The June 9 congressional primaries will be postponed by two weeks, and the May municipal elections could be moved to November, Virginia’s governor said Wednesday.
Holding the elections as scheduled would put voters’ and election officials’ health at risk during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ralph Northam said at a news conference in Richmond.
He is using his executive power to postpone the June primaries. Chapter 24.2 Section 603.1 of the state code says he can issue an executive order to postpone primaries during a state of emergency, which he declared on March 12. The election will now be held on June 23, with the deadline to request an absentee ballot online or by mail moving to June 16.
But Northam doesn’t have the power to move May city elections. So he’s asking the General Assembly to postpone them to November. Lawmakers could vote on the proposal when they come back to Richmond on April 22 to consider any bills vetoed by the governor and any budget amendments. The change will likely be made through an amendment to the current fiscal year’s budget.
Chesapeake, Norfolk, Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg all have city council, school board or mayor elections in May. If the General Assembly moves them to November, all absentee ballots already cast will be discarded, and Virginians will have to vote again in November.
Elected officials whose terms expire on June 30 will stay in office until their successors are sworn in.
“We have wrestled with our options and none of them are ideal or perfect,” Northam said. “No one should have to choose between protecting their health or casting a ballot.”
The number of confirmed cases in Virginia reached 3,645 on Wednesday, with 615 people hospitalized. The state Department of Health reported 75 people have died after contracting the virus.
Local election officials in Virginia have been calling for an all vote-by-mail system for May and June elections and asking for guidance on how to proceed safely with election since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Virginia.
In Chesapeake, the voter registrar’s office has seen a large increase in the number of residents requesting absentee ballots, city registrar Mary Lynn Pinkerman said. The city, which started absentee voting March 20, has so far mailed out 4,600 absentee ballots, higher than a normal May election year when they usually send out between 500 and 1,000 absentees, Pinkerman said.
She said her office has been asking for guidance for a few weeks now and she’s concerned because even with the governor’s announcement Wednesday, “everything is still up in the air.” She said her office got an email from the state Department of Elections regarding the potential push of the election 10 minutes before the governor’s announcement.
“We haven’t had really any instructions and this is putting it off another two weeks,” Pinkerman said.
Moving local elections from May to November has been a topic of heated discussion before in Chesapeake. As recently as last summer, council members voted 6-3 against pushing the date. Those who opposed the change worried that national discussions would drown out local issues in November. Supporters said the elections should be moved to the fall because that’s when people are accustomed to voting and there’s higher turnout.
The coronavirus has already left candidates like Len Myers, who’s running for mayor in Chesapeake, to retool their campaigns as knocking on doors and holding events are no longer viable options.
Now, if the election gets pushed, Myers, a consumer rights attorney, knows there will be “tremendous overshadowing” with the presidential election and he’ll have to redouble efforts to get his name out.
In Norfolk, Mayor Kenny Alexander is running unopposed for his second term. He said it was a little late to postpone the local elections, especially since campaigns and localities have spent money encouraging people to vote by mail in May.
He said Northam is squandering an opportunity to push no-excuse absentee voting and other measures to expand access to the ballot.
“Use this May election and we could see how this goes for future voting-at-home when there’s a crisis. Use it as a test. Use it as an opportunity.”
The Department of Elections has encouraged people to request an absentee ballot. Lawmakers voted this year to eliminate the requirement that an excuse be given when voting absentee, and Northam could recommend an emergency clause to make that change go into effect immediately, rather than on July 1.
Northam has until Saturday to make any recommendations to changes on bills, including on a slew of legislation Democrats proposed to broaden voter access.
Alexander said he’s concerned that turnout for November will be even higher than usual with additional local races on the ballot — as well as the presidential candidates — and that there will likely still be some virus-related concerns, even if the general quarantine measures in place now have been lifted. Northam’s stay-at-home order ends June 10, though it could be extended or lifted earlier depending on the course of the pandemic.
“The governor and I have not talked about this,” Alexander said. “I would love to understand his rationale. Because, short of immunization, what’s going to change things for the November election?”
GOP minority leader Todd Gilbert, D-Shenandoah, said pushing the June primaries by two weeks was a “common-sense precaution,” but said he hoped to work with the governor’s office to consider holding the May elections at the same time as the June 23 primaries.
“Delay is prudent, but pushing these elections back by six months may be unnecessary if Virginia is able to hold elections safely on June 23,” he said in a statement posted to Twitter.
Ben Loyola, a Republican candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, called the delay in June a wise move.
“We have to do everything possible to keep the health and well being of all the citizens and all the constituents,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Scott Taylor, a former congressman for the 2nd District running against Loyola, said in a statement Taylor’s campaign was “prepared for anything.”
“Our broad base of support was ready to come out to nominate Scott on June 9,” she said. “They’ll be ready to play by the rules and come out on June 23 to do the same thing.”
Northam’s announcement came a day after Wisconsin held its Democratic presidential primary. News outlets reported long lines, a limited number of open polling places and complaints of absentee ballots that never came in the mail.
Staff writers Gordon Rago and Ryan Murphy contributed to this report.
Marie Albiges, 757-247-4962, malbiges@dailypress.com
