Bernie Sanders wants Wisconsin to put the brakes on the state’s primary set to take place next week.
“People should not be forced to put their lives on the line to vote, which is why 15 states are now following the advice of public health experts and delaying their elections,” Sanders wrote in a statement Wednesday. “We urge Wisconsin to join them. The state should delay Tuesday’s vote, extend early voting and work to move entirely to vote-by-mail.”
The lingering 2020 Democratic presidential candidate added, “While we wait for a decision, we urge our supporters to vote-by-mail.”
Despite a stay-at-home order and other states pushing their March and April primaries back or conducting them mostly via mail, Wisconsin’s April 7 contest is proceeding as scheduled.
It’s a move supported by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican lawmakers, given the election day is ingrained in state law and down-ballot races being decided by spring general elections risk becoming vacated if voting doesn’t go ahead as planned, including the mayor of Milwaukee and a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat. But Evers has clashed with his GOP counterparts over sending ballots to Wisconsin’s 3.3 million registered voters, which Republicans suggest could facilitate fraud.
More than 1 million Wisconsin voters had requested an absentee ballot as of Wednesday, compared to the 2.1 million people who took part in the 2016 process. Wisconsin voters have until Tuesday to ask for a mail-in ballot; the uptick in demand is already placing pressure on local clerks around the state.
A federal judge signaled late Tuesday he would allow the elections to be held, with a ruling on a compilation of lawsuits regarding how the contests should be run expected Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin National Guard is being called on to supplement a limited pool of poll workers, after shortages were reported in 60% of municipalities. More than 100 jurisdictions don’t have enough workers to staff a station. Other logistical hurdles have been presented by a lack of masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, disinfecting wipes, and pens.
Both Sanders and the presumptive 2020 Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden have continued campaigning in Wisconsin, though remotely, providing information about absentee voting to residents via emails, phone calls, text messages, and other digital platforms.
New York moved its primary on the weekend to June 23, while Pennsylvania and West Virginia pushed their contests this week to June 2 and June 9, respectively.
Based on the last round of primaries on March 17, Biden has 1,174 pledged delegates to the Vermont senator’s 862. A total of 1,991 is required to become the party’s next standard-bearer.
