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May 19 primary postponed to June 9
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Georgia’s statewide primary has been postponed until June 9.

The primary had been set for May 19 and includes several local and statewide races along with items originally on the ballot in March for the presidential preference primary in Dawson County. That election was set for March 24 before it was postponed to May 19 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the decision to postpone the election was made after Gov. Brian Kemp’s April 8 announcement that Georgia’s state of emergency would be extended through May 13.

“This decision allows our office and county election officials to continue to put in place contingency plans to ensure that voting can be safe and secure when in-person voting begins and prioritizes the health and safety of voters, county election officials, and poll workers,” Raffensperger said in a statement.

The voter registration deadline for the June 9 election will be May 1. Early voting will begin on May 18.

Absentee ballot applications already sent in will be processed, even if those applications included the May 19 election date. Once county elections offices verify signatures on those applications, voters will be sent an absentee ballot to be used in the June 9 election. 

Georgia is under a shelter-in-place order through April 30 and state of emergency through May 13. Several days of in-person early voting for the May 19 primary would have been held during the state of emergency, Raffensperger said.