Ohio cancels voting for Tuesday’s primary

Washington, March 17 (IANS) The US state of Ohio has cancelled its presidential primary just hours before polls were set to open on Tuesday due to the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Taking to Twitter on Monday night, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said: “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.”

DeWine said Amy Action, director of the Ohio Department of Health, had signed the order to close all polling locations, and that Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose would seek a remedy through the courts to extend voting options to the state’s residents, reports Xinhua news agency.

Earlier on Monday, DeWine said he requested a court in the midwest state to grant delay of the state’s Tuesday primary to June, but a Franklin County judge ruled in the evening that it would be a “terrible precedent” for a judge to change the date and rule 12 hours before the election takes place, according to local media reports.

Ohio is one of the four states set to vote on Tuesday.

The other three — Arizona, Florida and Illinois — still plan to hold their primary elections on Tuesday.

A number of US states, including Louisiana, Georgia and Kentucky, have postponed their primary elections due to the outbreak.

Wyoming Democratic Party Chair Joe Barbuto announced last week that “the in-person portion” of their state’s caucuses was “suspended due to growing concern” over the virus.

President Donald Trump on Monday advised people not to gather in groups of more than 10, one day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended no gatherings with 50 people or more for the next eight weeks.

The number of infections in the US climbed to nearly 4,000 with more than 65 people dying of the disease.

–IANS

ksk/