Wisconsin

Wisconsin: Infectious diseases expert: Allowing in-person voting Tuesday ‘just seems really irresponsible’ | Molly Beck/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

One of the state's top public health experts says Republican legislative leaders are putting Wisconsin at unnecessary risk by refusing to delay the election or stop in-person voting. James Conway, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Global Health Institute, said allowing people to gather at polling locations during Tuesday's spring election will also damage the effectiveness of state leaders' message to stay away from each other to blunt the spread of coronavirus. "It just seems really irresponsible to make this one giant exception," Conway said in an interview. "I was a little naive a week or so ago in thinking, 'Oh, they've got to realize they've got to delay.' ... And then time has crept on and I'm like, really? I am very concerned." Gov. Tony Evers on March 25 issued an order closing scores of businesses in an effort to limit the spread of the virus and Conway says, so far, that action has been successful in preventing the virus from spreading like wildfire.

Wisconsin: In matter of seconds, Republicans stall Gov. Tony Evers’ move to postpone Tuesday election | Bill Glauber and Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Get ready for the pandemic election. Republicans stalled Gov. Tony Evers' move to push back Tuesday's election, quickly adjourning a special legislative session to deal with voting issues because of  the coronavirus pandemic. During Saturday's proceedings, the state Assembly and state Senate each gaveled in and out within seconds and recessed until Monday. The move came as pressure mounted on the Democratic governor to act on his own by using emergency powers to block the election. A source close to Evers said the governor was reluctant to do that over concerns that a postponement would quickly be blocked by conservatives who control the state Supreme Court. With only a few lawmakers present, the Legislature did not take up Evers' effort to extend the election date to May 19 and convert entirely to mail-in voting. As the Legislature made its move, the virus remained unabated. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Wisconsin has more than doubled this week, climbing to over 2,000 on Saturday. Milwaukee County accounts for around half the cases.

Wisconsin: Judge rips into Evers, lawmakers for not delaying Wisconsin election | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A federal judge slammed Gov. Tony Evers and lawmakers Wednesday for ignoring their responsibilities by not postponing next week's election because of the coronavirus pandemic as the Democratic governor prepared to deploy the National Guard to help at the polls. "The State of Wisconsin’s Legislature and governor are not willing to step up and say there’s a public health crisis and make it absolutely clear that we should not be allowing poll workers and voters to congregate on April 7," U.S. District Judge William Conley said near the end of a four-hour hearing.  Conley said he did not believe he had the power to delay Tuesday's election but would consider making some changes to voting rules. He said those who have brought lawsuits could come back to him after the election if they believe large numbers of people were disenfranchised. Conley gave his views of the case as Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders called for delaying the election and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett — who is on Tuesday's ballot — said voters should vote absentee instead of going to the polls. Voting in person will be dangerous, Barrett said.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin goes it alone, holding elections next week amid fears of infection and voting chaos | Amy Gardner/The Washington Post

In Tuesday’s Wisconsin elections, more than 100 municipalities will not have enough poll workers to open a single voting location. Tens of thousands of voters who have flooded election offices with mail-ballot requests in recent days are at risk of not receiving them on time. And Sally Cohen, an elderly woman with kidney disease and asthma who is self-isolating in her apartment in Madison, isn’t sure she’ll be able to vote at all because of a state law requiring a witness to sign her ballot envelope. “I was just distraught this morning when I opened it and saw that you have to have a witness,” said Cohen, who is 77 and a retired paralegal. “I thought, ‘I just can’t do it.’ They suggested having the mailman look through the picture window, but I’m on the third floor, so that won’t work.” Voters, election officials and civil rights leaders across Wisconsin are angry that the state legislature is going forward with the April 7 presidential primary and local elections even as the novel coronavirus continues its march across the country. The public health risk is too high, and asking voters to venture out of their homes directly contradicts state and local emergency orders to shelter in place, they say.

Wisconsin: Judge signals he will expand voting but not delay Wisconsin’s election | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A federal judge is signaling he will not move next week's presidential primary but will expand people's ability to vote — possibly by allowing them to cast ballots by mail after election day because of the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. District Judge William Conley will hold a hearing at 1 p.m. over what changes, if any, he should make to Tuesday's election as mayors and clerks warn that voters and poll workers could be sickened and ballots could go uncounted. In a video conference with attorneys Tuesday, Conley indicated he did not think he could change the election date but believed he could offer significant other help for voters. Conley did not allow reporters to listen in on Tuesday's video conference, but three people familiar with his comments described them to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. How Conley will specifically rule remains unknown, but his comments suggest he could offer a middle-ground solution — one that doesn't outright delay Tuesday's election but does make it easier for people to vote than usual. Those bringing the suit hope to persuade him to allow people to continue to vote by mail after Tuesday. On the ballot is the presidential primary, a crime victims rights amendment to the state constitution and elections for state Supreme Court and local offices.

Wisconsin: Milwaukee normally has 180 voting sites; because of coronavirus, fewer than 12 polling places will be open April 7 | Mary Spicuzza and Alison Dirr Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Tuesday he is not comfortable telling residents to go to the polls on April 7 during the coronavirus pandemic, comments he made as the city pares back its polling locations to a small fraction of its normal total because of a shortage of poll workers. "My fear is that our election in Wisconsin might be the largest public event in the country in April," Barrett said. Events large and small have been canceled across the nation, including in Milwaukee, as the coronavirus spreads. The City of Milwaukee expects to have only 10 to 12 voting sites — or possibly fewer — open for in-person voting citywide during its April 7 election day, Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Neil Albrecht said Tuesday. That's a dramatic reduction from the 180 sites that are typically open on an election day. Albrecht cited a drastic shortage of poll workers as the reason for the change, saying that earlier in the week the city was down to 400 poll workers, rather than the 1,400 Milwaukee would typically have.

Wisconsin: Wisconsin poll worker shortage raises fears of uncounted votes | Patrick Marley and Molly Beck/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

More than 100 communities in Wisconsin don't have any poll workers for the April 7 election and a record number of voters are overwhelming clerks with absentee ballots — leading to warnings that thousands of votes may not be counted. Nearly 60% of Wisconsin municipalities are short on poll workers, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. They are short almost 7,000 poll workers, and election officials are worried even more won't show up on April 7 because of the coronavirus pandemic that is keeping people in their homes. “To create an illusion for the public that somehow everything is working fine I think is just not appropriate,” Commissioner Mark Thomsen said during an emergency meeting of the commission Tuesday. In Milwaukee, the shortage is pushing election officials to reduce the number of polling places from 180 to 10 or 12 — a scenario Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett characterized as "irresponsible."  In addition to their concerns about how the election will run, state election officials are worried about the ability of clerks to process the flood of absentee ballots that are hitting them.

Wisconsin: Voting sites closing due to coronavirus poll worker shortage | Patrick Marley and Craig Gilbert/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Some election clerks are so short of workers because of the coronavirus pandemic that they are planning to shutter polling places around Wisconsin — including many of them in Milwaukee. And at least one clerk is warning that some voters in the April 7 election won't be able to return their absentee ballots in time to have them counted. Milwaukee needs about 1,400 poll workers to run its election but so far has fewer than 400, according to Neil Albrecht, director of the Milwaukee Election Commission. Another 300 workers are needed for the central location where absentee ballots are processed, but fewer than 50 had been hired as of last week. Training those poll workers is difficult because health officials say people must stay 6 feet away from one another to slow the spread of coronavirus. “Given the inability to train new poll workers, it is virtually certain that we will lack sufficient poll workers to staff the polling locations across the city, and will likewise lack the requisite number of staff members to process absentee ballots at the central count location,” Albrecht said in a court filing last week. As a result, the city likely won’t be able to staff all its voting locations, “leaving mail-in absentee voting as the only means currently by which Milwaukee voters will be able to vote for the spring election scheduled to occur on April 7,” Albrecht said.

Wisconsin: Legal Fight Over Wisconsin Primary Reaches State High Court | Joe Kelly/Courthouse News

Officials from a liberal-leaning Wisconsin county accused state Republicans of playing politics Monday in response to a petition filed in the state’s highest court challenging the county clerk’s decision to waive photo ID requirements for absentee ballots in next week’s primary in light of Covid-19 disruptions. Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party, asked the state supreme court on Friday to review Dane County Clerk Scott McDonnell’s decision to allow certain voters to request and cast absentee ballots without presenting a photo ID, which was made on the basis that these voters are “indefinitely confined” due to the coronavirus outbreak and the various lockdown measures enacted to slow its spread. Republicans contend that clerks have no legal authority to waive the photo ID requirement and argued in their petition that “without this court’s intervention, the upcoming election will take place under two sets of different rules—one for voters in Dane County, and one for voters in the rest of the state.” The state GOP’s petition makes a grand total of five separate lawsuits brought in the last two weeks over how to proceed with Wisconsin’s April 7 primary election as the Covid-19 pandemic snarls governments and volatile markets and upends civic life across the globe. As of Monday afternoon, Wisconsin reported nearly 1,200 confirmed cases of Covid-19, including 18 deaths.

Wisconsin: Spring election still on for April 7 despite a chaotic week of political, legal wrangling | Mitchell Schmidt/Wisconsin State Journal

The spring presidential primary and Supreme Court election remain on track to take place April 7, but a flurry of related activity Friday left major concerns about the safety and practicality of holding the election as scheduled unresolved. With lawsuits continuing to mount, Gov. Tony Evers on Friday called on the Legislature to send an absentee ballot to every registered voter in the state to minimize in-person voting during the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic — a request that drew a quick rebuke from GOP leaders. On Friday evening the Wisconsin Elections Commission approved Election Day procedures to mitigate the risks, including curbside, drive-through and outdoor options at polling places. Procedures to limit contact between voters and poll workers also were approved. The commission also recommended that anyone over the age of 65 and those with underlying health problems not serve as poll workers, a move that would drastically cut the already limited supply of poll workers in the state. In other developments, a federal judge tossed out a lawsuit filed by the city of Green Bay seeking to delay the election because of a shortage of poll workers and concerns about the respiratory disease. And the Republican Party of Wisconsin asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to intervene in Dane and Milwaukee counties, where clerks have advised voters they can indicate they are indefinitely confined to avoid uploading a photo ID when voting absentee, something a nonpartisan legislative agency warned could be unlawful.

Wisconsin: Federal Judge Blocks Effort To Delay Election Over Coronavirus | Laurel White/Wisconsin Public Radio

A federal judge ruled Friday to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the city of Green Bay that attempted to force a delay of Wisconsin’s April 7 election amid the continued spread of the new coronavirus in Wisconsin.

The lawsuit argued election officials across the state cannot effectively and safely administer the April 7 election as scheduled during the pandemic. It cited concerns about the health of clerks, poll workers and voters.

Judge William C. Griesbach dismissed the case on the grounds that a municipality could not bring such a challenge against the state.

“The court’s decision is not intended to minimize the serious difficulties the City and its officials are facing in attempting to conduct the upcoming election,” Griesbach wrote. “The court is saying only that the City and its mayor are not the proper parties to bring such a claim in federal court.”

Griesbach noted another federal case seeking to delay the election was brought by a coalition of advocacy groups. He said those groups may have the standing necessary to bring such a challenge.

Three other federal cases challenging the election are still in the courts. They were brought by the state and national Democratic parties, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin and a coalition of groups representing minority communities.

State GOP Files State Lawsuit Against Dane County Clerk

Just hours before the federal ruling, another lawsuit was filed related to the election in state court.

The new lawsuit, brought by the Republican Party of Wisconsin, argues Dane and Milwaukee County clerks have been providing illegal guidance to voters about circumventing the state’s voter ID law amid the pandemic.

The clerks have been advising voters confined during the virus’ spread to indicate they are “indefinitely confined” on their absentee ballot application, which allows them to bypass a requirement to include a copy of a valid ID for voting with their application.

Republicans have said the clerks are encouraging too many people to utilize the option.

The lawsuit was filed with the state Supreme Court on Friday evening, asking Wisconsin’s highest court to take the case immediately, on “original action,” rather than allowing the lawsuit to work its way through lower courts first.

In a prepared statement, state Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt said the party is standing up for the integrity of Wisconsin elections.

“While some clerks have effectively managed the current crisis, other clerks are unilaterally rewriting our state’s election laws and encouraging other clerks around the state to follow suit,” Hitt said.

Members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission sparred over the conflict during a Friday evening meeting.

Commissioner Bob Spindell, who was appointed by Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, accused the clerks of directing voters to “lie” in order to avoid the state’s voter ID requirement.

Spindell said people, including the elderly, who have had trouble navigating the technology necessary to upload a copy of their ID should be able to figure the process out, with the help of election officials, advocacy groups or political parties, if necessary.

Wisconsin: Two more lawsuits filed over April 7 election seeking to change how and when people vote during coronavirus | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Wisconsin’s chaotic spring election got even more unpredictable Thursday as two new lawsuits were filed attempting to alter voting rules because of the coronavirus pandemic that has forced people to stay at home. The lawsuits — the third and fourth to be filed over the April 7 election — come as clerks scramble to figure out how to safely run an election when they are short on poll workers and hand sanitizer and health officials say people should stay at least six feet from each other. One of the new lawsuits, led by voter mobilization group Souls to the Polls, seeks to put off the election for weeks or months. It’s in line with a lawsuit Green Bay’s clerk filed this week to postpone the election. The other suit filed Thursday seeks to allow people to cast absentee ballots without having to get a witness to sign their voting certificate. The barrage of litigation comes after the Democratic National Committee sued last week to try to extend absentee voting. That resulted in an order that reinstated online voter registration until March 30. U.S. District Judge William Conley will rule later on other aspects of that case. On the April 7 ballot is the presidential primary, a victims rights amendment to the state constitution and a seat on the state Supreme Court. Also up for election are local offices around the state, including Milwaukee mayor and Milwaukee County executive.

Wisconsin: Frustration over refusal to delay April 7 election spurs lawsuit | Todd Richmond/Associated Press

Local officials' frustration with Gov. Tony Evers' refusal to order any changes to Wisconsin's presidential primary to protect people from the coronavirus reached new heights as the city of Green Bay sued to stop in-person voting and leaders in River Falls questioned how the election can proceed. The virus has infected nearly 600 people in Wisconsin and killed seven. Models show that without stricter social distancing measures, as many as 22,000 people could contract the virus and as many as 1,500 could die by April 8. The April 7 election features a Wisconsin Supreme Court race and hundreds of local races, in addition to the presidential primary. A number of states have postponed their presidential primaries, but Evers, a Democrat, has refused to delay Wisconsin's election. Many local officials' terms end in mid-April and delaying the election would leave those offices vacant, the governor has said. Republican legislative leaders said Wednesday they want the election to go on as scheduled as well and maintain that Evers can't unilaterally adjust its parameters.

Wisconsin: Groups want mail-only election, Governor’s order’s effect unclear | Todd Richmond/Associated Press

Voting advocacy groups and the mayor of Wisconsin’s largest city on Tuesday urged Gov. Tony Evers to close polling sites and conduct the state’s spring election entirely by mail to protect voters and a dwindling pool of election workers from the coronavirus. Evers has refused calls to postpone the April 7 election in the face of the crisis. The election features the state’s presidential primary, a state Supreme Court race and hundreds of races for local office. Most local officials terms expire April 21 and delaying the election could leave those spots vacant, Evers has argued. However, the governor said Monday he was considering conducting the election entirely by mail. The governor on Tuesday issued an executive order restricting all nonessential travel and mandating all nonessential businesses to close. It’s unclear how the order applies to the election. It includes pages of exemptions but doesn’t mention elections. Wisconsin Elections Commission spokesman Reid Magney said he didn’t know if the order prohibits in-person voting. The governor dodged questions about how the order might apply to elections during his now-daily conference call with reporters to discuss efforts to stop the virus.

Wisconsin: Election Officials Across Wisconsin Eliminate, Scale Back In-Person Early Voting | Laurel White/Wisconsin Public Radio

Some Wisconsin communities, including Milwaukee and Madison, are shutting down or sharply cutting back in-person early voting locations for the state’s April 7 election as the new coronavirus continues to spread in the state. The moves come as election officials continue to grapple with challenges posed by the virus and some groups call for the election to be postponed. Officials have for weeks been urging voters to request mail-in ballots for the election. The deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot online or by mail is April 2; the deadline for their return is 8 p.m. on Election Day. Milwaukee announced Sunday its three in-person early voting sites — Zablocki Library, the Zeidler Municipal Building, and the Midtown Center — would close effective immediately, citing challenges with maintaining adequate staffing levels at the sites. "We’re having more and more workers at our early election sites who are declining to come in," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said on a call with reporters Monday morning. "And they are making, in most cases, the prudent decision by not coming in."  Many polling place workers are over 60 years old, which puts them at higher risk of contracting the new coronavirus.

Wisconsin: Delaying Wisconsin’s April 7 presidential primary amid coronavirus pandemic would be difficult | Patrick Marley/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Top Wisconsin officials so far are not advocating for postponing the April 7 presidential primary because of the coronoavirus pandemic, and doing so would be much more difficult here than it has been in other states. Louisiana and Georgia last week postponed their presidential primaries amid fears of the deadly outbreak sweeping the globe. Wisconsin officials have not taken similar steps, and there may be no easy way to do it here, experts in election laws said. The cleanest way to do it would be for the Legislature to pass a law changing the election date. That would require Republicans who control the Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to get on the same page — something they have rarely been able to do. Evers said Monday he was not considering delaying the election "at this time," even as he banned gatherings of more than 50 people. "We’re hoping to hold it on the date if we possibly can," he told reporters. He made his comment as Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced he would bring a lawsuit to try to extend his state's primary, which is scheduled for Tuesday, to June 2. Three other states — Arizona, Florida, and Illinois — are supposed to have presidential primaries on Tuesday.