Next week's Democratic primaries to proceed despite coronavirus, Louisiana delay

[rooster59]

Next week's Democratic primaries to proceed despite coronavirus, Louisiana delay

By James Oliphant

 

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders speaks about coronavirus in Burlington, Vermont, U.S. March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Caleb Kenna

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Louisiana on Friday became the first U.S. state to postpone its presidential nominating contest because of the coronavirus pandemic, while four states holding their primaries next week said those elections would go forward as planned.

 

The Southern state said it would reschedule voting in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election because of the outbreak.

 

Officials there said they would postpone their scheduled April 4 primary to June 20 "to best protect the health and safety of Louisiana voters and voting officials," Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin said at a news conference.

 

The four states holding their primaries on Tuesday - Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio - said in a joint statement they would proceed with their contests while taking steps to ensure public safety.

 

"Americans have participated in elections during challenging times in the past, and, based on the best information we have from public health officials, we are confident that voters in our states can safely and securely cast their ballots in this election, and that otherwise healthy poll workers can and should carry out their patriotic duties on Tuesday," election officials from the four states said.

 

"We're definitely voting. They voted during the Civil War. We're gonna vote," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters on Friday.

 

Louisiana's move poses a problem for the Democratic Party, which mandates all nominating contests must be held by early June or states risk losing delegates to the party convention in July.

 

Kristen Clarke, the president of the voting rights group Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, said the state should have pursued other options, like expanding early and absentee voting.

 

"The chose the most extreme, drastic option, Clarke said.

 

Democratic front-runner Joe Biden's campaign urged states to hold votes as scheduled.

 

"As election officials working with public health officials are demonstrating throughout the country, our elections can be conducted safely in consultation with public health officials," said Kate Bedingfield, Biden's deputy campaign manager.

 

OFF THE TRAIL

 

Biden and Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, both seeking to challenge Republican President Donald Trump, have taken themselves off the campaign trail for the time being while searching for new, creative ways to connect with voters.

 

Biden's attempt to connect with voters via a virtual town hall on Friday was plagued by early technical glitches that delayed its start and made most of his early remarks impossible to understand. The event provided the first glimpse into the challenges of running a virtual campaign.

 

He used his opening remarks to discuss his plan for tackling the coronavirus crisis and pleading for citizens to listen to public health officials and wash their hands.

 

He then turned to virtual attendees for questions and comments. The first person said, "Mr. Biden's speech was garbled the entire time."

 

The coronavirus has so far killed at least 40 people and sickened more than 1,600 across the United States, forcing schools to close, professional sports leagues to suspend or end their seasons, and many employees to work from home.

 

On Thursday, both Biden and Sanders called for a more aggressive response from Trump and the U.S. government.

 

Biden's Friday town hall is not entirely unprecedented. During Trump's impeachment trial in January, when senators running for president were forced to remain in Washington, candidates Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren held telephone events. Both have since left the race.

 

Biden has won over much of the Democratic establishment while stringing together wins in such states as Michigan, Texas and North Carolina, giving him a commanding edge in the contest over Sanders.

 

The four Tuesday contests could put Biden on an unstoppable path toward nomination at the party's convention.

 

Biden and Sanders will participate in a nationally televised debate on Sunday at CNN in Washington, held without a studio audience out of health concerns, allowing them a final chance to address voters in those states.

 

Even without traditional rallies, Biden has financial resources at his disposal. With new contributions pouring in, Biden's campaign is running TV ads in Florida, Illinois and Ohio. The campaign has ramped up spending on Facebook ads.

 

He also is backed by a super PAC - an independent political action committee that may raise unlimited sums of money - called Unite the Country. Another leading Democratic outside group, Priorities USA Action, said this week it would defend Biden against Trump's attacks, with the expectation he will be the nominee.

 

(Reporting by James Oliphant, Amanda Becker, Ginger Gibson, Jarrett Renshaw and Joey Roulette; Editing by Scott Malone, Howard Goller, Rosalba O'Brien, Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-03-14

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[GeorgeCross]

meanwhile the adults in the room (the british) cancelled elections for a year without a wave of screaming, mass panic, cries of dictatorship or other such 'dramas'..

 

 

[Tug]

Good let’s get that nominee chosen then start taking down that lying troll piece by piece and get some competent leadership 

[J Town]

5 hours ago, Tug said:

Good let’s get that nominee chosen then start taking down that lying troll piece by piece and get some competent leadership 

That won't be Biden. As much as I sincerely hope I'm wrong, I see Trump putting Joe down like "Old Yeller."

[welovesundaysatspace]

16 minutes ago, J Town said:

That won't be Biden. As much as I sincerely hope I'm wrong, I see Trump putting Joe down like "Old Yeller."

It’s more likely he and the other gangsters around him will abuse Corona to keep him in power, like canceling the election or declaring it void. 

[lannarebirth]

My primary is in 9 weeks. All voting is done by mail. Why don't they just postpone these primaries 6-8 weeks in order to produce some mail in ballots?

[J Town]

45 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

My primary is in 9 weeks. All voting is done by mail. Why don't they just postpone these primaries 6-8 weeks in order to produce some mail in ballots?

Because that would provide a verifiable history resulting in an honest election. FAR too many discrepancies being reported in the primaries so far. Exit polls and primary numbers are NOT adding up.

Edited March 15, 2020 by J Town

[Chiphigh]

1 hour ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

It’s more likely he and the other gangsters around him will abuse Corona to keep him in power, like canceling the election or declaring it void. 

Of all the trump hating irrational statements on this forum, this is one of the most ridiculous ignorant posts I have seen to date. I'm surprised you didn't weave in some putin or Russian influence blather to top it off. 

 

Unbelievable. 

[Jingthing]

1 hour ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

It’s more likely he and the other gangsters around him will abuse Corona to keep him in power, like canceling the election or declaring it void. 

Entirely possible. If he isn't reelected, he likely goes to prison. He's very motivated and we already know he doesn't care one bit about following the law. Of course we knew that for decades before he was sort of elected.

[Chiphigh]

Just now, Jingthing said:

Entirely possible. If he isn't reelected, he likely goes to prison. He's very motivated and we already know he doesn't care one bit about following the law. Of course we knew that for decades before he was sort of elected.

There is a tremendous amount of irrational statements in this post. It is astounding to see the level of vitriol just because you lost an election, while still trying to pretend that the election was not legitimate to feed a false narrative. 

 

If he wins reelection, will you still be holding on to the same ridiculous amount of hatred and outrage? 

[J Town]

1 minute ago, Chiphigh said:

If he wins reelection, will you still be holding on to the same ridiculous amount of hatred and outrage? 

It's not ridiculous to be outraged at what Trump has been doing. His supporters are unshakable regardless of facts. His base never fluctuates no matter what he does or doesn't do. Facts are Trump supporter Kryptonite, so they ignore them. This is not normal behavior. This is cult behavior.

[Chiphigh]

9 minutes ago, J Town said:

It's not ridiculous to be outraged at what Trump has been doing. His supporters are unshakable regardless of facts. His base never fluctuates no matter what he does or doesn't do. Facts are Trump supporter Kryptonite, so they ignore them. This is not normal behavior. This is cult behavior.

So the irrational emotional hatred and outrage are going to be the standard for another 4 years? Sounds exhausting and unnecessary but if your virtue signaling won't allow you to get over it, then it will be a long 4 years. 

 

And what precisely is the source of your outrage? Or is it just a series of policy matters? 

 

 

[J Town]

11 minutes ago, Chiphigh said:

So the irrational emotional hatred and outrage are going to be the standard for another 4 years? Sounds exhausting and unnecessary but if your virtue signaling won't allow you to get over it, then it will be a long 4 years. 

 

And what precisely is the source of your outrage? Or is it just a series of policy matters?

It's only irrational until you start admitting the facts.

[Chiphigh]

38 minutes ago, J Town said:

It's only irrational until you start admitting the facts.

What facts are you referring to precisely? 

[Chiphigh]

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

Indeed. 

And it's yet another 45 movement gaslighting deflection. 

Their toxic extremist right wing xenophobic nationalist movement thrives on whipping up hatred towards a variety of others. He's never been a president of all Americans. Only his base. 

You can't possibly so vain to be trying to put everyone in a ridiculous generalized opinion of others just because they don't agree with your opinion..... Oh wait, you are. 

[Crazy Alex]

11 hours ago, Tug said:

Good let’s get that nominee chosen then start taking down that lying troll piece by piece and get some competent leadership 

Yeah, like Joe Biden, who's in the pocket of big banks and has never been right about anything in his life?

[Crazy Alex]

5 hours ago, lannarebirth said:

My primary is in 9 weeks. All voting is done by mail. Why don't they just postpone these primaries 6-8 weeks in order to produce some mail in ballots?

Oh please.... the Democrat party couldn't even manage a simple caucus vote in a small state without completely screwing it up. How could they possibly manage something this complex?????

[Rimmer]

Off topic baiting post removed

[cdnvic]

We know politics can be polarising but stop the personal attacks and petty bickering.

[lannarebirth]

2 hours ago, Crazy Alex said:

Oh please.... the Democrat party couldn't even manage a simple caucus vote in a small state without completely screwing it up. How could they possibly manage something this complex?????

Mail in voting is the opposite of complex. The system in place now, where people have to show up in very specific polling places and wait hours is overly complex. Not to mention, states with mail in voting have much higher rates of voter participation.