Delaware Gov. John Carney (D) postponed the state’s April 28 primary to June 2 in a modification to his state of emergency declaration.
“The additional protections in this order are essential to help support Delawareans — especially our most vulnerable neighbors — as this situation evolves,” he said in a statement. “This is an extremely challenging economic situation for many of our neighbors, and we need to do what we can to support them.”
In the same order, he barred landlords from evicting tenants, or charging late fees and interest, and prohibited utility providers from cutting off service or charging late fees. He also pushed local school board elections from May 12 to June 16.
On Monday, Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo (D) also delayed her state’s primary.
Last week, the Board of Elections requested that the presidential primary election be postponed from April 28 to June 2 and that the election take place primarily by mail ballot. I am following the advice of the Board of Elections, and will sign an executive order to do this.
— Gina Raimondo (@GovRaimondo) March 23, 2020
Per the Providence Journal, Raimonodo said over the weekend that the Army Corps of Engineers will deploy Monday to help get local hospitals up to “surge capacity.”
Rhode Island currently has 83 cases of coronavirus, per the state’s department of health. Delaware has 104.
Rhode Island and Delaware join Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, Louisiana, Indiana, Georgia and Connecticut in delaying their primaries in the hope that the coronavirus outbreak will abate in the meantime.
