Several U.S. states are holding primary and runoff elections on Tuesday, including New York and Kentucky, where voters will cast votes for president in party ballots delayed by the coronavirus.

Some key Congressional seats are also up for grabs.

In Kentucky, Democratic candidates Amy McGrath, a white woman, and her rival Charles Booker, an African American man, are fighting for the chance to face Republican Senator Mitch McConnell in the fall election.

McConnell is also the Senate Majority Leader.

The Democratic Party establishment backs McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot who ran a close race to unseat a Republican incumbent in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018. But after the death of Breonna Taylor, an African American woman shot multiple times by Louisville, Kentucky, police in her home in March, the Black Lives Matter movement took the election in a different direction.

Many are still protesting the death of Taylor, killed during the course of a so-called "no-knock" warrant related to a drug investigation. Only one of the three officers involved has been fired. None has been charged.

Handling of the case has helped fuel candidate Booker's campaign. A state representative who has participated in BLM protests, he's won key endorsements in recent weeks and gained considerably in polls.

In New York, fights for House seats are taking place. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is among Democrats hoping to hold on to their seats in primary challenges.

Other key political figures in the state are also facing tough races.

Incumbent Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is facing a serious bid by middle school principal Jamaal Bowman.

The pandemic and BLM protests have drastically impacted the U.S. election cycle. 

This election year there has been a push for more absentee and mail-in voting compared to years past. 

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear signed an executive order allowing all of the state's registered voters to request absentee ballots with no excuse needed.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered mail-in ballot applications sent to every registered voter in the state.

There are worries, though, that a high volume of mail-in ballots will delay results.
For example, in New York absentee ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday but they may still arrive as late as June 30th. 
This means officials won't start counting the absentee ballots until all are in, a week after the election.

With the increased focus on mail-in voting, there are new limitations on in-person voting. 
Fewer polling stations are open.

For example, in Jefferson County, the most populous in Kentucky, voters will only have one polling place available.

Fewer than 200 polling sites will be available statewide. 

As several other states expand their mail-in voting capabilities, more questions are being raised about the impact on the U.S. presidential race in November and possible delays then in reporting results.

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