The special election to replace Sean Duffy is likely to be pushed back by months. Here's why.
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MADISON - The special election to fill a congressional seat in northern Wisconsin is likely to be moved back by months.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers plans to take the unusual step of changing the date of the special election because state and federal law conflict with each other over the issue.
Under the plan, the special election will likely be held in April or May instead of January, according to Evers' office.
The change in date could cause headaches — at least in the short term — for candidates, clerks and voters.
Last week Evers ordered a special election to be held Jan. 27 to replace Sean Duffy, the Wausau Republican who resigned from Congress because his wife is about to have a baby with severe health problems.
RELATED: Sean Duffy shares on Twitter that baby No. 9 is coming soon due to complications
Evers set the primary for Dec. 30 — in keeping with a state law that requires primaries to be held 28 days before special elections.
But that election schedule runs afoul of a federal law that requires military and overseas voters to be able to obtain absentee ballots at least 45 days before any election — including a primary — for federal office.
Evers plans to issue an executive order soon that would rescind the election schedule he set last week and establish a new one, according to Evers spokeswoman Melissa Baldauff.
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Evers has not yet finalized the new schedule, but his aides are in talks on the issue with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Wisconsin Department of Justice.
Aides to Evers are focused on two possibilities for the new schedule.
Under one scenario, the primary would be held Feb. 4 and the general election would be held April 7. That would mean the special election would be held the same day as Wisconsin's presidential primary and regular spring election for state Supreme Court and local offices. Under that schedule, the congressional primary would be held two weeks before the primary for Supreme Court and local offices.
Under the second schedule being considered for the special election, the primary would be held Feb. 18 and the general election would be held May 5. That would mean the congressional and Supreme Court primary were on the same day, but the general elections would be held at different times.
Evers doesn't have the option of having the special primary and special election on the same dates as the spring primary and spring general election, according to his office. That's because there would not be enough time to certify the primary results and have general election ballots available on the timeline required by federal law for federal offices.
Running in the Republican primary to replace Duffy are Tom Tiffany, a state senator from Minocqua; Jason Church, an aide to U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson who was awarded a Purple Heart after he lost his legs in combat in Afghanistan; and Michael Opela, who describes himself as a former chef, stock broker, engineer and businessman now living on a hobby farm in Edgar.
No Democrats have announced a run so far in the heavily Republican district covering northern Wisconsin.
Whoever wins the special election will have to run again in the fall of 2020 if he or she wants to stay in office.
“It is imperative that all military and overseas voters have the opportunity to vote," Tiffany said in a statement."I am prepared to earn the voters’ trust regardless of the election date."
Church in a statement said Evers' "political motivations have resulted in chaos and uncertainty for voters."
"I look forward to continuing a conversation with the people of the 7th Congressional District and earning their support," he said.
Rick Esenberg, president of the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty said Evers failed to do his job with the initial schedule he set.
"As the governor scrambles to reschedule the election, citizens deserve to know why the governor chose dates outside of the spring 2020 election schedule," Esenberg said in a statement.
Issue has been simmering for years
Congress in 2009 amended a long-standing law to give military and overseas voters more time to obtain absentee ballots. Wisconsin legislators in 2011 responded to the updated federal law by moving the primary in fall elections from September to August.
But they didn't fix the schedule for special elections, creating the conflict between state and federal law over when primaries in those elections must be held. State lawmakers have been aware of the problem for years but haven't addressed it.
The election to find Duffy's replacement is the first time the issue has arisen since the federal law changed. The special elections that have been held in recent years were for local and state offices, which don't have to follow the same rules that elections for federal candidates do.
Criticism over earlier schedule
Evers faced criticism over the initial schedule he set on two fronts.
Under his original plan, both the primary and general election would be on Mondays, instead of Tuesdays as elections are usually held. Evers did that to avoid having the primary on New Year's Eve, but critics argued holding an election on a Monday would depress turnout.
On Friday, GOP Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester told Evers in a letter that he must change the election date because the primary was set to occur on the last day of Hanukkah.
"I respectfully demand that you find a new date for the upcoming special election in Wisconsin," Vos wrote.
The president of the board of the Mount Sinai Congregation in Wausau said he did not have a problem holding the primary during Hanukkah because the holiday is minor.
Contact Patrick Marley at patrick.marley@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @patrickdmarley.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Election to replace Sean Duffy in Congress to be pushed back months
