Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers Issues Executive Order Delaying Tomorrow's Election for Two Months
Monday, April 6th, 2020 -- 2:07 PM
-Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Monday issued an executive order to delay the state’s presidential primary for two months because of the coronavirus pandemic, a move that will almost certainly prompt a court challenge and inject new uncertainty about whether the election will move forward.Evers, a Democrat, had previously opposed moving Tuesday’s election. But he’s pushing to delay it until June 9 amid criticism about how in-person voting can proceed safely at a time when public health officials are discouraging groups of people from gathering to avoid spread of the virus. Some poll sites have already closed because nervous volunteers are unwilling to staff them. It was stated that absentee voting would continue on until June 9th as well. Evers had been unable to strike a deal with Republicans to reschedule the election. His order comes after the GOP-controlled Legislature refused his request to cancel in-person voting on Tuesday. The order, which Evers had previously said he didn’t have the legal authority to make, was expected to face an immediate challenge to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is controlled 5-2 by conservative justices.
One of them is on the ballot Tuesday and has not participated in other election-related legal fights, narrowing the conservative majority to 4-2. The Evers order came as a separate legal fight was pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. Governor Evers went on to say that he has ordered a special election again for tomorrow with hopes the legislature will agree with his decision and agree to delay the election until June. Along with that, the Governor stated the order would extend the terms of all public offices within the state of Wisconsin until the election is held.
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