WASHINGTON – The question before Tuesday night’s latest round of voting wasn’t whether Joe Biden would expand his delegate lead over Bernie Sanders.

He did – with big wins in Florida, Illinois and Arizona that will increase the pressure on Sanders to end his campaign and allow Democrats to turn their full attention to President Donald Trump.

But as voters went to the polls for the first time since a national emergency was declared over the coronavirus pandemic, the spotlight turned to how elections could be safely conducted and who is the right chief for this critical time.

“This is a moment when we need our leaders to lead,” Biden said in brief livestreamed remarks from his home Tuesday night in which he notably also reached out to Sanders’ supporters.

Biden had a huge advantage over Sanders in pre-election day polls in Florida, Illinois and Arizona that asked voters who they trust more to handle a crisis, according to an NBC report on the poll.

A national poll out Tuesday that likewise asked about trust showed Trump ranked worst of all groups tested – public health officials, state and local leaders and the news media. Six in ten respondents to an NPR/PBS/Marist poll said they had not very much or no trust in what Trump is saying about the coronavirus.

The public’s desire for a steady hand came amidst confusion many had about how to vote – if they could even vote at all.

Polls were closed in Ohio at the last minute when Gov. Mike DeWine declared a “health emergency” to delay the election until June. The Ohio Democratic Party on Tuesday sued Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a Republican, arguing he does not have the legal authority to reschedule a make-up election.

The Chicago Board of Elections went to court to extend voting by an hour in five precincts.

In all three states that voted, some polling places were moved or closed because of a lack of workers, shortages of cleaning supplies, or to relocate polls from senior centers.

“It made for a day at the polls really not like any we’ve seen before,” said David Vance, spokesman for the voting rights group Common Cause.

Georgia, which was the next state scheduled to vote, has already moved it’s March 24th primary to May. After Louisiana, Maryland and Kentucky delayed their contests as well, the Democratic National Committee urged states to keep their scheduled dates and instead take other steps to protect voters.

More:List of states delaying their presidential primaries grows as Maryland pushes to June

Delaying elections for unexpected emergencies is not unprecedented, but not at this scale in the U.S. in recent history

But unless Sanders drops out, the delay could extend the Democratic contest – although Sanders has no real path to the nomination – despite the party’s eagerness to turn to the general election.

“It’s official,” tweeted Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “@Joe Biden has defeated @BernieSanders but #Coronavirus has buried Bernie Sanders. The nomination battle has become a footnote in the media and in the public’s mind. That’s just reality.”

Before the polls closed, Sanders livestreamed about 20 minutes of remarks on how the nation should address the health and economic challenges of the coronavirus, including giving every household $2,000 a month.

“We need to know what you are experiencing right now,” Sanders told viewers in an address in which he did not mention the election.

When Biden spoke, after his blowout wins in Florida and Illinois but before Arizona’s polls closed, he praised the “remarkable passion and tenacity” of Sanders and his supporters. Biden said they have “shifted the fundamental conversation in this country” on issues like health care, income inequality and climate change.

“So let me say especially to the young voters who have been inspired by Sen. Sanders,” Biden continued, “I hear you. I know what’s a stake. I know what we have to do.”

Nearly 60 percent of delegates will have been awarded after Tuesday.

Despite the polling problems and confusion, voting advocates said that turnout might still eclipse the 2016 primary. It helped that all three states allow early voting. Mailed-in ballots are particularly popular in Florida and Arizona.

“We’ve had enormous turnout by mail,” said Alex Gulotta, Arizona state director of the advocacy group All Voting Is Local. “Turnout has been very low today, but overall, voting is more than 2016.”

Biden continues to do well among older voters, moderates and conservatives, African Americans and women, according to an Associated Press survey of voters in Illinois, Florida and Arizona taken in the days leading up to their elections.

But he also made inroads in Florida among Latino voters, a group that along with younger voters have been among Sanders’ core supporters. Likewise, in Illinois, Latino voters were only somewhat more likely to pick Sanders, according to the Associated Press.

Biden’s strong showing in Florida – where 84% of Democratic primary voters said they strongly believe he could beat Trump – may cheer Democrats who hope to flip that battleground state in the fall.

But Trump’s re-election campaign noted Tuesday night that it was Florida – which Trump has adopted as his legal residence – which put him above the delegate threshold to become the party’s presumptive nominee in the GOP’s largely uncompetitive primary.

"Nobody motivates our base more than President Trump,” said Ronna McDaniel, head of the Republican National Committee.

Trump easily won every state that has held a contest in the Republican primary.

Contributing: Bart Jansen and Joey Garrison, USA TODAY

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