Wisconsin Republicans reject governor’s move to postpone Tuesday election

Bill Glauber and Patrick Marley, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·3 min read

MADISON, Wis. – Republicans stalled a move by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to push back Tuesday's election, quickly adjourning a special legislative session to deal with voting issues during the coronavirus pandemic.

With only a few lawmakers present Saturday, the Legislature did not take up Evers' effort to extend the election date to May 19 and convert entirely to mail-in voting.

The election features the Democratic presidential primary between Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

Also Saturday, the Republican National Committee and state Republican Party asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a judge’s ruling that would allow absentee ballots to be counted in the days after Tuesday’s election.

Elections: More than a dozen states have delayed their primaries because of coronavirus

Wisconsin state Sen. Tim Carpenter, left, and Senate Clerk Jeff Renk attend a five-second-long special session on delaying the election April 4 at the state Capitol in Madison. Only two of 33 members were present, and the Senate took no action but left open the option of returning April 6.
Wisconsin state Sen. Tim Carpenter, left, and Senate Clerk Jeff Renk attend a five-second-long special session on delaying the election April 4 at the state Capitol in Madison. Only two of 33 members were present, and the Senate took no action but left open the option of returning April 6.

U.S. District Court Judge William Conley determined Thursday that absentee ballots should be counted if they are received by clerks by April 13 because tens of thousands of voters probably won’t get their absentee ballots until after Tuesday. Voters who requested ballots by the legal deadline deserve to have their votes counted, he ruled.

Conley extended online voter registration and allowed an extra day to request absentee ballots.

Wisconsin stands apart from other states in trying to hold to its April election date even though Evers issued a statewide stay-at-home order. Wisconsin’s chief medical officer credited the order for helping slow the rate of infections. The state had more than 2,260 cases as of Sunday.

The political action Saturday at the Capitol in Madison was brief.

In the Assembly, the session lasted for 17 seconds. In the Senate, it was even shorter.

Assembly Speaker pro tem Tyler August, the only Republican to show up in either house Saturday, refused to talk to reporters after gaveling the session to a close.

In the Senate, no Republicans made an appearance. Instead, they had their appointed chief clerk, Jeff Renk, bring the Senate into session and immediately end it. Two Democrats – Jon Erpenbach and Tim Carpenter, both wearing rubber gloves – watched from the Senate floor.

Erpenbach said the Republican majority should go along with Evers and push back the election over health concerns. People will get ill if they don’t, he said.

"The math will tell you people will get sick. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a polling place or you’re in a convenience store or you’re doing pickup, it doesn’t matter,” he said. “It’s around. I know they’ll practice social distancing and do what they possibly can to keep people safe, but I don’t know how somebody won’t get sick.”

In a statement, Evers accused legislative Republicans of "playing politics with public safety and ignoring the urgency of this public health crisis."

Republicans said they believe clerks will be able to take enough steps to keep voters safe. They stressed the importance of preserving a core democratic institution: the right to vote.

They accused the governor of trying to make changes at the last minute after he repeatedly said he wanted to keep in-person voting on schedule.

Contributing: Ricardo Torres and Molly Beck of the Journal Sentinel, Natalie Brophy of USA TODAY-Wisconsin, The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Coronavirus: Wisconsin Legislature stalls move to postpone election