Judge Won’t Postpone April 7 Wisconsin Primary Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

A federal judge declined to postpone Wisconsin’s presidential primaries on April 7, despite concerns that holding an election during the coronavirus pandemic could risk public health and discourage voters from heading to the polls. According to The Washington Post, the Thursday ruling from U.S. District Judge William Conley extended the deadline for absentee ballots by one week—allowing people to submit them until April 13. In making his decision, Conley said he does not want to postpone the election without evidence that hundreds of thousands would see their voting rights limited by having the contest during the pandemic. He said that kind of evidence wouldn’t be available until Election Day.

Wisconsin is now the only state of the 11 originally scheduled to hold primaries in April that will still do so. Over 100 municipalities have reportedly said they do not have enough poll workers to open one voting locations, and state officials fear that residents won’t receive their mail-in ballots on time.