(Bloomberg) -- Louisiana postponed its April 4 presidential primary over concerns about coronavirus, the first state to suspend voting since the outbreak began.
Meanwhile, Wyoming has suspended the in-person part of its Democratic caucuses, also scheduled for April 4. Officials are urging people to vote by mail instead.
Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced Friday that the state's primary would be postponed until June 20. Four other states, Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Arizona, are still holding their primaries on Tuesday.
“The threat we face from the COVID-19 virus is an unprecedented threat and unlike any we have faced,” Ardoin said in a press conference in Baton Rouge on Friday. “The law provides for extraordinary measures to be taken when faced with an emergency or disaster.”
Democrats Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders are competing for the party's presidential nomination. Biden is on track to earn enough delegates for the nomination before June.
--With assistance from Jennifer Kay.
To contact the reporter on this story: Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou in Washington at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Max Berley
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