Wisconsin’s Tuesday primary is back on.
In a 4-2 decision along ideological lines, the state’s Supreme Court ruled Monday that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers does not have the authority to move the scheduled primary to June 9. Evers attempted to delay the primary due to the coronavirus pandemic through an executive order issued the day before the scheduled primary.
Republican lawmakers in the state immediately responded to Evers’s attempted order by challenging it in court. Those in the Republican-controlled legislature have blocked delaying of the primary.
The ruling means that the Democratic presidential primary and hundreds of local elections will proceed as scheduled despite the risk of voters and poll workers increasing the spread of the coronavirus.
Last week, a U.S. district judge ruled that the elections would proceed as scheduled.
“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,” the ruling said.
Voters were able to request absentee ballots through April 3, and the U.S. District Judge ruled that clerks could not release results from the elections until 4 p.m. on April 13, the deadline for absentee ballots to come in.
More than a dozen states have postponed their primaries due to the coronavirus pandemic, with Wisconsin being the unusual outlier in keeping its original date.
