Judge refuses to delay Wisconsin's presidential primary despite coronavirus fears

A federal judge refused on Thursday to postpone next week's U.S. presidential primary in Wisconsin but extended the time for absentee voting amid widespread worries about health risks from the coronavirus pandemic. U.S. District Judge William M. Conley said in a 53-page ruling that holding Tuesday's nominating contest during the pandemic would create "unprecedented burdens" for voters and poll workers but that it was not appropriate for a federal court to delay the election.

Conley added an extra week to the deadline for absentee ballots to be received by election officials, extending it until April 13. "As much as the court would prefer that the Wisconsin Legislature and Governor consider the public health ahead of any political considerations, that does not appear in the cards," he wrote.

The ruling was on three lawsuits asking Wisconsin to postpone the primary or expand the absentee voting during the coronavirus pandemic, which has created worries about health risks and led to a shortage of poll workers for Tuesday. Residents are under orders to stay at home and public gatherings are banned in Wisconsin, but the state's Democratic governor and Republican-controlled state legislature have not moved to delay the primary and local elections scheduled for Tuesday.

The pandemic has disrupted the Democratic race to pick a challenger for Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 U.S. election, knocking front-runner Joe Biden and rival Bernie Sanders off the campaign trail and forcing every other state with a nominating contest in April to delay or adjust voting plans to limit the health risks. The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported that nearly 60% of the state's municipalities faced a shortage of poll workers, with more than 100 municipalities without staff for even one polling site. The Wisconsin Army National Guard is set to help at the polls on Tuesday.

More than 1.1 million absentee ballots had been requested as of Thursday - surpassing the total turnout in the 2016 Democratic presidential primary - although fewer than half have been returned so far. Officials have noted the need to conduct the election soon because it will also decide thousands of state and local offices, including a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court that could be instrumental in deciding future voting-rights cases. Wisconsin is considered a battleground state crucial to November's election.

Governor Tony Evers asked the state legislature last week to pass a bill to send an absentee ballot to every registered voter, but Republicans said there was not enough time to make that feasible.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)