting the November election.”
Earlier this month, Georgia mailed absentee-ballot-request forms to all active voters to make it easier to vote without leaving home. The forms, however, come without prepaid postage. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Georgia sued Raffensperger on behalf of Black Voters Matter, alleging that requiring the purchase of stamps to vote amounted to a poll tax, which is illegal. The suit was filed in federal court in Atlanta.
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