Georgia Chief Justice Melton extends judicial emergency
conferencing and videoconferencing when feasible to avoid spreading COVID-19.
Melton’s order also suggests lawyers avoid creating a backlog of nonessential cases either by moving them forward or agreeing to continuances.
“The threat of this virus is difficult for everyone,” Melton said in a prepared statement. “Court personnel are no exception. We have to ensure that they can safely fulfill their mission.”
The order states that Melton will give notice when he is ready to lift the emergency “at least one week in advance to allow courts to plan the transition to fuller operations.”
Georgia’s primary election set for May 19 will be postponed three weeks to June 9 due to health and safety concerns over coronavirus, Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger announced Thursday, April 9.
The move came after Gov. Brian Kemp extended the state’s public health emergency status another month to May 13, a step Raffensperger said was legally necessary before the primary could be delayed.
“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 Thursday, April 9.
Early voting for the primary now starts May 18. Voter registration will end May 11.
Raffensperger’s office is sending absentee ballot applications to every Georgia voter. Requests for mail-in ballots that have already been sent in will still be valid to receive an absentee ballot for the June 9 election, Raffensperger’s office said in a news release.
The June 9 primary is poised to be the first statewide test of Georgia’s new voting machines, which involve touchscreens and scanners that officials have hailed as a secure, paper-based voting process.
Without a delay, the primary elec