Louisiana‘s secretary of state said Friday he is moving his state’s primary from next month to June over concerns related to the coronavirus outbreak.
Louisiana is the first state to make such a decision. Its April 4 primary will now take place on June 20, Kyle Ardoin said in a press conference.
“We can pull off elections after disasters or issues like this but we have to have more time than 30 or 60 days,” he said Friday.
State officials have said they want to keep poll workers—most of whom are elderly—safe during the outbreak.
Kate Bedingfield, deputy campaign manager to former Vice President Joe Biden, said in a statement Friday that voters should go to the polls on Tuesday only if they are not exhibiting symptoms and have not been exposed to the virus.
“If voters are members of an at-risk population, exhibiting symptoms, or have been exposed to a diagnosed case of COVID-19, we encourage them to explore absentee ballots and vote by mail options,” she said in a statement.