Pa. lawmakers vote to delay primary

By Staff and wire reports
Pennsylvania’s primary is going to be delayed by five weeks.
The state House and Senate passed a measure Wednesday moving the primary from April 28 to June 2.
Gov. Tom Wolf said he planned to sign the measure and that state lawmakers are hoping that moving the date of the primary will help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
As a result of the measure, Pennsylvania will join more than 10 states in delaying primaries.
It comes just a few months after Wolf and lawmakers approved legislation giving every voter the ability to mail in a ballot.
Wolf’s administration has steadfastly refused to publicly discuss projections for when it believes the surge of cases will peak.
Lawmakers said the time between April 28 and June 2 could be used to recruit poll workers and train them to take precautions related to COVID-19.
State Sen. Camera Bartolotta, R-Carroll Township, said the bill the Senate passed will give county election officials authority to close, relocate or consolidate polling places due to the potential shortage of available volunteers and venues. She said the measure allows volunteers to be drawn from anywhere in the county.
Previous law mandated that volunteers had to be from the same election district.
In addition, the bill would allow county election officials to begin processing absentee ballots earlier to ensure election results can be reported earlier, so long as the results are not published or officially recorded, Bartolotta said in a release, adding that counties will be able to continue to use previously printed ballots with the April 28 primary date.