Voices of Wisconsin Voters During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Across from Riverside High School, one of five polling places in Milwaukee holding in-person voting for the April 7 election, UW-Milwaukee student Abigail Klug watched from her apartment as a line formed near the school. What started as six or eight people became a several-hour wait by the afternoon, the line stretching behind the school and down several blocks.

Klug described a scene of voters clumped together waiting for the polls to open, without any police presence or other officials. Most people wore masks, but voters didn’t separate six feet apart in line until authorities arrived. Klug told Media Milwaukee journalist Jessica Gatzow that her roommate and some of her friends voted in person, but she decided not to. “Waiting in line freaks me out,” said Klug. “People are not following the social distancing rules.”

Klug wanted to request an absentee ballot when Gov. Tony Evers announced via executive order that the election would move to June, but since the Wisconsin Supreme Court stopped his executive order after a challenge from Republican lawmakers, Klug didn’t think she would receive her ballot in time for her vote to be counted. “If there was ever a time to be forgiving about the voting process, it would be when everyone is ordered to stay in their homes,” said Klug. She wanted to vote for Bernie Sanders but watching the lack of social distancing all day at the polls led her to the difficult decision to stay home. She worries about passing the COVID-19 virus to her grandparents or the immuno-compromised mother of a family she babysits for.

Meanwhile in nearby West Bend, Wisconsin, a local suburb not far from Milwaukee, police captain Tim Dehring offered a very different viewpoint. He voted absentee and said he believed the Supreme Court made the right decision in not moving the election to June.

“While COVID-19 is a crisis, I don’t believe we have reached the danger threshold which would justify suspending our democratic process,” said Dehring. “I trust government bodies throughout the country have taken appropriate precautions and most citizens had ample opportunities to utilize the existing absentee process.”

“I felt safe because of the way they handled it here in West Bend,” concurred Julie Dehring, a West Bend elementary teacher who voted in person. “There were only two people there, but they had tape separating each voter to keep social distancing.” 

Sarah Hensley, a resident of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, also mailed in her election day ballot instead of going to the polls due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hensley is a mother of three who works full time from home as an Operations Manager at TAB Products Company. “There was more than ample time and were many reminders about absentee ballots available so postponing the election would be unnecessary,” she told student journalist Taylor Wietzke.

Media Milwaukee’s team of student journalists spanned different corners of the state as they reached out to voters to get their opinions on the unprecedented mid-pandemic election. They spoke to people who didn’t vote because they were too afraid, who braved the polls anyway, and who chose to cast ballots absentee. They spoke to college students and middle-aged people and voters from both urban and rural communities throughout Wisconsin to get their perspectives on the Wisconsin spring election 2020.

As the Wisconsin polls stayed open, another voter, UW-Milwaukee student Jake Strothmann, also spent his time at home. Strothmann’s problem wasn’t with the candidates, though; he was planning on going out and voting in this election. However, a fear of the pandemic stopped him from casting his vote on Tuesday.

“I definitely think that they should have been able to move the election to a later date,” said Strothmann, a native of Greendale, to Media Milwaukee’s Lucas Kovnesky. Strothmann has been practicing social distancing from his house, only leaving a few times over the last few weeks for essential items such as food. He was surprised to see the photos of large groups of people gathered and lined up at polling locations.

Most elections have some sort of notable drama, though this time around it ended up being one of the most controversial elections in recent memory. With the on-again-off-again rollercoaster of information coming from state officials, Milwaukee residents like Stephanie Serrato were feeling outraged and more than a little confused. Like other voters, though, she managed to cast an absentee ballot.

“This is the most obvious voter suppression that we have seen in a long time,” Serrato said of holding in-person voting across the state.

Serrato was a resident assistant at University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s Sandburg Residence Hall before students were asked to move out due to COVID-19. With few students remaining in the residence halls, the need for RAs was lost.

Fortunately, Serrato was able to move back to her hometown of Little Chute, Wis., which she says is best known for its “Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival.” She requested an absentee ballot be sent to her address in Little Chute in late March, which she promptly sent back in early April.

Carlos Martin Del Campo is a student a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay student from Sheboygan and is a part-time worker at a car dealership.  He went to his local polling station in New Holstein Wisconsin to cast his ballot. He felt relieved when he arrived and saw the overall preparedness of the people working the polls.

“Everyone was wearing masks, and they made us wait if too many people were there at once,” he said to student journalist Alex Thome. He took multiple precautions that if seen just two months ago would have looked bizarre. “I wore a mask, used hand sanitizer in my car and brought my own pen,” he said.

Carlos says he was not prepared to skip this primary, saying that he was comfortable with the risk of exposure to cast his ballot.  He was fine with the state Supreme Court’s decision to allow the primary, saying, “I think it was necessary to get the right people in office in the right amount of time.”

Not everyone took that path. Before the pandemic hit hard in Wisconsin, Klug was working almost full time, but not enough to qualify for benefits. Given the widespread unemployment affecting many like herself, Klug would like to see the election focus on any issues related to poverty. She wishes more people realized that college students also suffer from being impoverished and don’t necessarily receive parental support, even during a pandemic.

“I feel incredibly guilty about not voting, but I’d feel incredibly guilty about waiting in the line for hours and exposing myself to a bunch of strangers, when I’ve been very careful about staying at home,” said Klug. “Either way, I feel like I’m failing a civic duty.”

Here are some of the other voters interviewed by our student journalists on election day:

Didn’t Vote to Protect Parents

A few familiar sights were once again present this Election Day in Wisconsin, but nothing about this election was normal.  Election Day conjures hope for change, that your side might win, that your voice will be heard and it will help shape the direction of government.

However, those feelings were nearly absent among some today.

“I didn’t vote because I didn’t want to bring the virus back to my immune compromised parents,” said Avrind Ebbe, a UWM psychology major.

The sight of long lines was present today, but most people covering their faces in hopes of not catching or spreading the global pandemic known as Covid-19.

Calls for delay went unheeded and the people of Wisconsin clad in protective masks and clothes cast ballots on freshly disinfected booths where the predominant emotions were anger, confusion, anxiety and fear in some areas.

-Luke Zembrowski

The Aldermanic Candidate

“When it became clear in-person voting on Election Day would not be safe, I stopped encouraging people to do it all together, and continued to push absentee options,” said 8^th District Alderman Candidate Justin Bielinski.

Voters were far from the only ones affected by the decision to hold the election despite public outcry from all ends of the political spectrum. Milwaukee voting stations were cut from the usual 180 down to just five for a city comprised of over 600,000 voters, in part as a result of poll workers not wanting to risk their health.

“It’s a crazy time right now and I’m pretty happy with our response to Covid-19 as a state, for the most part, but that doesn’t excuse the mess this situation has become,” said UWM education major EJ Spencer.

With hundreds of thousands of undelivered absentee ballots many voters lined up for hours to cast their ballots no matter what cost all across Wisconsin.

“I’ve heard the whole spectrum,” said Bielinski. “People who put their right to vote above their own safety, people who normally vote in-person requesting their first ever absentee ballots, and people who stopped paying attention because they were laid off and needed to focus on survival first.”

We will not know the outcome of this election for some time as a result of the influx of absentee ballots. Time will only tell how effective measures to limit the spread of the virus will be, but for now democracy has gone on as so many hoped and feared it would.

“I think we will learn from this as a world, but it’ll take years for us to recover from this,” said Ebbe.

-Luke Zembrowski

The College Sophomore in Milwaukee Who Voted

Nou Thao, a sophomore at UWM, waited 45 minutes to cast her vote. Her polling place was moved to Milwaukee Marshall High School. She said voters wore masks, and they were encouraged to stand six feet from each other. There were more police personnel at the poll compared to the last time she voted.

“I was worried the coronavirus,” she said. “When there so many people voting at a small number of locations, the risk goes up.”

The city Milwaukee like many cities in America had given out a stay at home order to stress social distancing, but Thao went out to cast her vote at the poll because she want her vote to make an impact for the presidential election and for the city that she lives in.

-Wat Lee

The Oshkosh Banking Employee Who Voted in Person

Ka Vang went to the poll in Oshkosh, Wis. after she clocked out at her banking job. There was no line at the poll that she went to. There were sign instructing voters to stand six feet from each other.

“All the poll workers were wearing masks and gloves,” Vang said. “I was the only one not wearing it.”

Vang said she is worried about catching the coronavirus, but she had to go vote in person because it was too late for her to get an absentee ballot.

-Wat Lee

The Absentee Voter in Highland

Many people decided to request an absentee ballot for this election because of Covid-19. Bruce Bierman, of Highland, Wis., has voted in-person during every other election until this one because he was worried about getting sick.

He was not affected by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision about absentee ballots. He said the Supreme Court did its job and upheld the law, and that the Wisconsin Legislature is at fault for the debacle.

Bierman said that in-person voting should have been delayed, and that he blames both political parties for the elections taking place during the pandemic. Despite his frustrations, he said that Covid-19 didn’t alter who he voted for.

“I voted on my principles,” Bierman said. “Covid-19 will be only a bad memory soon and principles will live on.”

Bierman has been directly affected by the virus. He knows multiple people who have it and one person that has died. He doesn’t have it as far as he knows, but he doesn’t want to risk it

because he works with older people who are more susceptible to the virus. Bierman says that it’s Important to be a part of the political process and nothing, including Coronavirus would keep him from voting.

-Adrian Hurd

The Nursing Home Worker

The Wisconsin State Supreme Court overruled Governor Tony Evers’ decision to postpone the state primary Tuesday. Leaving many in our communities with tough decisions, is voting worth the risk?

Kelli Winkler is a part-time worker at a nursing home in New Holstein Wisconsin who was worried about the people she encounters daily. “I work with a lot of people who are at high risk,” she said.

Having to pay for her education, she is prioritizing her paycheck. She said, “I would not be comfortable coming into work after going into a crowd to vote.” She has already been laid from her second job as a bartender at a local supper club.

One of her coworkers is already in self quarantine for potentially being exposed. “It came down to taking off work or voting for me,” Winkler said. If given more time to get an absentee ballot she says she would have been more likely to vote.

-Alex Thome

18-Year-Old Too Worried to Vote

After so much controversy between the decision by Governor Evers to postpone voting in Wisconsin, and the Supreme Court ruling against that, the day to vote for the democratic candidate arrived. Jose Palacios is an 18-year-old senior at Milwaukee’s Marquette University Highschool and decided to not vote for these elections.

Like many other people in the state of Wisconsin, Jose Palacios did not get his absentee ballot in time, and decided to not vote in person due to the Covid-19 virus. Although he will not vote in this occasion, he has been aware about what is going on in the elections, and the issue that came up yesterday after Gov. Evers announcement. The 18-year-old MUHS senior considers that Governor Evers had taken the right decision, and laments that the Supreme Court changed it. Palacios says, “The Supreme Court should have agreed with Gov. Evers and continued the elections once the situation improves.”

Palacios is concerned by how fast this virus has spread in a short amount of time, and for this reason thought it’d be a better idea to just stay home. When asked if he believes a lot of people would abstain from voting in person, Palacios answered that he believes many people will make the same decision as him in the state of Wisconsin. Palacios answered, “I do not believe a lot of people will go vote in person because they are afraid of what might happen.” Palacios considers there is a fear of voting in person because voters as well as workers from other states have tested positive, and people in Wisconsin do not want the same to occur.

Despite not voting, Palacios hopes Bernie Sanders becomes the candidate for the Democrat Party and wins the election in November as well. Sanders proposals is what really convinces Palacios, and really likes the idea of attending college with a free tuition.

– By Daniel Valadez

Importance of Fulfilling Civil Duties

To the majority of U.S citizens, voting for a candidate during the elections is one of the most important civil duties to do, and is taken very seriously. Noel Landeros is from Milwaukee Wisconsin and was waiting anxiously for his moment to vote. The 19 year- old freshmen is a double major in Political Science as well as Latin American Studies at Marquette University who considers now more than ever, people need to vote.

Landeros mailed in his absentee ballot with days in advance and did not have to worry about going to vote in person. It was very important for Landeros to turn in his vote and decided to mail in his vote because he is aware of the difficult situation we are going through. I had the opportunity to talk with Landeros and he said, “It was the first time I voted as an absentee and I did this for obvious reasons.” “I voted this way to not only take care of myself, but also those around me.”  Noel was enthusiastic about voting for the first time and was glad he did not have to worry about not being able to turn in his vote.

Without doubt, the Supreme Court rejection of Gov. Evers decision to postpone in-person voting was not taken well by many people in Wisconsin, and the MU freshmen considers the court’s ruling to be unfair. Landeros considers that Wisconsin’s Governor had made the right decision in order to contain the virus from spreading and exposing the people from this dangerous disease that is killing millions of people all around the world. The fact that the court rejected the voting extension and are forcing citizens that want to vote to either go out to the stations or not vote at all did not sit well on Landeros and does not understand at all. Disappointed by this ruling, Landeros said, “In my opinion this is a form of voter suppression because citizens are being taken away from the opportunity of voting.” Landeros considers that there was nothing wrong with waiting a little longer, and that way making it fair for those who wanted to vote but did not want to risk getting corona virus.

Although Bernie Sanders is down in the polls, Landeros believes the former Senator from Vermont is a better candidate than Joe Biden. Landeros voted for Sanders because he believes the United States needs some change, and Sanders can bring to the table what Joe Biden and current President Donald Trump cannot. Sanders way of proposing his ideas has really convinced Landeros and sees him as a candidate that does not want to benefit the Democrat Party, Wall Street, or big businesses only, but rather the American people.

Landeros really believes that voting is important and encourages those who did not vote to fulfill this duty next time there is a chance. Whatever the result comes out to be, he hopes the candidate that wins in November works for the good of the country, and the people.

– By Daniel Valadez

The Teacher of Government

A Public-School U.S Government teacher, Andy Loizzo, ultimately decided to vote absentee due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Andy Loizzo has been teaching government to high schoolers for 14 years and said the possible postponement of the election was reasonable given the circumstances. “If the order is

essentially to stay at home and not have contact with anyone then having people meet in lines or in voting places is alarming and will probably lead to worsening health care crisis around Wisconsin.”

Amid the Wisconsin COVID-19 lockdown, Loizzo talks about his personal opinions on this subject. “I don’t think anyone wants to endure a lockdown because of the emotional, social,

economic damage being done to the state but if we truly value one another, we have to do it to protect the community,” said Loizzo.

The peak of COVID-19 is supposed to arise the last week in April and he believes Election Day will add to the crisis. If people are going to the polls and not following COVID-19 procedures, will the virus ever stop spreading?

Loizzo said, “Even though I may not be personally affected by the sickness yet, our actions often

times impact others.” This is one of the reasons he chooses to vote through the mail rather than in person.

-Taylor Wietzke

The Beaver Dam Resident

Sarah Hensley, resident of Beaver Dam, mailed in her Election Day ballot instead of attending the polls due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hensley is a mother of 3 that works fulltime from home as an Operations Manager at TAB Products Company. The COVID-19 has not changed her daily life at all expect in the way she is

now the caretaker of her 3 children at home. COVID-19 also did not change her decisions when choosing candidates to represent the local and state elections. “COVID-19 did not alter who I voted for at all,” said Hensley. “My decisions were based on track records, other policies, etc., not the current medical crisis.”

Gov. Evers proposed to postpone statewide elections to a later date but ultimately got denied.

Hensley responded to this saying, “There was more than ample time and were many reminders about absentee ballots available so postponing the election would be unnecessary.”

Regarding individuals mailing in their vote or going in person to vote, she said she could see both sides. She personally chooses to mail in her vote because she was trying to help stop the spread of COVID-19. On the other hand, she recognizes the traditional side of voting. Hensley is fearful that there will be less of a turnout this year for the elections statewide because of the pandemic.

-Taylor Wietzke

The Appleton Carpenter Who Didn’t Vote

Jon Boyer, an Appleton native and carpenter in the area stated he did not vote in the primary. “There is too much of a risk going out and voting. I’ll vote in November when all this passes, just not now.”

Even though Wisconsin has over 2,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, that didn’t stop many residents to go out to the polls. Amber Schroeder, a stay at home mom from Wauwatosa waited in line for two hours. “It’s crazy that Milwaukee county only had five polls open for a city that contains more than half a million people.”

-Lexi Schroeder

Not Worried About Getting Sick

At Riverside High School in Milwaukee, there was a line of people around the block waiting to vote. Most people were wearing face masks and gloves. Orlando Owens was one of the only people in line not wearing a mask. He said he wasn’t really worried about getting sick at the polls.

Owens is 46 years old and is a federal worker in Milwaukee. Despite waiting in line for over an hour and a half, he still wasn’t sure if suspending in-person voting would have been the right thing to do. He said the pandemic didn’t influence who he voted for or change which issues mattered to him most. He is only worried about the people in his community not working because of the virus.

He knows four people who have the virus and has been directly affected by it. He says it has significantly slowed his life down.

-Adrian Hurd

The Ozaukee County Pizza Worker

Tessa Fredrichs, an Ozaukee County voter, works at Ian’s Pizza on North Avenue near Prospect Avenue. She is socially distancing outside of work and voted by absentee.

“It doesn’t directly affect me, but that doesn’t mean I’m okay with the blatant suppression happening today” Fredrichs said in an interview conducted over Facebook messenger. “One of my friends even said that ballots aren’t being emailed anymore, so people are literally being forced to be outside/in danger to exercise their right.”

Fredrichs isn’t the only voter angry about how this election has played out, and, like Serrato, she expects low voter turnout that will work in favor of anyone encouraging voters to risk their health in order to vote.

“I think the results are going to be in Biden’s favor, since Bernie has been adamant for people being safe, while Biden has said it’s completely fine to go out and vote…ready to be disappointed” said Fredrichs.

-Destiny DeVooght

The Nervous Voter in Milwaukee

Isaac Jiardini saw a long line at the polls at Milwaukee’s Washington High School. “The line stretches down a couple blocks down then wraps around again, so I would probably say close to half a mile,” he said.

Were there people there making sure people are standing 6 feet apart? “Not really, there is tape where people are supposed to and we are trying to keep people as far away as possible but we can only do so much,” he said, adding, “We are wearing face masks, gloves and gowns if you are working face-to-face.

How many people are working face-to-face? “About 25-30.” How many people have gone to vote? “At this location, around 2,000 maybe. There is still four hours left.”

He thought Evers was right to try to suspend the election. “Absolutely. I know I chose to be here but it’s still nerve-racking. Only half the people are wearing masks, I see people constantly touching their face or mouth than touch something else. One lady licked the pen.”

-Jasper Appleton

Stayed Home in West Allis

After many debates, a few caucuses and numerous primaries, it finally was the day for Wisconsin citizens to cast their votes. One University of Minnesota student who lives in West Allis, Wisconsin, Brandon Baltz, decided to stay in the comfort of his home instead.

Baltz’s disposition with this primary stems from two factors: the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and his disinterest in the Democratic side of the ballot. “I believe there’s no desire for me

because Biden is probably going to win,” said Baltz.

While cynicism stopped his desire to vote on the democratic side of the ballot, it was clear that the Covid-19 pandemic was also at the forefront of his decision making. Baltz expressed a

desire to have the election take place on a later date but understood the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Occurrences like a global pandemic also can change opinions about candidates as voters react to the decisions that politicians make in these times. “Some candidates are using this to push

their agendas,” said Baltz when asked how Covid-19 is affecting his opinions on the Democratic candidates.

“This makes me come to the realization of what is occurring in the country,” said Baltz. While skeptical of the candidates, Baltz decided to sit this primary out, ultimately deciding that the safety of himself and his family was more important than his vote

-Lucas Konevsky

Staying Inside in Green Bay

Ryan Scripp, of Green Bay, didn’t vote. “I didn’t want to risk it. I am taking this virus very seriously; we all need to be practicing social distancing in hopes of flattening the curve,” he said.

Did he sign up for an absentee ballot? “I did not, I was too late to fill one out and there wasn’t really an effort to try and inform the public that the option for an absentee ballot was available.”

Would you have voted if there was an easier process to do from home or online? “Absolutely, I don’t think that’s realistic though. We can barely count the votes accurately normally so putting something as important as an election online is risky and honestly, I would be a little skeptical of the results as well.”

He thought Evers was right to suspend the election. “Yeah. I think this is ridiculous that we have to choose between the future of our nation or our personal health. Not only that, we are in a global pandemic. Our country is the global leader of Corona cases. We have issued a state-wide stay home order and yet we can go and vote? Ridiculous. I’m staying inside. That’s it. That’s all we can do. “

-Jasper Appleton

Voted at South Division

Alexi Person didn’t anticipate needing to vote in person for the April 7 election until she realized it was too late to drop off her completed absentee ballot. Person is a senior at UW-

Milwaukee and works part time. She couldn’t leave working from home until 5 p.m., but the deadline to drop off her ballot was 4 p.m.

At the South Division High School polling site, Person observed most voters wearing masks and standing six feet apart on designated x marks on the ground. Despite protective measures,

Person noted that people still touched the same surfaces, like door handles.

“It’s kind of crazy that we need to do this,” said Person. “The Republicans just denied letting an extension happen for this, so here we are.”

She also observed poll volunteers wearing blue scrub-like garments, masks and gloves. One woman in line carried a bag of toilet paper. “It was like a very post-apocalyptic picture,” said Person.

Person voted for Bernie Sanders today, but she will still vote for Joe Biden in the event that Sanders loses the primary. “My belief is I should vote for who I actually want in the primaries,

but whoever the elected nominee is for the democrats is who I’m going to vote for in November,” said Person.

-Jessica Gatzow

The West Bend Police Captain

The Supreme Court’s decision to overrule postponing election day affected the lives of several U.S. citizens, but that did not stop two West Bend, WI residents from exercising their right to vote. 

47-year-old Tim Dehring is the Captain of the West Bend Police and these current circumstances did not alter his decision to vote. 

“I have always looked for leadership abilities as a priority in my vote selection,” said Dehring. 

Dehring voted as an absentee because he felt that was the safer route to go rather than going in-person with large groups of people.

“I would be apprehensive to go out in these conditions,” Dehring said. “But I would take the necessary precautions.” 

In addition, Dehring believed the Supreme Court made the right decision in not moving the election to June.

“While COVID-19 is a crisis, I don’t believe we have reached the danger threshold which would justify suspending our democratic process,” said Dehring. “I trust government bodies throughout the country have taken appropriate precautions and most citizens had ample opportunities to utilize the existing absentee process.” 

One of Dehring’s main issues he stands by as an essential worker is leadership. 

“Leadership and fair and equitable treatment of all citizens has always been something I stand for,” said Dehring.

-Sam Dehring

The West Bend Teacher

54-year-old Julie Dehring is a teacher at Kewaskum Elementary School who felt safe voting in-person in her hometown of West Bend. 

“I felt safe because of the way they handled it here in West Bend,” said Julie Dehring. “There were only two people there, but they had tape separating each voter to keep social distancing.” 

Several people were upset at the decision to keep the election going. However, Julie Dehring felt they made the right decision.

“If it was handled appropriately like it was here in West Bend, then there’s no need for suspending the election,” Julie Dehring said.

One of Julie Dehring’s biggest issues she stands by is the immigration laws implemented in the United States.

“The immigration laws are not effective, which is why we have some of the problems we have now,” said Julie Dehring. Everybody deserves to have a good life, but building a wall is not the answer.” 

Tim and Julie Dehring were two of several Americans who voted today no matter what the current circumstances were. Whether it be absentee or in-person, COVID-19 did not stop them from having their right to vote.

-Sam Dehring

A Teacher in Denmark, Wisconsin

Wisconsin citizen Danelle Schreiner, 34, of Green Bay is a kindergarten through fifth grade Spanish teacher at Denmark Elementary School who is frustrated with the decision to continue in-person voting.

She completed absentee voting, but her husband tried to get his absentee ballot the day after she did, and it still has not arrived. He considered going to the polls today.

“I told him he can’t, I’m like, ‘you’re not allowed to go vote’ because if he goes then it’s like we’re all going, we might as well just both go vote then,” said Schreiner.

She said she recently received mail that told her she was an above average voter, meaning that she not only votes for presidential, but also for local elections.

“As a family we are very civic minded,” said Schreiner. “We listen to NPR and try to stay on top of all the current issues, so it’s pretty frustrating to us that my husband is not voting today, but like I said for us it’s not worth the possibility of getting that sick.”

Voting should have been extended or there should have been an allowance for an extension of voting by mail, according to Schreiner. She said she thinks it is irresponsible to put lots of people together when we are supposed to be practicing social distancing.

Schreiner was looking at a map a few days ago that showed our region was doing well with social distancing and now with voting she thinks cases will likely increase.

“It’s not even going to matter after this if everyone went and voted and spread it all around,” said Schreiner. It’s super frustrating and I feel like it’s like starting over.”

This was her first time voting by mail and something she did not realize was that there must be a witness. She was concerned about the limits this puts on people who live alone and the many of which are elderly. She had her husband be her witness, but said she knows many people who would have to find someone outside of their home.

“What if you know you have COVID-19 and you are being responsible by voting by mail and then you have to expose someone else to it in order for it to be a valid vote.”

-Hannah Borchert

A College Student in Madison

Katrina Hochholzer, 21, is a political science major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has voted in every election since she was eligible. She gave a simplified explanation of what had occurred the past few days to clarify confusion associated with the election.

Hochholzer said that the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Wisconsin constitution say that the governor doesn’t have the ability to change the election date. However, the Wisconsin court initially said the absentee deadline could be extended. Yesterday, the legislature appealed to the Supreme Court in an emergency hearing.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Evers did not have the power to extend the absentee ballot deadline and that they had to be postmarked or submitted by today.

“For the past two weeks the law was that if you couldn’t get a witness you could still send your ballot in and it would count,” said Hochholzer. “However, one of the rulings yesterday said that those ballots cannot count. Now there are hundreds, if not thousands, of ballots that have already been submitted and can’t get a witness and their votes will not count.”

Hochholzer said as a result she doesn’t like how people are being told they have the right to vote or they have a right to their health, but they can’t have both.

“Legislature should have suspended in-person voting… I think valuing your political agenda over the lives of your constituents is disgusting, quite frankly,” said Hochholzer. “We’re seeing what the values of our legislatures are and it is clearly not the lives of their constituents.”

She has reflected on what this shows about the national government and the people part of it and said that it makes her feel a little better about the whole thing once it is over because hopefully there will be some much needed change.

With the rapid change in decisions over the election in the past few days she says that the so-called blame is on both sides.

She said that Evers probably should have started making the decision earlier because there were a few other states that did. If he would have, he could have put some pressure on the legislature to move the election, according to Hochholzer.

“My thought was that if you made the order on March 17 that no more than ten people can congregate then why were you planning on doing in-person voting on a day that fits your month timeline where no more than ten people gather?” said Hochholzer.

The Supreme Court set a weird president because if something similar arises in any other state there is now a supreme court ruling on it about the governor’s powers which she said could raise many other questions.

Hochholzer said that in her political science class they talked about why many people speculate that the republican legislatures didn’t do anything before today. She said one reason is possibly because they wanted to keep the in-person voting because of the seat open. The republican candidate was a judge appointed by Scott Walker and was endorsed by Donald Trump last week and then Trump Tweeted again today.

“That is a big reason why people are speculating that the republican legislatures which are a large majority of the Wisconsin legislatures wanted to keep that seat,” said Hochholzer. “They wanted to keep it today to either suppress voter turnout or get the voters they wanted.”

-Hannah Borchert

Seratto’s Parents Voted

However, both of Serrato’s parents will vote in person on April 7. With both being immunocompromised, Serrato says she feels anxious and angry that they are in this position.

“Politicians have decided to put people’s lives at risk, and they voted for it over video chat,” said Serrato.

She is referring to the United States Supreme Court, which said in a press release on March 16 that it will hold meetings via conference call in order to protect the health of the Justices. Serrato says that this is “hypocritical” and that the election should have been “1,000% postponed”.

In an emotional moment, Serrato said that she expects that when the votes are counted, there will be record lows in voter turnout – and she is not alone in that prediction.

-Destiny DeVooght

The Non-Voter

On April 7^th Wisconsin chose to hold in-person polling and Amanda Lambrecht herself doesn’t understand the decision. “Usually there are something like 108 different polling sites in Milwaukee County and today there are only 5? The amount of people being separated to 108 now just being 5 polling areas is going to cause chaos.”

Lambrecht herself uses this as an example of how she herself has lost faith in the political system, “I vote here and there but in general their decision to hold in person polling shows how they don’t really know what they’re doing.” The decision is an odd move, but it is a move to get people to vote which isn’t necessarily what is best for people.

Health is the main concern and it seems people need to make the choice between voting or being safe, “I say don’t go vote but people feel they have to. I am not because I want to be safe, especially when there is a pandemic happening.”

Though many people want others to do what they feel is a civic duty, “I have had friends make me feel bad for not voting but I think my health is more important, so I made that decision.

-Daniel King

Waiting for Her Absentee Ballot

Ashley Loch is from Green Bay. “I’m planning to vote. I have a ballot coming in the mail. I would have gone and voted if the lines weren’t so crazy due to the coronavirus,” she said.

She thought the election should have been suspended. “Yes, I do think they should have suspended it or had it planned out better for not only health reasons but also because die to the health concerns right now lines were so long, a lot of locations were changed and anyone who is ill may not have had the opportunity to vote even if they wanted to. I think the election should have still continued but not how it did,” she said.  “Me and my family were concerned. This is why none of us went after seeing the lines. Some people had taken safety measures but not everyone and with all of this going on you never know. I’m not really worried about myself and the virus but just more so people who are at higher risk and could potentially be deadly to.”

It wouldn’t have changed who she was voting for. “No, it didn’t alter who I will be voting for. The candidate I went with didn’t make me feel uncertain about them knowing what I know with a situation like this. As for the lockdown, I think it’s annoying but if everyone would follow it it would be effective and worth it but who knows.”

She knows someone with coronavirus but it hasn’t really affected her life yet.

-Allison Martens

The Whitewater Student

Kate Riemer is a student in Whitewater, Wisconsin. “I didn’t vote because of lack of education on the voting process as well as lack of education on who I’m voting for,” she said “I think in person voting should be suspended but an alternative should be offered, I think the election should move forward. I’m worried about others getting sick at the polls because that will just increase the chance of the exposure thus increasing the spread of the virus.”

She has mixed feelings on the lockdowns. “The lockdowns have pros and cons it will obviously reduce chances of the virus spreading, but it’s also going to be very hard on businesses and the economy in general,” she said.

-Allison Martens