Ohio Postpones Election: ‘There Was No Way in Good Conscience We Could Order an Election’

TOPSHOT - County election workers hand out election delayed signs to put up at polling sta
MEGAN JELINGER/AFP via Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

Ohio postponed its March 17 primary at the last minute over mounting coronavirus concerns, Gov. Mike DeWine (R) affirmed Monday night.

DeWine announced on Monday that he was moving to postpone Tuesday’s election to June 2 out of an abundance of caution but admitted that he alone did not possess the authority to move the date. A Franklin County judge ultimately denied DeWine’s lawsuit, which moved its way up to the state’s Supreme Court.

“Early Tuesday morning, four judges on that court issued a unanimous, unsigned ruling declining to stop the state from shuttering polls,” Politico reported.

Ultimately, Health Director Dr. Amy Acton signed an order to close the polls, citing a health emergency.

DeWine said in a statement:

During this time when we face an unprecedented public health crisis, to conduct an election tomorrow would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at an unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus. As such, Health Director Dr. Amy Acton will order the polls closed as a health emergency. While the polls will be closed tomorrow, Secretary of State Frank LaRose will seek a remedy through the courts to extend voting options so that every voter who wants to vote will be granted that opportunity.

Ohio’s Secretary of State Frank LaRose affirmed that the Buckeye State’s polls are closed today and said during a Tuesday appearance on CNN that there is no way they could have proceeded with the election in “good conscience.”

Polls remain open in Illinois, Arizona, and Florida.

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