Wisconsin Supreme Court: Governor can't postpone election

Wisconsin Supreme Court: Governor can't postpone election

The Wisconsin Supreme Court put the state's presidential primary back on track on Monday, blocking Democratic Governor Tony Evers' efforts to postpone in-person voting to June due to the coronavirus.

Gloria Tso reports.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court put the state's presidential primary back on track on Monday (April 6), ruling that Democratic Governor Tony Evers cannot postpone in-person voting to June due to the coronavirus.

The legal action means Wisconsin voters will head to the polls on Tuesday (April 7) to vote in the primary, state and local elections despite a ban on public gatherings and a stay-at-home order.

State officials have warned of potential chaos if voting goes ahead and the state's municipalities have also reported a shortage of poll workers.

Evers had moved earlier on Monday to postpone the state primary to June 9th.

Republicans quickly filed a legal challenge in the state Supreme Court, accusing Evers of quote "unconstitutional overreach." In a separate lawsuit filed by the Wisconsin Republican Party, the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn a federal judge's decision extending the time for absentee voting until next week.

More than a dozen states have responded to the pandemic so far by delaying or adjusting their primaries in the race to pick a Democratic challenger to Republican President Donald Trump.