Connecticut governor says primaries moved to June

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont said Thursday that the state’s primaries have been moved to June 2, making Connecticut the sixth state to postpone its elections amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“In coordination with other states and our Secretary of the State, and in an effort to carry out Democracy while keeping public health a top priority, I have decided to move our presidential primary to June 2nd,” Lamont tweeted.

Connecticut’s Democratic and Republican primaries had been scheduled to take place on April 28. Over the past week, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Ohio also postponed their primaries, citing public health concerns over coronavirus.

Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill tweeted that the decision to move the primaries was made after consulting with Lamont, local election officials, bipartisan leadership in the General Assembly and colleagues in other states.

“Changing an election date is not something we do lightly — it’s a recognition of the severity & nature of this crisis, and more steps may be necessary to guarantee that every CT voter has an opportunity to cast their ballot,” Merrill tweeted.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Sunday recommended that no gatherings with 50 people or more take place for the next eight weeks to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. The next day, the White House advised Americans to avoid groups of more than 10 and urged older people to stay at home altogether in a set of new guidelines.

While other states postponed primaries, Arizona, Florida and Illinois moved ahead with theirs earlier this week. Before those elections Tuesday, state officials said they were taking precautions to protect voters and those working the elections amid the pandemic.

Former Vice President Joe Biden won all three states on Tuesday, which gives him a near-insurmountable lead over Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont for the Democratic presidential nomination. President Donald Trump on Tuesday won enough delegates to secure the Republican nomination.