RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Governor Ralph Northam announced Friday that he would be postponing upcoming elections by two weeks, as much of the state remains shut down by the coronavirus pandemic.
Local elections that were scheduled on May 5 have been moved to May 19, while June primary elections are being moved from June 9 to June 23.
The governor had asked the legislature to approve moving the elections to November, but the state Senate rejected that idea earlier this week.
Northam urged voters to vote absentee by mail and said the state would take steps to make polling places as safe as possible.
Voters can request online that an absentee ballot be mailed to them by visiting elections.virginia.gov/voterinfo or by downloading and printing a request form at elections.virginia.gov/forms and returning the completed and signed form to their local General Registrar’s office by mail, fax, or scanned attachment to an email.
"While we strongly encourage every Virginian who can vote by mail to do so, we will also take every necessary step to conduct these elections in a way that ensures in-person voting is done safely and responsibly," Northam said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.