Georgia becomes second state to postpone primary over coronavirus

(Image credit: JOHN AMIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Georgia followed in Louisiana's footsteps Saturday, becoming the second state to postpone its presidential primary voting scheduled for next week over fears of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. In-person early voting was halted, and the election has been pushed until May 19 when the state is holding primaries for several other offices, including a U.S. Senate seat.

One of the main concerns of Georgia officials was the health and safety of the state's poll workers, who tend to be older and are therefore presumably at greater risk from the virus. "Events are moving rapidly and my highest priority is protecting the health of our poll workers, and the community at large," Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement Saturday.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.