Because of concerns about the coronavirus outbreak, the Georgia Presidential Preference Primary originally set for March 24 has been postponed and will be held in conjunction with the General Primary on May 19.
As a precautionary measure, in-person early voting, which began in Georgia on March 2, has been canceled statewide, Voter Registrar Mary Hammontree said.
In addition to public safety, one big consideration was the risk the virus posed to poll workers, who are often older, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement.
“Events are moving rapidly,” he said, “and my highest priority is protecting the health of our poll workers, and the community at large.”
The decision to postpone the election was made after consulting with the state Democratic and Republican parties, Secretary of State Raffensperger said.
All votes already cast in person and all absentee ballots will be counted, he said, and every Georgia voter that has not yet had a chance to cast a ballot in the Presidential Preference Primary will still be able to do so on May 19, along with the elections already scheduled for that date.
For more information, call the Voter Registrar’s office at (706) 278-7183.