Several States Postpone Primary Elections Due to Coronavirus

There’s not much on the electoral calendar. Eight state primaries have been postponed (Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Ohio) to maintain social distancing. People crowding into church basements doesn’t exactly jibe with the WHO’s current public health recommendations.

• Wyoming Democrats canceled their in-person caucus, opting instead to go entirely vote-by-mail.
• Louisiana and Kentucky pushed their primaries past June 9, the current deadline set by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

And a showdown in Wisconsin pitched public health against functioning democracy. The state Democratic Party and DNC sued state election officials to extend the deadline for online voter registration and vote-by-mail applications beyond last Wednesday, hoping to give people more time to participate without congregating in physical space.

• The problem is that if Wisconsin’s local, state, and judicial elections don’t happen on schedule, that could throw a wrench in the transfer of executive power.
• On Friday, a federal judge ruled that Wisconsin needed to reopen online registration.

Looking ahead...some readers have asked me whether the entire election could be pushed off. Probably not.