Primary Politics

For those who missed the Biden-Sanders debate on Sunday, here is a link to video:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/15/app-news-section/watch-full-cnn-univision-democratic-debate-washington-dc/index.html

Reid J. Epstein, Jennifer Medina and Shane Goldmacher at The New York Times:

The Democratic primary race moves to Arizona, Florida and Illinois on Tuesday, with large numbers of delegates at stake for the party’s presidential nomination.

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who is ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders in polling in all three states, could build an all-but-insurmountable lead in delegates from Tuesday’s contests.

The polls begin to close in Florida at 7 p.m. Eastern; all polls will be closed there at 8 p.m. Polls close in Illinois at 8 p.m. Eastern, and in Arizona at 10 p.m. Eastern.

These are the first primaries to be held amid the heightened fear and restrictions triggered by the coronavirus. The Trump administration has recommended avoiding groups of more than 10 people, raising questions about turnout. But many voters have already cast ballots early or by mail, including many older voters at risk to the virus.

Zach Montellaro and Alice Miranda Ollstein at Politico:

Polls will not open for Ohio's primary election Tuesday after a late-night decision from Gov. Mike DeWine, effectively upheld by the state Supreme Court, to delay in-person voting until June in an effort to protect voters and poll workers from the coronavirus outbreak.

"During this time when we face an unprecedented public health crisis, to conduct an election tomorrow would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at an unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus," DeWine said in a statement.

The election was in limbo for several hours Monday night after a state judge in Columbus denied a last-minute attempt by the state to postpone the primary election. But DeWine responded with an unprecedented order closing physical polling places as the legal battle moved up to the Ohio Supreme Court. Early Tuesday morning, four judges on that court issued a unanimous, unsigned ruling declining to stop the state from shuttering polls. Three other judges on the court recused — two because they're currently running for reelection and the other because he is DeWine's son.

The ruling effectively overturns the Monday ruling from Franklin County Judge Richard Frye that the primary had to continue as scheduled. Frye said it was too late to move back the primary and that doing so would confuse and suppress voters.

Presidential primaries that have been postponed due to the #coronavirus...

LA: April 4 --> June 20
GA: March 24 --> May 19
KY: May 19 --> June 23
OH: March 17 --> June 2
MD: April 28 --> June 2

— Niles Edward Francis (@NilesGApol) March 17, 2020

Postponements reinforce what we discussed in class:  American election law is highly decentralized, with states -- and not the federal government -- as the main legal authorities in most cases.