Unable to join the list of US states postponing their elections, a federal judge in Madison, Wisconsin, has declined to postpone the US state’s primary elections scheduled to hold April 7th, stating that the power to postpone falls outside the jurisdiction of the court.
US District Judge William Conley made his decision in response to an emergency request made by state Democrats and voting right groups who opined that the Governor Tony Evers stay-at-home order prompted by the coronavirus pandemic would disenfranchise many as voters would be unwilling to wait in lines to register or pick up absentee ballots or go to the polls on Tuesday.
In his 53-page ruling issued late on Thursday, Conley blasted state leaders including Democrat Governor Tony Evers and the Republican majority led state legislature for their doggedness in delaying the elections to protect people’s health. He accused state leaders of being lackadaisical with people’s lives as they “are not willing to say there’s a public health crisis and make it absolutely clear we should not be allowing poll workers and voters to congregate on April 7,” adding that it was inappropriate for a federal district court to act as the state’s Chief Health Officer by “taking that step for them.”
However, in a bid to make the voting process easier, the US Judge eased several restrictions for absentee voting, requiring the state to count any ballots it received by April 13, provided they are postmarked no later than Election Day. He also lifted the witness requirement for absentee voting, which states that absentee voters must have their ballots signed by a witness, and also extended the deadline for voters to request ballots by a day to Friday, April 3rd.
The Republican Party of Wisconsin said it has appealed the ruling to the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals, asking it to stay the order. The Republican National Committee and the party had urged Conley to allow the election to proceed as planned.
“We are glad that the court came to the right decision today. Expanding access to absentee voting is critical in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and we continue to encourage all states to pursue vote-by-mail and no-excuse absentee voting to ensure that all eligible voters who want to cast a ballot have the means and ability to do so,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said in response to Conley’s ruling.
Speaking to Politico, the spokesperson for Governor Evers, Melissa Baldauff, revealed that the governor has no plans of interfering with the set election date, saying: “He doesn’t want to do it and he also doesn’t have the authority to do it.”
