People participate in early voting, Friday, March 13, 2020, in Cleveland. (AP)
Ohio health officials ordered the state’s polling stations closed for Tuesday’s Democratic primary, as the governor defied a court ruling and declared a health emergency over coronavirus.
“While the polls will be closed tomorrow, Secretary of State @FrankLaRose will seek a remedy through the courts to extend voting options so that every voter who wants to vote will be granted that opportunity” at a later date, Governor Mike DeWine said late Monday on Twitter.
As such, @DrAmyActon will order the polls closed as a health emergency. While the polls will be closed tomorrow, Secretary of State @FrankLaRose will seek a remedy through the courts to extend voting options so that every voter who wants to vote will be granted that opportunity.
— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 17, 2020
DeWine said conducting an election -- featuring Democratic presidential nomination frontrunner Joe Biden and rival Bernie Sanders -- under current conditions “would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at an unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus.”
