UPDATE – The director of the Ohio Department of Health, Dr. Amy Acton, has ordered the polls closed on Tuesday as a health emergency.

A judge in Franklin County has rejected Governor DeWine’s request to postpone the primary election scheduled for Tuesday.

The governor and others had sought the delay amid concerns about the coronavirus threat.

Judge Richard Frye ruled against the motion Monday night saying he didn’t want to rewrite the law.

“There are too many factors to balance in this uncharted territory to say that we ought to take it away from the legislature and elected statewide officials, and throw it to a common pleas court judge in Columbus,” Frye said.

Gov. Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose had backed a lawsuit by voters who were asking the court to push back in-person voting to June 2nd for the primary.

Neither DeWine nor LaRose has the power to postpone an election on their own.

As of March 16th, the state had 50 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in 12 counties.