OVERRULED

Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Governor Cannot Postpone Tuesday’s Primary

The governor signed an executive order on Monday to delay in-person voting until June 9 due to coronavirus concerns, saying, “It’s time to act.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Gov. Tony Evers cannot postpone Tuesday’s primary elections over concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. The ruling came shortly after the governor signed an executive order to delay in-person voting until June 9. Speaker Robin Vos and Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin’s Republican legislature said earlier on Monday in a joint statement that they are “immediately challenging this executive order,” adding, “the clerks of this state should stand ready to proceed with the election. The governor’s executive order is clearly an unconstitutional overreach.”

“At the end of the day, this is about the people of Wisconsin,” Gov. Evers told The Washington Post on Monday. “They frankly don’t care much about Republicans and Democrats fighting. They’re scared. We have the surgeon general saying this is Pearl Harbor. It’s time to act.” Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled legislature rejected Evers’ proposal to suspend in-person voting during a special session on Saturday. “It’s always been about following the science,” the governor continued. “We have seen growth in the number of deaths across the state. We’ve seen coronavirus showing up via tests across the state. It’s been accelerating.”