Election Changes
Please bookmark our statewide 2020 primary calendar and our calendar of key downballot races, both of which we're updating continually as changes are finalized.
• Georgia: State House Speaker David Ralston has finally acknowledged why he's repeatedly asked Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to delay Georgia's May 19 presidential and downballot primaries: He doesn't want more Democrats to vote. In a new interview, Ralston said that Raffensperger's plan to mail absentee ballot applications to every active registered voter in the state would be "extremely devastating to Republicans and conservatives in Georgia" because it would "certainly drive up turnout."
Those remarks echo recent comments by Donald Trump, who said that proposals by congressional Democrats to safeguard elections would lead to "levels of voting that if you ever agreed to it you’d never have a Republican elected in this country again." Ralston has been hoping that a later primary would derail Raffensperger's ballot application efforts by allowing the state to rely chiefly on in-person voting. However, Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp, both Republicans, say they lack the power to postpone the election a second time (previously, Raffensperger delayed the March 24 presidential primary until May).
Ralston could of course pass legislation changing the date and manner of the election, and Republican leaders even have the power to reconvene the legislature for a special session. However, Ralston sent members of the House home several weeks ago and suspended the legislature's current session indefinitely.
• Idaho: Republican Secretary of State Lawerence Denney says he will send absentee ballot applications to every registered voter ahead of Idaho's May 19 downballot primaries. Earlier this week, Republican Gov. Brad Little said the primary would be conducted by mail but at the time did not announce any plans to make mail ballots more accessible.
• Illinois: Leaders of both chambers of Illinois' Democratic-run legislature say they are supportive of conducting the November general election by mail, an idea recently floated by Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Democratic state Sen. Julie Morrison says she plans to introduce legislation when lawmakers reconvene later this month that would send each voter an absentee ballot.
• Kentucky: Kentucky's Republican-run legislature has passed a bill that would allow the secretary of state and governor to jointly change the "manner" in which an election that takes place during a state of emergency can be held (under current law, only the "time" and "place" may be altered). Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams says the measure would give him added "flexibility," though he was vague on details, saying he'd like to prepare for an election with "limited in-person voting and expanded voting by mail."
Since Kentucky requires an excuse to cast an absentee ballot, any expansion to mail voting would likely have to involve a relaxation or waiver of that requirement. Adams did specify that he had "ruled out any move to a universal vote-by-mail system." It's not clear whether Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear will sign the legislation, a large bill mostly devoted to revenues that contains at least one provision Beshear previously vetoed as a stand-alone measure. Republicans could override a Beshear veto with a simple majority.
• Missouri: An organization representing county clerks in Missouri has asked the state's Republican-run legislature to let any voter cast an absentee ballot in an emergency like the present one. The clerks also want to allow voters to request absentee ballots online. Lawmakers are tentatively set to return next week for a two-day session but their top priority will be passing a budget.
• New Mexico: The New Mexico Supreme Court has set arguments for April 14 in a case brought by 27 county clerks who have asked that the state's June 2 presidential and downballot primaries be conducted by mail. Republicans oppose the request and say that the matter should be handled by the legislature, which they say could be called in for a special session. Democrats, however, oppose the idea, fearing that convening lawmakers and their staffs could exacerbate the spread of the coronavirus. The justices have specifically the parties and Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to opine on whether the legislature can meet electronically.
• South Carolina: South Carolina's Republican-run legislature will meet for just one day next week to address budgetary matters, meaning lawmakers are unlikely to take up any of the recommendations recently proposed by the state's Elections Commission to ensure the June 9 downballot primaries can run properly despite the threat of the coronavirus. The legislature may reconvene at a later date.
• South Dakota: Republican Gov. Kristi Noem has signed new legislation that allows local governments to delay any local elections scheduled for April 14 through May 26 to any Tuesday in June. The law does not apply to the state's June 2 presidential and downballot primaries, though local elections can be rescheduled for that date.