COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio’s top health official will order the polls closed over concerns about the coronavirus, hours before voters were supposed begin casting ballots in the state’s presidential primary, the governor said late Monday.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced the decision late Monday after a judge had ruled against his request that in-person voting be delayed because crowds at polling places Tuesday could put people at unacceptable risk of catching and spreading the virus.
“During this time when we face an unprecedented public health crisis, to conduct an election tomorrow would would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at a unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus,” he said in a statement. “As such, Health Director Dr. Amy Acton will order the polls closed as a health emergency.”
He added that Secretary of State Frank LaRose would try to find a way to “extend voting options” through the courts.
LaRose, late Monday, directed all 88 Ohio county boards of elections to comply with Dr. Acton’s order, culminating in an in-person election June 2.
Earlier, Judge Richard Frye ruled against a motion backed by DeWine and LaRose, who wanted to push in-person voting back to June 2 to avoid crowds at polling places.
The 11th hour maneuvering was causing confusion: Some candidates had already brought suits aimed at keeping the election on track, but boards of elections had begun alerting poll workers they could stay home before Frye ruled.
“I’m very reluctant to undermine (state election law) and say, well, we’ll have a judge in Columbus rewrite the election code, reset the election for some arbitrary date in the future and upset the apple cart in a terrible precedent,” Frye said during a hearing on the request.
Frye suggested DeWine should have used his power to reconvene the Legislature to change the law instead.
Ohio Supreme Court spokesman Ed Miller said that court was watching late Monday for a possible appeal.
“There is a lot of confusion,” said Aaron Sellers, a spokesman for the Franklin County Board of Elections in Columbus.
Neither DeWine nor LaRose, both Republicans, has the power to postpone an election on his own under standing Ohio law.
They lamented Frye’s ruling in a statement, underscoring that they had acted out of concern for older voters’ health and federal guidelines that have recommended against gatherings of groups of 50 or more.
“The only thing more important than a free and fair election is the health and safety of Ohioans,” the statement read. “Logistically, under these extraordinary circumstances, it simply isn’t possible to hold an election tomorrow that will be considered legitimate by Ohioans. They mustn’t be forced to choose between their health and exercising their constitutional rights.”
State officials had also said they had been getting calls from concerned voters and poll workers.
Most people who come down with COVID-19 have relatively mild symptoms, but it can be deadly for some, especially the elderly and those with underlying health problems. Most people infected with the virus recover in a matter of weeks.
Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden, the former vice president, and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont are competing for 136 delegates in Ohio, which also has primaries in congressional and and state legislative races, as well as local-issue votes to be decided.
Frye praised that move, and other efforts by LaRose, during Monday’s hearing — but he said the decision ultimately sits with state lawmakers.
“I’m glad the secretary of state’s anxious about the public health of the voters, but I think he’s done everything that he thought that was appropriate and within his authority,” the judge said.
A Democratic candidate in a contested congressional primary expressed support for the move, saying by email that public health must come first.
Kate Schroder, who is seeking the nomination to challenge 12-term Republican Rep. Steve Chabot in Ohio’s 1st Congressional District, in the Cincinnati area, called it an “unexpected challenge” but “nothing compared to the importance of community safety and minimizing lives lost.”
LaRose on Sunday had issued a directive that required all 88 county boards of elections to offer a curbside voting option Tuesday to concerned voters and to accept absentee ballots through most of Election Day.
A coalition of voting rights groups said short staffing at county boards, slow postal delivery times and the number of steps needed for a voter to request an absentee ballot were making it “all but impossible” for voters to meet the absentee ballot deadline. Absentee ballot voting has been underway for a month.
They reported that 2,603 combined absentee ballots were requested from Montgomery, Summit and Lucas counties, three of the state’s largest, and only 29 had been returned and designated countable.
A Democrat exploring a run for governor in 2022 disagreed with efforts to delay the primary, saying although he believed DeWine was acting for public health, he is concerned about calling off scheduled voting with so little notice.
“I worry that the precedent could haunt future elections by people who are not motivated by the same public good,” Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said in an email.
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Sewell reported from Cincinnati.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Election postponed, graduations canceled over virus in Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio marked St. Patrick’s Day on Tuesday with no parades and no primary election over fears of the coronavirus. Health Director Dr. Amy Acton issued an order late Monday shutting down polls Tuesday after a judge refused to stop the election. A look at the latest developments in Ohio:
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CASES
As of Monday, there were 50 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Ohio, including 14 hospitalizations, with patients ranging from ages 14 to 86. There have been no reported deaths in the state.
For most people, the virus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death. The vast majority of people recover.
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ELECTIONS
Late Monday, Ohio Health Director Dr. Amy Acton ordered polls closed over concerns about the coronavirus, hours before voters were supposed begin casting ballots in the state’s presidential primary. Gov. Mike DeWine said the decision was necessary during an unprecedented health crisis. Secretary of State Frank LaRose directed all 88 Ohio county boards of elections to comply with Dr. Acton’s order, culminating in an in-person election June 2.
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COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
Youngstown State University and Capital University in Columbus were among those announcing the cancellation of May commencement ceremonies, saying they couldn’t comply with restrictions severely limiting the size of gatherings.
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JOBS
With numerous businesses ordered temporarily closed, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services said it had received 48,640 unemployment insurance benefit applications online in just two days this week, compared to typical filings of a few hundred. The Ohio Restaurant Association says Ohio has about 22,500 food service locations with 585,000 total employees. It urged people to consider takeout and pickup options.
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ST. PATRICK’S DAY
Multiple St. Patrick’s Day parades were canceled in the past few days, including Tuesday in Columbus, one of the few Ohio cities that holds the parade on the holiday itself.
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RELIGION
Ohio’s Roman Catholic bishops suspended all publicly celebrated Masses through Easter on April 12, extending an earlier suspension of services through Palm Sunday one week earlier.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Health chief halts Ohio primary; 3 other states forge ahead
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio called off its presidential primary just hours before polls were set to open there and in three other states, an 11th-hour decision the governor said was necessary to prevent further fueling the coronavirus pandemic that has paralyzed the nation.
Health Director Amy Acton declared a health emergency that would prevent the polls from opening out of fear of exposing voters and volunteer poll workers — many of them elderly — to the virus. Arizona, Florida and Illinois were proceeding with their presidential primaries.
Gov. Mike DeWine had failed to get a judge to halt the primary Monday evening, even though the governor contended the election results wouldn’t be viewed as legitimate in light of the pandemic.
“To conduct an election tomorrow would would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at a unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus,” he said.
It wasn’t clear what would happen, but DeWine said officials were considering how to give voters an opportunity to cast their ballots.
DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose had supported a lawsuit by voters seeking a delay in the primary until June 2, in the hope that the outbreak subsides by then. Ohio Judge Richard Frye ruled against the motion Monday night, saying it was not his place and would set a terrible precedent.
LaRose, late Monday, directed all 88 Ohio county boards of elections to comply with Acton’s order to close polls, culminating in an in-person election June 2.
Officials in Arizona, Florida and Illinois felt they had done enough to ensure the safety of voters, even as concerns mounted that there will not be enough poll workers in some precincts and voters will be confused after polling places in nursing homes were moved to other locations.
Elsewhere, Georgia, Kentucky and Louisiana have postponed their scheduled primaries.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said late Monday the state believes the election can proceed safely. Arizona’s governor and secretary of state also said Monday they did not want to postpone the election.
In Illinois, elections board spokesman Matt Dietrich said in a statement that the state’s primary will move forward. He said Gov. J.B. Pritzker does not have the power to order the date moved and does not intend to ask a court to do so.
“We believe that by following guidance from our state and federal health professionals, voters can vote safely,” Dietrich said.
That assurance did not appear to satisfy volunteer poll workers, many of whom are senior citizens and have decided to bail out on staffing their precincts.
Chicago election officials on Monday said they had received a “tsumani” of cancellations from planned poll workers, particularly those who are older and considered at a higher risk of facing serious health consequences if they contract the virus. They begged healthy people to volunteer to work at polling sites.
Marisel Hernandez, chair of the city’s election commission, said people can be sworn in to act as election judges at polling locations on Tuesday. She also asked people to be patient at the polls, warning that it’s possible for locations to open late or still be setting up as voters arrive early Tuesday morning.
“Please, please heed our call and volunteer,” she said. “Help us.”
Pressed on whether they have asked the governor to delay the state’s primary, Chicago elections commission spokesman Jim Allen said election officials statewide were in an impossible position.
“We are under orders to conduct an election, end of story, period,” Allen said. “If we say anything now to raise doubts, we stand accused of violating the law, undermining turnout and discouraging voters.
“This is the biggest test that any election jurisdiction has faced in the last hundred years, period,” Allen said.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia. The vast majority of people recover. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
In Arizona, Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said she will not make an effort to delay the election. She said she came to the decision in consultation with county election officials, health authorities and the Democratic Party.
“What it all comes down to is that we have no guarantee that there will be a safer time to hold this election in the future,” Hobbs said during a news conference in Phoenix alongside Republican Gov. Doug Ducey and other state officials.
Turnout at polling places is already expected to be light Tuesday as only the Democrats have a contested presidential primary, and that is down to two contenders: Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders. Add that the states were pushing early voting and vote-by-mail even before the coronavirus outbreak, and fewer voters are expected to appear Tuesday at their neighborhood precinct.
Meanwhile, the states have been taking steps to limit voter and poll worker exposure to the coronavirus.
In Florida and Arizona, the states moved polling places located in nursing homes and assisted living facilities to avoid exposing the residents to outsiders. For some counties like Volusia, Florida, and Maricopa, Arizona — by far that state’s largest — that became a benefit. The counties combined those polling places with others nearby, meaning they needed fewer workers.
DeSantis said he is allowing the Florida election to proceed unabated because “there is no need to panic” and can be done safely. He said most voters will only be in the polling place for a few minutes with only the presidential race on the ballot in most Florida cities.
“We can do it in a way that protects people,” DeSantis said.
Broward County, Florida, is stocking its 421 polling locations with extra supplies, including 4,000 rolls of paper towels, gloves and more than 400 bars of soap.
The states have also been pushing early voting and voting by mail as a way to curtail any crowds at the polls. Chicago election officials say the effort paid off with 118,000 voters casting ballots in the mail in the city, which is an all-time record, according to the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
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The Associated Press receives support for health and science coverage from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
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Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
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Spencer reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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Associated Press writers Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale, Sophia Tareen in Chicago, John O’Connor in Springfield, Illinois, Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix and Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta contributed to this report.