Tuesday an election for the history books
On April 7, Prairie du Chien poll workers conducted a drive-through election at Hoffman Hall for city voters, in an effort to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus among election officials and the public. Voters in vehicles (and some on foot) were directed through the parking lot to one of two lanes, split with three wards assigned to each. Underneath tents set up to protect workers from the elements, officials assisted voters with registering if necessary, showing proof of residence and the rest of the voting process—all through a crack in the driver’s side window. Pens and clipboards were sanitized between each use, and hand sanitizer was offered to voters prior to casting their ballot. Similar drive-through voting options were offered in municipalities across the region Tuesday. The city also issued about 840 absentee ballots, which is about 75 percent higher than a usual election. (Photo by Ted Pennekamp)
By Correne Martin, Steve Prestegard and Gillian Pomplun
Regardless of the results of Tuesday’s spring general election, it will go down as the most unusual election in this state’s history.
Over the course of Monday:
•The state Legislature, called into special session upon the executive order of Gov. Tony Evers for the second time in three days, convened and adjourned without enacting legislation to change the date of Tuesday’s election.
•Evers issued an executive order moving the in-person voting portion of the election to June 9, days after Evers said he didn’t have the authority to order that the election be moved.
•The state Supreme Court voted 4–2 to invalidate Evers’ executive order Monday late afternoon, reinstating in-person voting.
•The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5–4 to overturn a U.S. District Court ruling and require that absentee ballots be postmarked by election day to be counted, with a deadline for absentee for ballots to arrive at municipal offices by next Monday at 4 p.m.
With Tuesday’s election happening as scheduled, it may well be because of the efforts of county and municipal clerks, who were told by state Elections Commission Chair Megan Wolfe Monday afternoon that “we must continue to making preparation in earnest” for the regularly scheduled election.
More than 2,400 Wisconsin National Guard soldiers and airmen were mobilized to active duty Sunday to assist poll workers amid reports that municipalities were going to be short of poll workers.
Voting Tuesday took place for all wards, as a drive-through in the Hoffman Hall parking lot in Prairie du Chien. The city used a combination of poll workers and city staff to man the polling place.
The city issued approximately 840 absentee ballots, an amount that was up about 75 percent over a normal election, according to city hall.
The results of Tuesday’s vote originally were not going to be announced by county clerks until after the absentee deadline, after a court ruling by U.S. District Judge William Conley that was invalidated by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Conley’s decision set a deadline of Monday, April 13, at 4 p.m. for ballots to be counted by municipal clerks. The Supreme Court decision requires that ballots be postmarked by election day or delivered to the municipality by the time the polls closed, 8 p.m.
Evers called the Legislature into special session Saturday to make the election an all-mail election—with absentee ballots mailed to every voter who had not requested an absentee ballot, with the deadline to return them May 26—and then called the Legislature into special session Monday to move the election date. On both days, the Legislature gaveled to order and adjourned without taking action on any of Evers’ proposals.
The Elections Commission met March 31 and took three votes, all of which failed—asking the federal courts to move the election to May 12 (on a 4–2 vote), asking the federal courts to not move the election (3–3), and recommending to the federal courts the deadline for absentee ballots the same day as the election (4–2). The commission also determined the absentee ballot application deadline to be Thursday, which then was pushed back to Friday.
Several municipalities across the state consolidated polling places due to lack of workers. Other municipal clerks were using such methods as library book returns to drop off ballots.
Steve Prestegard is the editor of the Platteville Journal. Gillian Pomplun is a reporter for the Crawford County Independent in Gays Mills.
