EDITORIAL: Changing primary a necessary move

Published 11:15 am Thursday, March 19, 2020

Georgians who have not already voted will wait until May 19 to have their say in the presidential preference primary after the secretary of state announced last weekend that the election will be pushed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

The decision has bipartisan support, with the Democratic Party of Georgia and voting rights advocacy groups speaking out in favor of postponing the primary for safety reasons.

Moving the primary to the same date as the regular primary for the U.S. Senate race and other state offices just makes sense given the uncertain circumstances we are facing. 

While naysayers argue that the move is unnecessary, consider this: The average age for a poll worker is 70 years old, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger noted in the recent announcement that some elections officials had begun seeing poll workers quit out of fear of contracting coronavirus. Keep in mind that many of these workers fit into the category at higher risk during the COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Centers for Disease Control. 

This move is not just about the safety of the voters, it is also about keeping these dedicated poll workers safe as well. 

With the move, Georgia became just the second state to delay its presidential primary, behind only Louisiana. 

We get that a lot of time and preparation has gone into this election, given the new voting machines and efforts to ensure that they work as planned. The secretary of state said poll workers have been training for months on the ins-and-outs of the new voting system and should not be “undervalued.” Now, state efforts are shifting to expanding absentee balloting in lieu of in-person voting because we simply have no way of knowing how long this pandemic will continue.

While this is an inconvenience, we need to keep in mind that the days and weeks ahead will likely involve inconveniences for all of us and we need to accept it.

Schools are closed, large gathering are cancelled, and so are sports events at all levels. From what we know about this virus, social distancing is a must to flatten the curve. 

Anyone who is not concerned about their own health, just needs to think about others, especially the most vulnerable among us. 

The CDC said the move will help prevent the spread of the virus.

We should all listen to the CDC. 

These are the people who know. 

State elections officials made the right decision and, by doing so, set the proper example for us to follow.