Bill to Delay PA Primary to June 2, Approved, Heads to Governor for Signing

Pennsylvania will join nine other states and one territory in postponing its primary election in response to the coronavirus pandemic. 

State lawmakers approved a bill on Wednesday delaying primary elections until June 2. The primaries were originally scheduled for April 28, delaying the election by five weeks. 

The Bill now goes to Governor Tom Wolf’s desk which he is expected to sign, he said Wednesday during the daily health department COVID-19 news briefing. 

The measure not only changes the primary date but includes other election-related changes, including allowing polling places to be consolidated. It also permits polls to be located in places that serve alcoholic beverages provided voting not take place in the same room where those beverages are served. And it allows county elections officials to begin processing mail-in and absentee ballots at 7 a.m. on Election Day, state officials said. 

Both the House (198-0) and Senate (50-0) approved the measure with no one voting against the bill, according to publicly available records.  

Pennsylvanian’s can vote by mail this election cycle by requesting to do so and by applying for a mail-in ballot here. 

Other states that postponing their primaries due to the COVID-19 outbreak include Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,Ohio, Rhode Island, and Puerto Rico, according to published news accounts.