Wisconsin Holds Primary Election Amid Ongoing Pandemic

Wisconsin Holds Primary Election Amid Ongoing Pandemic

Wisconsin Holds Primary Election Amid Ongoing Pandemic Despite outcries for public safety, the state of Wisconsin is holding the lone primary election in April, after every other state has either postponed or moved to by-mail voting only.

Republicans who fought to keep the election on schedule won out after a state supreme court decision blocked a bid to postpone until June due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The U.S. Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision that would give voters six extra days to mail their ballots in.

Wisconsin, which has seen over 2,500 cases and 85 deaths from COVID-19, has positioned itself as an early test case for how the pandemic will affect ballots.

Lines across the state were extraordinarily long like in Milwaukee, where there are just five polling places, instead of the typical 180 sites.

The overwhelming number of volunteers who have quit were replaced by the state's National Guard troops.

And while many have requested ballots by mail, they likely will not receive them in time to be counted, forcing voters to either vote in-person or not at all.