Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez is calling on states with upcoming presidential primaries to use vote-by-mail and other measures to make it safe for people to vote because of the coronavirus outbreak.
In a lengthy statement issued as three state held primaries Tuesday, Perez was critical of Ohio officials for postponing their primary on the eve of voting. Ohio Gov. Mike Dewine made the call Monday night, while officials in Arizona, Florida and Illinois decided to go ahead with in-person voting on Tuesday. Perez did not name DeWine, a Republican, but said the delay “has only bred more chaos and confusion.”
Perez said states that already have mail voting should “proactively mail ballots to registered voters, where feasible, and should count all ballots … postmarked by the date of the primary.”
He also suggested expanding days and hours of early, in person voting and expanding absentee voting to all registered voters. Some state laws allow absentee voting for a limited number of reasons.
Georgia, Maryland, Louisiana, Ohio and Kentucky have postponed upcoming primaries.
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