Joe Cunningham calls for delay in June SC primary election due to coronavirus
U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham on Tuesday became the first, highest-profile elected official in South Carolina to call for the state’s June 9 primary election to be postponed during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Charleston Democrat, who late last month tested positive for COVID-19, the serious illness called by the coronavirus, said in a statement he “cannot, in good conscience, encourage my constituents to stand in long lines and enter schools, libraries and churches before we have seen the other side of this deadly virus.
“Now is the time to have a robust and transparent conversation about how to conduct our primary as safely as possible,” continued Cunningham, who has since recovered and reemerged from quarantine.
Cunningham does not have a primary challenger this year, but there is a field of Republican candidates vying to replace him in what will be one of the most competitive congressional races this year.
One of the Republican candidates vying to compete against Cunningham in November is Kathy Landing, who said in a statement to The State that she trusted state leaders to come up with a plan.
“Other states across the country have found ways to safely and effectively protect residents’ Constitutional rights and allow their people’s voices to be heard,” Landing said. “I believe our state leaders will do the same while protecting the public’s health and safety in June.”
Her spokesman later clarified Landing opposed moving the date of the primary.
Nancy Mace, another Republican candidate for the 1st Congressional District, told The State she was urging South Carolina officials and leaders “to approach the primary in a hybrid fashion, ensuring our 60 years and older population and those with underlying health conditions can vote safely from afar with our absentee voting mechanism, and to provide for an excess of in-person absentee locations in each and every county.”
“COVID-19 is a very serious threat to all facets of our lives and there is no doubt this includes our elections,” Mace continued. “I remain focused on solutions to make our government work the way it’s meant to — not just kick the can down the road with no solution or worse possibly disenfranchising millions of voters.“
Cunningham’s statement comes the same day that Wisconsin voters are heading to the polls after unsuccessful efforts by advocates to delay the state primary in the midst of nationwide shelter-in-place orders. The Cunningham campaign press release included a photo of a long line of Milwaukee voters with many wearing masks but not appearing to be standing within 6 feet apart per federal social distancing guidelines.
His statement also coincides with a State House debate over whether to take the dramatic step of delaying the primary election at a time when it’s so difficult to predict when the worst of the pandemic will have subsided.
Lawmakers are debating possible options to avoid in-person voting both in the June primary and the November general election at the request of State Election Commission Director Marci Andino.
So far, state elected officials have yet to commit to a solution, and Gov. Henry McMaster has not weighed in definitively.
A spokesman for the governor’s office did not answer questions about the State Elections Commission’s recommendations. Instead, he pointed The State to McMaster’s statements during a press conference March 26, when the governor said he saw no reason to postpone the statewide primary.
On April 3, McMaster said as of this time there were no plans to move around the election schedule.
“Everything is on the table,” he said. “I’m confident that arrangements are being made for absentee voting and those sorts of things and to where people can receive whatever materials they need without congregating and those kind of things.”
Trav Robertson, chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party, in a statement didn’t directly address Cunningham’s call for an primary postponement, but took aim at Republican officials who he suggested might not be doing enough to protect the public ahead of scheduled elections.
“The Republicans that control our state government have a moral responsibility to protect our citizens and a constitutional responsibility to make sure our Democracy doesn’t falter,” Robertson said. “Our people demand that they take action and eliminate the qualifications for absentee voting and transition to a mail in voting program.”
Maayan Schechter contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 4:40 PM.
