Second Primary Delay Sought By GA Speaker Due To Coronavirus

ATLANTA, GA — Georgia’s presidential primary may be delayed until June because of the coronavirus pandemic if Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger heeds a request from House Speaker David Ralston.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Ralston, a Republican from Blue Ridge, wrote Sunday in a letter to Raffensperger that the move is justified because Georgia still will be under a state of emergency on May 19.

The presidential primary previously had been scheduled for March 24, but was bumped back to May 19, the same day as the general primary. Ralston’s letter suggests pushing both back to June 16.

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Georgia state law says the secretary of state can postpone an election for 45 days, as Raffensperger did in mid-March. Raffensperger said Friday he had no plans to postpone the election again. Ralston’s letter argues that the postponement can be extended “if an emergency is ongoing.”

All registered voters who are active will be mailed absentee ballot-request forms, Raffensperger said last week.

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