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| Coronavirus imperils Wisconsin as Gov Tony Evers refuses action on elections to mounting criticism. |
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Madison365 this weekend features a report from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) that says, "The coronavirus crisis will peak in Wisconsin around May 22, with about 1,350 people in the hospital and 13 people dying every day, and will last well into July."
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One hell of a gamble with the safety of the Wisconsin people that Evers is taking.
But he has his reasons: Evers wants Wisconsin to not postpone elections, in accordance with the wishes of the national Democratic Party trying to shepherd establishment favorite, Joe Biden, as the nominee: "The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is asking states not to postpone their primaries amid the coronavirus pandemic," notes a reports from The Hill this weekend.
Public safety loses when matched against Party loyalty and group-think.
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Madison, Wisconsin — With a flick of the state Health Sec-designee's pen, Gov Tony Evers can ban the dangerous in-person voting scheduled for Election Day, April 7, during this unprecedented state of emergency, (Wisconsin Executive Orders).
But Evers refuses to do so despite mounting criticism. Evers' staff says moving elections would result in a lawsuit, so no public-safety order from the administration, (Schmidt, Wisconsin State Journal).
This widely desired action would have the effect of canceling the elections, in a move many hope would result in rescheduling Wisconsin's Presidential Preference Primary, and other municipal and state elections.
A piece in the New York Times this morning makes the point:
With April elections rapidly approaching in Wisconsin, local officials were issuing stark warnings about holding in-person voting amid the escalating coronavirus outbreak, saying the state was forcing voters to choose between their health and their constitutional right to vote.
Local officials and members of the public fear for their health and very lives, and are urging Evers to act. See also 'How can I be positive?' La Crosse County nurse shares her experience with COVID-19.
Wisconsin State Rep. David Bowen (D-Milwaukee), who tested positive for COVID 19 this week, said at a press conference, "There is no safe way to be able to have this election," (Becker, The Capital Times).
But for Tony Evers, the Democratic Party needs justify his gamble that noone shows up and votes in-person on Election Day — what Evers has been urging for days.
And state Republicans are no better.
Write Nick Corasaniti and Stephanie Saul in the Times:
Even as other states have postponed their presidential primaries, Evers has remained adamant the election will proceed as planned on April 7 — a decision that (State Sen) Fitzgerald (R) and (State Rep) Vos (R) have supported. All three have strongly encouraged residents to vote absentee.
The decision to hold the election at a time when nonessential travel and mass gatherings are banned in hopes of mitigating the respiratory disease’s spread has drawn strong criticism from poll workers, clerks and members of the public who argue doing so puts voters and poll workers at risk of infection.
Madison’s city clerk has said roughly half of poll workers scheduled to work the election have canceled. In Middleton, 25 of the city’s 72 poll workers, including two chief inspectors, will not staff election day.
So what's with Evers and state Republican legislative leaders?
Republicans want elections to proceed as they game public health to retain a rightwing state Supreme Court justice in a depressed-turnout election.
And Evers wants the elections to proceed in defiance of the clear public health danger, to further the nomination of Joe Biden.
Unconscionable.
