Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Monday he wants to delay voting in person for the state’s primary, which was scheduled for Tuesday due to the spread of COVID-19.
“It is clear that tomorrow’s in-person voting does not conform, and cannot conform, with” federal guidelines on avoiding crowds, Mr. DeWine said. “We cannot conduct this election, in-person voting, for 13 hours … and conform to these guidelines.”
“It is therefore my recommendation … that voting be extended until June 2nd,” the governor said.
He said he wants absentee voting to be permitted between now and then.
“This was not a decision that was easily made,” Mr. DeWine said. “But it is, I believe, the right thing to do.”
He said he doesn’t have the power to unilaterally change the rules, but that there will be a lawsuit filed in Franklin County on Monday.
“We’d anticipate that a judge would hold a hearing, and we would then move on from there,” Mr. DeWine said.
Ohio voters were supposed to head to the polls on Tuesday, along with voters in three other states: Arizona, Florida and Illinois.
“In the meantime, voters would still be able to request absentee ballots. It will be up to a judge to decide if the election will be postponed,” the Republican governor said on Twitter.
Mr. DeWine fired off several more tweets in support of the move for his decision in order to protect the health of his constituency.
“Ultimately it is not fair to make people pick between their health and constitutional rights. Voters can vote by mail, and this will help us achieve the goal that people maintain their constitutional rights safely,” Mr. DeWine tweeted.
“I believe when we look back on this, we’ll be happy we did this. The votes that have already been cast will still be counted — and this recommendation would allow others to vote in the future,” he added.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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