MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin is asking hundreds of thousands of voters to ignore a stay-at-home order in the midst of a pandemic to participate in today’s presidential primary election, becoming a test case for dozens of states struggling to balance public health concerns with a core pillar of democracy.
The National Guard is helping to run voting sites across the state after thousands of election workers stepped down fearing for their safety. Dozens of polling places are closed, but those that are active opened at 7 a.m. CDT.
Hundreds of voters across the state, many without masks covering their faces, waited in line to cast ballots at crowded polling sites this morning. Some poll workers, including the Republican state Assembly speaker, were wearing masks, gloves and what appeared to be surgical scrubs.
Results were not expected to be released election night. In the wake of a legal battle over whether to conduct the election as scheduled, a court ruling appeared to prevent results from being made public earlier than April 13.
The Election Day chaos that loomed over Wisconsin, a premiere general-election battleground, underscored the lengths to which the coronavirus outbreak has upended politics as Democrats seek a nominee to take on President Donald Trump this fall.
Joe Biden hopes the state will help deliver a knockout blow against Bernie Sanders in the nomination fight, but the winner of today’s contest may be less significant than Wisconsin’s decision to allow voting at all. Its ability to host an election under the lash of a growing pandemic could have significant implications for upcoming primaries and even the fall general election.
“This is a warning sign for November and a problem that states need to take all steps to avoid,” said Wendy Weiser, director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s democracy program. “Americans should not have to choose between their health and their right to vote.”
Democrats in and out of Wisconsin screamed for the low-profile contest to be postponed, yet Republicans — and the conservative-majority state Supreme Court — would not give in. The partisan split was colored by a state Supreme Court election in which a lower turnout was thought to benefit the conservative candidate.
In an overnight tweet, Trump encouraged people to vote. That followed an earlier tweet in which the president urged those going to the polls to “be safe.”
While Trump’s health advisers encouraged all Americans to stay home, Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt downplayed the heath concerns. The state had reported nearly 2,500 coronavirus infections and 77 related deaths as of Monday night.
“Wisconsin voters are pretty determined,” Hitt said, noting that Wisconsin residents are still going to the grocery store, the liquor store and even boating stores classified as essential businesses. “I can’t really think of something more essential than voting.”
Hitt said he would be among those voting in person today, even though he did not have a mask to cover his nose and mouth. On Friday, Trump said a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation that all Americans wear masks if they leave their homes was “voluntary.”
“I don’t have one. I’m sure most of Wisconsinites don’t have masks,” Hitt said. “This isn’t New York City.”
U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, asked about the dilemma facing Wisconsin voters, said he understands how important the right to vote is. He urged anyone going out to vote to do so “as safely as possible” by following social distancing guidelines pushed by the White House.
“I say, as a black man that I know that people have died for the right to vote. This is very important to our entire country, and if people are going to go out there and vote, then, please, do it as safely as possible, maintain six feet,” Adams said today on NBC’s “Today.” “Please, especially in Wisconsin, consider wearing a cloth facial covering to protect your neighbor. If you’re going to exercise your right to vote, do it as safely as possible.”
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers issued an executive order Monday afternoon to postpone the election. Less than four hours later, the state Supreme Court sided with Republicans who said Evers didn’t have the authority to reschedule the race on his own.
