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The primary election scheduled May 22 has been suspended until June.
Today, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced that, pursuant to
the authority vested in him by O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50.1, he is postponing
the Statewide General Primary/Presidential Preference Primary Election
until June 9, 2020.
Yesterday, Governor Brian Kemp extended the current public health state
of emergency until May 13, 2020. Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan and
Speaker of the House David Ralston concurred in the Governor’s extension
of the state of emergency.
“Due to the Governor’s extension of the state of emergency through a
time period that includes almost every day of in-person voting for an
election on May 19, and after careful consideration, I am now
comfortable exercising the authority vested in me by Georgia law to
postpone the primary election until June 9,” said Secretary
Raffensperger. “This decision allows our office and county election
officials to continue to put in place contingency plans to ensure that
voting can be safe and secure when in-person voting begins and
prioritizes the health and safety of voters, county election officials,
and poll workers.”
Throughout this crisis, the Secretary of State’s office has been in
close contact with county election officials across the state. Over the
past week, the reports of mounting difficulties from county election
officials, particularly in Southwest Georgia, grew to a point where
county election officials could not overcome the challenges brought on
by COVID-19 in time for in-person voting to begin on April 27.
Additionally, current modeling by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention and by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation
projects the COVID-19 pandemic in Georgia will peak around April 24,
only days before in-person voting was scheduled to begin. While
challenges will certainly remain on June 9, these additional three weeks
will give the Secretary of State’s office and counties time to shore up
contingency plans, find and train additional poll workers, and procure
supplies and equipment necessary to clean equipment and protect poll
workers.
Emergency authority is something that should be exercised carefully, and
moving an election should only take place in the rarest of
circumstances. While Secretary Raffensperger previously expressed
concern that he did not have the authority to move the primary election
again, the Governor’s extension of the state of emergency to a time that
includes almost every day of in-person voting for a May 19 election is
sufficient to allow the Secretary to exercise the emergency authority
given to him by O.C.G.A. § 21-2-50.1 and move the primary election to
June 9.
“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,” said
Raffensperger. “Just like our brave healthcare workers and first
responders, our county election officials and poll workers are
undertaking work critical to our democracy, and they will continue to do
this critical work with all the challenges that the current crisis has
brought forth. This postponement allows us to provide additional
protection and safety resources to county election officials, poll
workers, and voters without affecting the November election.”
The voter registration deadline for the June 9, 2020 election will be
May 11, 2020. Early voting will begin on May 18, 2020. Pursuant to
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-501, moving the primary election to June 9, 2020 will
move the primary runoff to August 11, 2020. Pushing back the primary to
June 9 gives Georgia election officials additional time to put in place
contingency plans to allow for safe and secure voting, but pushing back
the primary election any further could potentially have negative
consequences on preparation for the November 3, 2020 General Election.
Given existing deadlines to prepare and send ballots for the November
election, particularly for military voters, moving forward on June 9 is
the best way to ensure a successful election year in Georgia.
Absentee ballot applications for the upcoming primary election will
continue to be accepted and processed by counties even if the
application said May 19. Once county election officials properly verify
the signature on the application, the voter will be sent an absentee
ballot for the primary election now to be held on June 9.