Not Too Peachy Keen: Georgia Reschedules Presidential Primary Voting to May 19 Due to Coronavirus Concerns

#DatRona got us all @#$%-ed up.

Things in The Peach State aren’t too peachy keen when it comes to voting this spring.

On Saturday, Georgia state elections officials postponed next week’s presidential primary because of the coronavirus pandemic — becoming the second state forced to push back a vote in the race for the White House due to the outbreak of the deadly disease also known as COVID-19.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced the rescheduling from its initial March 24 date to May 19, which is the same date as the regular primary for a U.S. Senate seat and many other offices.

“In light of the public health emergency posed by COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, in-person voting presents increased risk to voters and poll workers,” Raffensperger said in a press release.

Citing that Georgia Governor Kemp has declared a public health emergency and President Trump has declared a national emergency, he added that “events are moving rapidly and my highest priority is protecting the health of our poll workers, their families, and the community at large.”

Early voting in the presidential primary ended a week early yesterday and will resume April 27.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, more than 279,000 Georgians cast ballots over the last two weeks of early voting for the presidential contest featuring Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders on the Democratic ballot and President Trump on the GOP ticket.

Secretary Raffensperger maintains that “all votes already cast in person and all absentee ballots will be counted and every Georgia voter that has not yet had a chance to cast a ballot in the March 24 elections will be able to do so on May 19, along with the elections already scheduled for that date.”

State Senator Nikema Williams, the Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia, is also in accordance with the decision.

“Our priority is to protect the health and safety of all Georgians and to ensure that as many Georgians as possible have an opportunity to vote,” she said. “Continued in-person voting could compromise both goals. Georgians who have already cast their vote in person or by mail for the March 24 primary will be able to vote again in the May 19 primary for the elections already scheduled for that date. If Georgians who have already cast their vote for the March 24 primary do not vote again in the May 19 primary, their votes for the presidential preference primary will still count.”