MELINDA DESLATTE
Associated Press
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana's governor Friday postponed the state's presidential primaries due to fears of the coronavirus, making it the first state to push back its election because of the outbreak.
Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards signed an executive order delaying the April 4 primary until June 20, according to his spokeswoman Christina Stephens. In a statement, he described the step as "necessary to protect the health and safety of the people of Louisiana from the risk of COVID-19," the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Louisiana also postponed elections in 2005 after hurricanes Katrina and Rita and in 2008 after hurricanes Gustav and Ike.
Early voting in Louisiana's election was scheduled to start in a week. But with a large number of
