A federal judge said he was forced to allow Wisconsin’s presidential primary next Tuesday to go ahead amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has pushed back a slew of other contests this year.
U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled Thursday that elections in Wisconsin could take place on April 7 despite concerns that poll workers and voters may be exposed to COVID-19 in the process.
Conley did make accommodations, extending the deadline for absentee ballots to be requested by a day to April 3, ensuring that local election officials accept ballots until April 13, and easing witness signature requirements.
But he said he could only consider the constitutional rights of voters, not public safety, in deciding the compilation of three lawsuits brought to him regarding the matter.
“As much as the court would prefer that the Wisconsin Legislature and Governor consider the public health ahead of any political considerations, that does not appear in the cards. Nor is it appropriate for a federal-district court to act as the state’s chief health official by taking that step for them,” Conley wrote in a 53-page ruling, which can still be appealed.
As of Thursday, 1.1 million Wisconsin voters had asked for an absentee ballot so they can weigh in on the elections, which don’t just include the 2020 Democratic presidential primary between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders but the Milwaukee mayoral race and the contest for a seat on the state’s Supreme Court. Yet, 2.1 million people in Wisconsin took part in the 2016 spring election cycle.
A total of 15 states, including Ohio and New York, have postponed or modified their primaries as the coronavirus outbreak leaves almost 90% of the country hunkered in their homes to slow the spread of the contagion. The Democratic Party itself on Thursday rescheduled its national convention, set to take place in Milwaukee, from July to August.
In comparison, Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and the Republican-controlled legislature declined to delay their elections, citing how the date was enshrined in state law and that public offices would be left vacant during the crisis. Evers did propose sending every registered Wisconsin voter a ballot, but his GOP counterparts blocked the move. The governor is also deploying the state’s National Guard to man polling places and supplement a dearth of staff.
Evers’s actions have angered members of his own party and Sanders, a Vermont senator. Biden, a former two-term vice president, however, demurred to local officials.
“I think it could be done based on what I’m hearing from the news and what I understand the governor and others are saying. But that’s for them to decide,” the presumptive nominee told reporters Thursday.
