Ohio governor's race: Ramaswamy said Acton 'called off' 2020 primary. DeWine delayed it

In Ohio’s gubernatorial race, Republican candidate Vivek Ramaswamy blames Democrat Dr. Amy Acton, former health department director, for calling off the state’s March 2020 primary election during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said it was his decision.

"Amy Acton called off Ohio’s election at the last minute, defying a judge’s orders and abusing her power," one Ramaswamy April campaign ad said. "Ohio can’t afford liberal Amy Acton. Vivek Ramaswamy will fight for us to protect our voice at the polls." 

Another April ad said, "Nobody ever cast a vote for Amy Acton, but she stopped yours." 

Ramaswamy’s campaign spokesperson pointed to an order Acton signed in March 2020 to close polling sites. But DeWine, who endorsed Ramaswamy, said that was his call after a judge declined to delay the primary. Other Republican state officials also supported postponement, which came at the beginning of the pandemic.

Acton served as Ohio health department director in 2019 and for part of 2020. Republicans attacking her actions during the pandemic are referring to her as "Dr. Lockdown."

Ohio among states that shook up 2020 primaries

More than a dozen states postponed 2020 primaries and expanded voting by mail as the COVID-19 virus spread. Government officials were concerned about the virus spreading at voting sites.

One of Ramaswamy’s ads showed CNN and The Daily Wire headlines about Ohio closing the polls the night before the primary, scheduled for March 17, 2020.

DeWine and Secretary of State Frank LaRose, also a Republican, asked a judge to move the primary to June. The judge denied the last-minute request, saying it would set a "terrible precedent." 

The governor and LaRose lacked the legal authority to postpone the election on their own amid a public health crisis, The Associated Press reported. Ramaswamy’s campaign spokesperson pointed to Ohio code, which said the governor can postpone an election in the "event of an emergency resulting from enemy attack." 

With the primary quickly approaching, state officials turned to another potential path: a health department order.

Conducting an election would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at "an unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus," DeWine said in a statement at the time. He added, "Acton will order the polls closed as a health emergency." 

On Twitter, DeWine wrote on March 16, 2020, "It is my recommendation that we postpone in-person voting until June 2, 2020. We cannot tell people to stay inside, but also tell them to go out and vote."

LaRose also supported postponing the election.

The order Acton signed said the state had 50 confirmed COVID-19 cases and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended not holding gatherings of more than 50 people. The Ohio Supreme Court denied a legal challenge to her order delaying the primary.

At a March 17, 2020, press conference with Acton and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, DeWine said everyone who wanted to vote would later have the opportunity. 

The governor expressed concern about the health of tens of thousands of poll workers, many of whom were elderly. When asked by a reporter about his reasoning, DeWine said the state faced an imminent health crisis. He said Acton, based on her medical knowledge and in consultation with LaRose, "made that decision. I fully fully support that decision."

During the press conference, Husted said a county poll worker exhibited COVID-19 symptoms. He also said LaRose told him it would have been impossible to run the election because poll workers would not have shown up.

The Ohio General Assembly postponed the primary until April 28 and converted it to a vote by mail election.

Election worker Thurayya Umb reviews applications for election ballots at the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, April 22, 2020, in Cleveland. (AP)

DeWine said again in 2026 it was his decision

In April, DeWine told NBC4’s Colleen Marshall that he consulted with state officials, including Acton, but the decision to delay the primary was his. DeWine said he ordered Acton to sign the directive for two reasons: Older voters told him they were afraid to head to the polls and he feared for poll workers’ health.

Marshall said DeWine told her, "I ultimately thought if I did not make that decision people were going to die." 

During NBC4’s April report, the TV station aired months-old statements by DeWine and Husted in which they attributed the decision to the governor.

DeWine said that "the decisions that were made during COVID, they were my decisions, so no one should blame someone else if they don’t like it, the buck stops with me." 

Husted said, "The governor ultimately made those decisions."

Statehouse News Bureau reported in April that DeWine supported Acton’s actions: "I'm the one who appointed her. The fact is she worked for me, as all the members of the cabinet do. And decisions that were made, were made by the governor. So if there is a member of the cabinet who issues an order, that was at my direction."

Our ruling

Ramaswamy’s ad said Acton "called off Ohio’s election at the last minute" in 2020.

That’s a distortion of what happened. The day before the March 17, 2020, primary, Ohio called off the election during the COVID-19 pandemic. State officials made clear that they would allow people to vote, and the primary was held about a month later. 

DeWine said at the time it was his decision to postpone voting. Some of his 2020 statements showed that he reached the decision in consultation with other state officials, including Acton. The secretary of state and lieutenant governor also expressed support for the voting delay.

In April, DeWine told NBC4 that it was his decision to delay the election.

The kernel of truth here is that Acton signed the order closing the polls, but DeWine has taken ownership of that decision and as an appointee, Acton worked for the governor.

We rate this statement Mostly False.

RELATED: All of our fact-checks on the 2026 midterm elections