2020 Ohio Democratic presidential primary


The 2020 Ohio Democratic presidential primary took place in Ohio, United States, through April 28, 2020, as part of the Democratic Party primaries for the 2020 presidential election. The state awards 153 delegates towards the 2020 Democratic National Convention, of which 136 are pledged delegates allocated based on the results of the primary.
In-person voting, originally scheduled for March 17, 2020, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The legislature and governor made the decision to run an all-mail primary, with no in-person voting, allowing votes to be received through April 28. Joe Biden, the only Democrat still in the race, won the primary, as expected.

Postponement and delay

The primary was originally scheduled for March 17, 2020. On March 16, Republican Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine recommended moving the primary election to June amid concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The governor does not have the power to unilaterally make this decision, but went to court to support a lawsuit requesting the delay. However, a judge rejected the lawsuit. Later in the day, the Health Director ordered the polls closed as a health emergency. Early on March 17, the Ohio Supreme Court denied the challenge to the state and allowed the primary's delay to proceed.
The governor had proposed to the state legislature that June 2 would be the replacement day, but the final decision by the legislature and governor was to run an all-mail primary, with voting through April 28.

Procedure

The primary, originally scheduled for March 17, 2020, has been postponed. The Ohio General Assembly, and not the governor, has the authority to schedule a new election day.
In the semi-open primary, candidates must meet a threshold of 15 percent at the congressional district or statewide level in order to be considered viable. The 136 pledged delegates to the 2020 Democratic National Convention will be allocated proportionally on the basis of the results of the primary. Of the 136 pledged delegates, between three and nine are allocated to each of the state's 16 congressional districts and another 18 are allocated to party leaders and elected officials, in addition to 29 at-large pledged delegates. Bonus delegates will be allocated as Ohio originally shared a primary date with numerous other states holding contests the week after Super Tuesday; these numbers do not yet account for these delegates.
During the post-primary caucuses on Thursday, April 16, 2020, congressional district delegates were to be elected; should candidates receive more delegates based on the results of the primary than delegate candidates presented at the time, then additional delegates will be nominated during the caucuses. The state executive committee will subsequently meet on Saturday, May 9, 2020, to vote on the 29 pledged at-large and 18 PLEO delegates to send to the Democratic National Convention. The 136 pledged delegates Ohio sends to the national convention will be joined by 17 unpledged PLEO delegates.

Polling

Results


CandidateVotes%Delegates
Joe Biden647,28472.37115
Bernie Sanders 149,68316.7421
Elizabeth Warren 30,9853.460
Michael Bloomberg 28,7043.210
Pete Buttigieg 15,1131.690
Amy Klobuchar 11,8991.330
Tulsi Gabbard 4,5600.510
Tom Steyer 2,8010.310
Michael Bennet 2,0300.230
Deval Patrick 8220.090
Andrew Yang
5020.060
Total894,383100.00136