MADISON, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) – Though a federal judge isn't postponing Wisconsin's spring election next week, the coronavirus is still raising a lot of concerns about safety and if there will be enough poll workers.
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Any further changes to the election would need to be made by both lawmakers and the governor together, but that seems pretty unlikely since they have yet to take any action on the election so far.
A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says Republicans stand by what they said during a press conference Wednesday.
“The word is definitely getting out there if you want to vote in this election that you have had ample opportunity to do that, and hopefully that will reduce the number of people that show up on the seventh of April to cast their ballot in-person,” Sen. Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said. “But, you know, I think that we are up to this task and it sounds like it's going to get done.”
“If you are bored at home and sick of watching Netflix, volunteer to go and help at the polls,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) said. “We need people to step up. This election is going to happen. There's no doubt in my mind that we're going to have it on April 7.”
Wednesday night Gov. Evers took to Twitter saying if he could have changed the election on his own he would have, but he can't without violating state law.
Sen. Fitzgerald said in a statement not once did the governor suggest moving the election date and that no Democratic lawmaker introduced a bill to move the election.
Wisconsin's presidential primary, a state supreme court race, and hundreds of local elections are on the ballot Tuesday.
Both the governor and Republican leaders who control the legislature have said they're worried about leaving those local offices vacant for an unknown time period since most local officials' terms will be up at the end of the month.