Wisconsin Supreme Court Risks Spreading Covid-19 Virus to Keep Spring Election as Scheduled

Wisconsin voters had to choose between exercising their right to vote on Tuesday or possibly being exposed to the new coronavirus.  

Despite push back from health experts to postpone elections, the Wisconsin Supreme Court overruled Gov. Tony Evers’ executive order on Monday to postpone the spring election to June 9, forcing voters to risk exposure to the infectious disease as they went to the polls and causing thousands of absentee ballots to not be counted from overstressed and understaffed counting locations.  

Thousands of voters who were unable to get absentee ballots were forced to go to polls or not vote. According to elections.wi.gov, close to 10,000 people who applied for absentee ballots never received one.  

Some 16 states have delayed their primary elections because of the pandemic and many others have converted to a mail-in only system. But Wisconsin’s conservative majority supreme court denied any requests to make the election mail-in only or to postpone it. 

The United States Supreme Court overruled federal judge William Conley’s order allowing absentee ballots postmarked after April 7 and before April 13 to be counted on Monday.  

Evers said he was disappointed by the Supreme Court’s decision.  

“There are few things we hold more sacred and that are more American than the right to vote. People have bled, fought, and died for the right to vote in this country.” Evers said. “But tomorrow in Wisconsin, thousands will wake up and have to choose between exercising their right to vote and staying healthy and safe. In this time of historic crisis, it is a shame that two branches of government in this state chose to pass the buck instead of taking responsibility for the health and safety of the people we were elected to serve.” 

Andrew Hitt, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, welcomed the decision, saying that an election should not be altered the night before it is supposed to occur.  

“Consistent with years of precedent, the U.S. Supreme Court concluded that election laws should not be changed on the eve of an election. The confusion and time wasted as a result of these multiple lawsuits when we should have all been solely focused on preparing for a challenging election is truly sad and unfortunate. While some have argued that we should quickly change or circumvent our laws in a time of crisis, justifications in the moment can quickly lead us down a slippery slope that erodes our democracy,” Hitt said in a statement.  

Milwaukee, which typically has 180 polling locations, only had five open for Tuesday’s election, causing wait times of up to two and half hours and large crowds gathered at the polling sites.  

State Sen. Lena Taylor and incumbent Mayor Tom Barrett were on the ballot for the Milwaukee mayoral race.  

Taylor sued in Federal court to have the election pushed back to September after the City of Milwaukee canceled in-person early voting on March 22 and encouraged people to request an absentee ballot. 

Taylor said this disenfranchised black and minority voters in Milwaukee because many people who live in predominantly black neighborhoods would rely on internet from libraries to request absentee ballots and libraries are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The lawsuit did not make it to court in time to delay the election. View the full lawsuit here. 

Sen. Taylor and Mayor Barrett. Credit: GoLenaTaylor, BarrettforMilwaukee

At a press conference on Tuesday at Riverside High School, Taylor criticized how Barrett and Neil Albrecht, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, handled the pandemic.  

“Mayor Barrett and Neil Albrecht stopped early voting and they only opened up the drive through site because the state election commission corrected them for breaking the law. Then they only opened up the one drive through site. Why not multiple? That’s what a real leader would have done,” said Taylor. “It’s unacceptable that my colleagues did not believe it important to demand that people have a safe and fair way to go to the polls.”