LIVE UPDATES: See the full results of the June 2 presidential and congressional primaries
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Grace Panetta
Jun 3, 2020, 07:50 IST
A voting sign is seen during early voting for the June 2nd primary outside the Prince Hall Masonic Temple in Ward 1 on U Street NW, on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Today, nine states and the District of Columbia are holding presidential, congressional, or other down-ballot primaries.
Indiana, DC, Maryland, Montana, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Dakota are holding presidential primaries.
Iowa and Idaho, which already had their presidential primaries, are holding primaries for congressional races.
Follow along here for live updates as results come in tonight and over the next few days.
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What's at stake:
Sen. Bernie Sanders officially dropped out of the presidential primary on April 8, making former Vice President Joe Biden the presumptive Democratic nominee.
There are 479 pledged delegates up for grabs in the eight presidential nominating contests taking place today. Biden currently needs 465 more to formally earn the 1,991 delegates required to clinch the nomination, meaning he is unlikely to meet the threshold today.
Here's where Biden and Sanders currently stand in the delegate race, according to Decision Desk HQ and the University of Virginia Center for Politics:
After being rebuked by his own party and losing his committee assignments over racist comments he made to The New York Times, King is facing a tough primary challenge from GOP State Senator Randy Feenstra, who has outraised King and been backed by a number of GOP groups including the US Chamber of Commerce, the political arm of the Republican Main Street Partnership, and the Republican Jewish Council.
New Mexico's second congressional district, located in the southern portion of the state, is a highly competitive swing district that Democratic Rep. Xochitl Torres-Small won back in the 2018 midterms. Former state representative and 2018 GOP nominee Yvette Herrell is running again for the nomination again against energy executive and businesswoman Claire Chase.
There are competitive Democratic and Republican primaries in two open Indiana congressional districts: the state's solidly blue first district, where Democratic Rep. Peter Visclosky is retiring, and the fifth district, where Republican Rep. Susan Brooks is retiring.
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Republican State Senator Victoria Spartz and Democratic State Representative Christina Hale won their respective primaries to advance to the general election in the fifth district, a competitive contest for both parties.
In Pennsylvania, there are notable Democratic primaries in the state's Republican-held 1st and 10th congressional districts, both of which are set to be competitive this fall, and a crowded Republican primary in the state's Democratic-controlled eighth congressional district.
Pennsylvania, which allows absentee voting without an excuse, will likely not report results from the first and tenth congressional district primaries, in addition to numerous other races, until next week.
After widespread reports of voters in highly populated counties not receiving their ballots in time, Governor Tom Wolf issued an executive order extending the deadline for voters in six counties — Philadelphia, Allegheny, Dauphin, Delaware, Erie, and Montgomery — to have their ballots counted. In those places, ballots will be accepted if they are postmarked by June 2 and arrive by 5 p.m. on June 9.
Many of the states holding elections today have made modifications to their election procedures to make it easier for voters to cast absentee and mail-in ballots during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has heightened the risks of voting in-person.
Due to the pandemic and states encouraging voters to cast ballots from home, the percentage of voters voting absentee or by mail is expected to increase this year, including in today's primaries.
Since many states still accept absentee ballots until a certain date after election day and, in some cases, cannot start processing ballots until election day, some closer races may not be decided until after election night.
Polls closed in most of Indiana at 6 p.m. E.T., but polls in some counties located in the Central Time Zone close at 6 p.m. C.T. and 7 p.m. E.T. Indiana has also relaxed their absentee ballot rules to allow anyone to vote absentee without an excuse.
Voters in the District of Columbia, which doesn't require an excuse to vote by mail, are being "strongly encouraged" to cast and send in mail-in ballots, with the city offering limited in-person voting options. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
Maryland sent out a mail-in ballot to every registered voter and is also offering scaled-back in-person voting. Polls close at 8 p.m. ET.
Polls close in Pennsylvania, which allows absentee voting without an excuse, at 8 p.m. ET. In Philadelphia and five other counties, however, absentee ballots postmarked by June 2 will be accepted if they arrive by 5 p.m. on June 9.
Polls close in South Dakota at 7 p.m. Mountain Time and 9.m. ET. All voters were sent absentee ballot applications in the mail for today's primary.
In New Mexico, which allows absentee voting without an excuse, polls close at 7 p.m. Mountain Time and 9.m. Eastern Time.
In Montana, which allows mail-in voting without an excuse, counties are authorized to send out mail-in ballots directly to voters. Polls close at 8 p.m. Mountain Time and 10 p.m. E.T.
In Iowa, which sent every registered voter an absentee ballot application for today's election, polls close at 9 p.m. Central Time and 10 p.m. E.T.
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