WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th April, 2020) Virginia is delaying local and national elections because of the continuing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Governor Ralph Northam's office said in a statement.
"Governor Ralph Northam today invoked his statutory authority to postpone the May General and Special Elections by two weeks, from May 5, 2020 to May 19, 2020," the statement said on Friday. "The Governor also moved the June Primary elections from June 9, 2020 to June 23, 2020."
Northam sought to delay the elections for a full six months until November but although the state lower legislative chamber, the House of Delegates approved the measure, the upper chamber, the Senate did not.
The governor has directed the Virginia Department of Elections to provide the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance to General Registrars on best practices to maintain social distancing and sanitization standards at polling locations, his web site said.
