Postponement of Elections in the United States

Authority for Postponement of Federal Elections

(Source: National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS))

(A dozen of U.S. States) had a law that specifically authorized the suspension, delay or postponement of an election in an emergency situation. In most of the states with such laws, the decision to suspend or postpone the election is left to the Governor or chief state election official – or a combination of the two. Often, the decision is to be made following a gubernatorial declaration of a state of emergency.

Specific state examples include the following:

• In Louisiana, a state that is no stranger to dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes, the Governor may suspend or delay an election upon declaring a state of emergency or an impending emergency, and upon certification of the Secretary of State that an emergency exists. The delayed election must resume, or be rescheduled, as soon as practicable.
• In Kentucky, the Governor may declare a different time or place for holding elections in the event that a state of emergency has been declared, and upon recommendation by the Secretary of State. The election must be held within 35 days from the date of the suspended or delayed election.

Other options that states may utilize in order to suspend, delay, or postpone an election in an emergency situationinclude:

• a court order,
• legislative action or
• the emergency powers of the Governor.

At the local or regional level, lower courts may cancel, postpone or extend Election Day polling place hours by issuing a court order. For example, a New York state judge suspended local primary elections scheduled to take place on the day of the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. (…)

But while primary or local elections for federal office have been postponed several times since 1860 due to catastrophic events, no examples could be found of a general election being postponed or delayed during a federal election cycle. (…)

In 2004, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report indicating that “Congress appears to have the authority to enact a federal law setting the conditions, times, and dates for rescheduling elections for federal offices in emergency circumstances, and with proper standards and guidelines, could delegate the execution and application of those provisions to executive branch or state officials.

The Congressional Research Service report also notes that states appear to have the authority to enact laws dealing with federal elections in emergency circumstances, provided these laws do not conflict with federal laws, stating, “Federal courts have thus generally interpreted federal law to permit the states to reschedule elections to congressional office when ‘exigent’ circumstances have necessitated a postponement.” However, the same report cautions that different issues may be raised about the election of presidential electors based upon the wording of applicable federal statutes.

Resources

See Also

• Postponement
• Presidential Elections
• General Elections
• Disputed Elections
• Municipal Elections
• Elections
• Direct Elections
• Senate Elections
• General Election
• Federal Election Commission
• Gubernatorial Elections