Gov. Andrew Cuomo postponed New York's presidential primary from April to June to keep people from gathering — even to vote — amid of the state's coronavirus outbreak.
Cuomo said during his daily coronavirus press briefing he was delaying the state's presidential primary from April 28 to June 23, when the state plans to hold legislative congressional and local party primaries.
"I don't think it's wise to be bringing people to one location to vote," the Democrat said.
New York joins over a dozen states that have delayed some elections. A smaller group including Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island, Indiana, and Kentucky have also postponed their presidential primaries.
The governor's decision came as election commissioners across New York warned they were "risking" their health and safety to meet impending deadlines for testing machines and preparing ballots ahead of the April 28 date.
Local election boards have said they were facing shortages of polling places and inspectors and had called on legislative leaders and Cuomo to allow for increased use of absentee balloting for quarantined individuals and greater flexibility for elections officials to run June elections.
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