COLUMBUS, Ohio — The status of Ohio’s postponed presidential primary election — when it will be, how it will be conducted and who will decide those questions — is at the intersection of a growing legal and political dispute.

The next week could see a flurry of activity, both in the courts and in the state legislature as Ohio picks up the pieces of the March 17 primary, which Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration, citing the coronavirus pandemic, effectively postponed earlier this week through a public health order.

While it’s anything but certain, Ohio officials are seriously considering an all-mail election. They want to try to avoid a repeat of what happened earlier this week.

“That’s a discussion we’re having with the General Assembly,” DeWine, a Republican, said Friday. “We’re on dual tracks right now. We have a case in the courts and the General Assembly coming in. I would say at the minimum, we would want a significant amount of time for people to obtain and return absentee ballots.”

But the bottom line? For those who want to vote now, mail-in voting continues while the courts and state lawmakers sort out the rest.

“In the meantime, take a deep breath, make sure you get adjusted to all the other aspects of living through this pandemic, and voters should have more details soon,” said Jen Miller, executive director of the Ohio League of Women Voters, a voting-rights group.

Here are the key questions about Ohio’s primary:

1. Who will decide?

This could come down to state legislators, the courts or a combination of both.

State lawmakers are expected to take the issue up when they meet next week. House Speaker Larry Householder, a Republican, has been outspoken in criticizing the actions taken by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s administration to postpone the election, saying only the legislature has the legal ability to do so.

Meanwhile, the Ohio Supreme Court is considering a lawsuit filed by the Ohio Democratic Party, and a different lawsuit in Franklin County Common Pleas Court seeks a court order to let the legislature decide.

There’s also the possibility that outside groups could file a federal lawsuit over whatever the legislature comes up with, adding another lawyer of uncertainty to how and when the process will be decided.

2. When will it be?

Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Ohio’s top elections top elections official, has instructed county boards of election to accept mail-in ballots and prepare for a June 2 Election Day.

But others are pushing for April 28 to be the last day of voting. The Ohio Democratic Party has asked for this in its lawsuit, and the Ohio House may push for that date as well.

Why that date?

David Pepper, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, said an earlier date gives time to organize a new election while acknowledging those left in the lurch — schools and other local government entities waiting on tax levies, candidates, etc. — need to have a resolution.

Democrats also don’t like the June 2 date because it comes late in the party’s presidential nominating process, and comes after a cut-off date to seat delegates for July’s planned Democratic National Convention.

House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, an Akron Democrat who likely will play a key role in negotiations, said she favors April 28, with April 21 as an alternative if it’s logistically possible.

3. Will there be in-person voting?

LaRose’s directive calls for in-person voting on June 2. He set that date in part to prepare for a possible mail-only election, something state officials are seriously considering.

Why wouldn’t Ohio have in-person voting? Some are worried about a repeat of what happened leading up to the March 17 election.

“I personally don’t feel like June 2 is a magical day that all of a sudden, this disease will not be highly contagious, and we’ll be in the clear,” said Sykes, who wants an all-mail election.

A mail-only vote could disadvantage some voters — like the visually impaired or the homeless — and could trigger legal challenges from voter-rights groups.

It also would create unique logistical challenges for the state, which likely would have to widely send postage-paid applications to those who haven’t already voted — otherwise the state wouldn’t know whether to give a partisan or nonpartisan ballot — and possibly send them postage-paid ballots too.

Sykes said making people pay for postage in a mail-only election would be akin to an illegal poll tax, since it would require someone to have the means to travel to a post office and buy stamps and envelopes. A court may agree and order it, if legislators don’t do it themselves.

If Ohio goes with an all-mail election, Jon Keeling, a LaRose spokesman, said the date needs to be in early June.

“To be clear, in the 2016 general election, from vendor selection to election day, the absentee voting process took approximately five months. Our initial estimates indicate we could complete that job, if necessary for this primary, in 2.5 months,” Keeling said in an email.

4. Can voters register or update their registrations for the new date?

LaRose’s office’s position is that the March 17 election is ongoing, just suspended, similar to past instances when judges have ordered polling places to extend voting hours at polling places that lost electricity. So they’ve instructed county boards to not accept new voter registrations for the primary.

But the League of Women Voters, the ACLU of Ohio and other voting-rights groups this week wrote state officials on Thursday, calling that decision illegal under state and federal law. They said Ohio should extend voter registration as if it were a new election.

If state lawmakers don’t vote to extend voting hours, it’s possible the voting-rights groups could sue, forcing the issue into the courts.

How did we get here again?

Since changing the law to set the date last year, Ohio had been gearing up for a March 17 election. Officials re-committed to the date the week before, when the state saw its first three confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

But on March 16, citing new guidance from the CDC that recommended limiting public gatherings to 10 people, DeWine said in-person voting on Election Day would no longer be safe. State officials attempted a legal maneuver to get a judge to postpone the election, but after that failed, DeWine’s administration ended up closing the polls via a public-health order.

Read other recent Ohio election news:

Voter rights groups accuse Frank LaRose of breaking the law by not extending voter registration amid coronavirus outbreak

Ohio Democratic Party sues set primary to April 28 -- after postponement due to coronavirus

Citing health emergency, Ohio officials to order polls closed on Election Day, despite judge’s ruling

Ohio offering curbside voting, loosening absentee voting rules for quarantined and hospitalized due to coronavirus

Cuyahoga County short 500 poll workers, part of a larger statewide shortage due to coronavirus