据美国《世界日报》21日报道，美国印第安纳州长日前签署行政令，将原定5月5日举行的初选推迟到6月2日，印第安纳州由此成为第七个因疫情影响而延后初选的州。
资料图：受新冠肺炎疫情影响，当地时间3月21日，美国纽约时代广场一位行人防护严密。 中新社记者 廖攀 摄
印州州长办公室表示，推迟初选得到州务卿和印州两党委员会主席的支持，他们要求州选举委员会准许选民可选择邮寄投票、各郡选举人员在初选前12天寄出选票、规定5月5日寄出的选票有效、准许医务人员替养老院和医院的病患投票，和允许家庭成员转递缺席投票。
州长霍科姆(Eric Holcomb)说：“出于对公民权利与选举工作人员和选民的健康考虑，我们要保护民众的健康，延后初选是正确的选择。”
州民主党主席表示，主要通过邮寄的方式完成初选，是最安全的选择，民主党人将推动邮寄投票。推迟初选是扩大选民的投票权，期待所有选民尽可能地在6月2日前邮寄投票。
目前，为防新冠疫情危害选民的安全，康州、乔治亚、肯塔基、路易斯安那、马里兰和俄亥俄六个州相继宣布推迟初选日期。而亚利桑那、佛罗里达和伊利诺伊州没有推迟初选，但选举人员都采取了保护选民和工作人员健康的安全措施。
美国联邦疾病防治中心(CDC)15日曾建议，无论团体还是个人，取消或推迟即将在未来8周内举行的50人以上的聚集性活动。目前，美国新冠肺炎确诊病例已突破2.3万例。
Seventh States! Indiana delayed primary election due to the outbreak
The US governor of Indiana has signed an executive order to postpone the primary election scheduled for May 5 to June 2, making Indiana the seventh state to postpone the primary election due to the impact of the epidemic, the world daily reported Monday.
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Data: a novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic occurred in New York, March 21st. A pedestrian protection system was strictly maintained in Times Square. Photographed by Liao pan, reporter of China News Agency
The governor's office said the postponement of the primary was supported by the Secretary of state and the chairman of the state bipartisan committee, who asked the state electoral commission to allow voters to choose to vote by mail, county electoral officers to send ballots 12 days before the primary, to stipulate that ballots sent on May 5 are valid, to allow medical staff to vote for patients in nursing homes and hospitals, and to allow family members to transmit absentee ballots 。
"We want to protect the health of the people because of civil rights and the health of election workers and voters," governor Eric Holcomb said
The chairman of the state Democratic Party said that it is the safest choice to complete the primary election mainly by mail, and the Democrats will promote the vote by mail. The postponement of the primary is to expand voters' voting rights, and all voters are expected to vote by mail as much as possible before June 2.
At present, in order to prevent the new crown from endangering the safety of voters, six states, namely, Connecticut, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland and Ohio, have announced postponement of the primary election. Arizona, Florida and Illinois did not delay the primary, but the voters took safety measures to protect the health of voters and staff.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggested Friday that groups and individuals should cancel or postpone the gathering of more than 50 people in the next 8 weeks. Currently, the US novel coronavirus pneumonia confirmed cases have exceeded 23 thousand cases.
