There are multiple presidential primary elections taking place around the country Tuesday as election season chugs forward amid the coronavirus pandemic. Think of it as the « Super Tuesday » of…
There are multiple presidential primary elections taking place around the country Tuesday as election season chugs forward amid the coronavirus pandemic. Think of it as the « Super Tuesday » of postponed elections.
The elections also come as protests have engulfed the nation after the death of George Floyd in police custody. Former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin was charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter after bystander video showed him kneeling on Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes.
Here are the states hosting primary elections, what you need to know and the latest regarding the widespread protests affecting polling places:
Voters in seven states plus the District of Columbia will cast ballots in presidential primary elections.
Originally scheduled to host primaries on Tuesday were:
Meanwhile, the states that postponed their elections to Tuesday due to COVID-19 crisis are:
While there are still presidential primaries on the calendar, former Vice President Joe Biden is the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee. All other candidates have exited the race.
However, in some states former Democratic primary contenders will still appear on the ballot, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. After ending his campaign, Sanders said he’s planned to stay on the ballot in the remaining primary states to earn delegates. He and Biden reached a deal that while Sanders-won delegates will shift to Biden, their delegate slots will be filled by Sanders supporters.
Elections 2020 Voter Guide from USA TODAY
Additionally, President Donald Trump already has the delegates to clinch the Republican nomination. Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, the last Republican who challenged Trump in the Republican primary, ended his longshot bid in March.
Tuesday’s primaries are a test run of several state’s mail-in voting systems and offer a glimpse at how voting might look on Election Day, which is Nov. 3.
One reason: Biden is not technically the nominee until a majority of delegates have voted to make it so at the Democratic convention.
Some states, like Connecticut and New York, allow primaries to be canceled if there is only one candidate remaining on the ballot. However, New York tried this, and a federal judge in Manhattan ruled the state must hold its primary, which is on June 23.
Additionally, while the presidential primaries are the highest-ranking contest in which citizens can vote in on Tuesday, there are down-ballot primaries for House and Senate seats or runoffs, as well.
Sanders dropped out April 8. That’s after Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, along with other states, all postponed their primaries in mid- or late March.
