Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) on Wednesday asked the state’s General Assembly to move the commonwealth’s May general election to Nov. 3 to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
The governor’s announcement comes the day after Wisconsin held its primary election despite a statewide stay-at-home order. Virginia joins a handful of other states in postponing their pending elections until after May.
“As other states have shown, conducting an election in the middle of this global pandemic would bring unprecedented challenges and the potential risk to voters and those who work at polling places across the commonwealth,” Northam said.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the state has reported 3,645 cases of the virus and 75 deaths. Virginia, like most states in the country, is under a stay-at-home order until June.
“Making these decisions now will help election officials prepare and implement the necessary changes,” Northam added. “This is about protecting the health and safety of Virginians during this pandemic and ensuring our citizens can make their voices heard in a safe, fair, and uniform manner.”
The governor’s order is pending approval from the state’s Democratically-controlled General Assembly. Northam is requesting all absentee ballots already cast to be discarded, and that the requirements and deadlines already in place for the November election be extended.
–Updated at 3:24 p.m.