(CNN) Georgia elections officials will postpone the March 24 presidential primary to May 19 because of the coronavirus, becoming the second state in the nation to delay a vote in the race for the White House due to the pandemic, according to Walter Jones, a spokesman with the Secretary of State's office.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement Saturday that coronavirus has increased the risks to voters and poll workers with in-person voting. "Governor (Brian) Kemp has declared a public health emergency. President (Donald) Trump has declared a national emergency," Raffensperger said. "Events are moving rapidly and my highest priority is protecting the health of our poll workers, their families, and the community at large."

Raffensperger said all votes already cast in person and all absentee ballots will be counted. He also said every eligible voter who has not yet had a chance to cast a ballot in the March 24 elections will be able to do so on May 19, along with the elections already scheduled for that date.

A Georgia government official told CNN that they began getting calls from poll workers, some of whom are elderly, concerned about their health on Election Day.

"It's almost literally a life and death decision for these poll workers. And if we use rookies to do the job, the election could be a mess," the official said.

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