CHAOS REIGNS ON ELECTION EVE
Less than nine hours before the polls are scheduled to open for Ohio’s 2020 partisan primary election, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has announced that his health director, Amy Acton, will sign an order directing the state’s polling locations not to open because of a health emergency.
DeWine’s office has issued the following statement in the last hour:
"During this time when we face an unprecedented public health cris, to conduct an election tomorrow would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at an unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus. As such, Health Director Dr. Amy Acton will order the polls closed as a health emergency. While the polls will be closed tomorrow, Secretary of State Frank LaRose will seek a remedy through the courts to extend voting options so that every voter who wants to vote will be granted that opportunity.”
The announcement comes as state officials scramble to avert an otherwise certain logistical nightmare following a dizzying back and forth that began when DeWine made a late decision to close the polls by seeking a court order late Monday afternoon. A Franklin County Common Pleas judge, Richard Frye, denied the request, his ruling coming after many poll workers around the state had been told the election was postponed, with some being notified hours later that the election was still on.
This story will be updated as developments occur.
