MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The latest on the coronavirus outbreak in Wisconsin (all times local):
3:45 p.m.
A Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who is on the ballot Tuesday said the election should proceed as the court was weighing a legal challenge from Republicans who want to block Democratic Gov. Tony Evers from postponing the vote.
Conservative Justice Dan Kelly tweeted his call for the vote to proceed after Evers issued an order Monday postponing the election for two months over fears of the coronavirus. Republican lawmakers asked the court to block the order. Kelly is not participating in the case, leaving the court with a 4-2 conservative majority.
Kelly took to Twitter, where he said while the legal challenge to Evers’ order proceeds, “we urge clerks, poll workers, and voters to stand ready to conduct the election tomorrow.”
“We can do two things at the same time: maintain the foundations of our democracy while taking reasonable precautions to keep people safe,” Kelly said.
He faces liberal-backed challenger Jill Karofsky in the election.
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2:55 p.m.
The number of deaths attributed to the coronavirus in Wisconsin is up to 77 as of Monday, the state Department of Health Services reported.
That is an increase of nine people from Sunday. There have now been deaths reported in 16 counties. More than half of all deaths, 40, have occurred in Milwaukee County, followed by Dane County with nine.
As of Monday, there were 2,440 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. But because testing is not widespread, health officials continue to caution the actual number of cases is far higher.
Dr. Ryan Westergaard, Wisconsin’s chief medical officer for communicable diseases, said some modeling shows Wisconsin should hit its peak in cases around May 1, but that’s still just a best guess. If safer-at-home orders are loosened, and more people are allowed to come into contact with one another, conditions will worsen, he said.
The current order closing all nonessential businesses and ordering people to remain at home is in effect until April 24. Gov. Tony Evers did not say Monday whether he planned to extend that.
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12:05 p.m.
More than 2,000 members of the Wisconsin National Guard have deployed to polling sites across the state and every jurisdiction should now be able to run at least one polling site in Tuesday’s election, state officials said Monday.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission reported last week that so many poll workers have quit out of fears of contracting the coronavirus that 111 municipalities wouldn’t have enough staff to run even one polling site. Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday said Guard members would help man the polls.
Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe told reporters during a conference call that 2,500 troops have deployed across the state and were receiving training Monday on how to run the polls. She said the troops will not be in uniform on Tuesday.
She said she’s not aware of any jurisdiction that’s still so under-staffed it can’t run a single polling site.
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10:45 a.m.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission is urging voters to be patient and safe when voting in person on Tuesday, and to be prepared for a change in their voting location due to consolidations caused by a lack of poll workers.
The presidential primary and spring general election is proceeding despite concerns over the coronavirus pandemic and in spite of an order from Democratic Gov. Tony Evers for people to stay at home. Evers wanted the Republican-controlled Legislature to move to a mail-in ballot election only, but it refused.
Wisconsin’s chief elections official Meagan Wolfe said Monday that local election officials are working to make sure polling sites are safe. Many mayors, including in Madison and Milwaukee, have called for the election to be delayed. Milwaukee is closing all but five of its polling sites, leading to concerns of depressed turnout.
Wolfe is telling voters to be aware that their polling site may be different than it was in prior elections.
The elections commission is also advising voters to wash or sanitize their hands before voting and then again at the polling location. It is also asking voters to keep face-to-face interactions with poll workers and others brief. Curbside voting options will also be available for people who are ill on Tuesday but still need to vote.
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9:35 a.m.
Wisconsin moved ahead with plans to hold in-person voting for its presidential primary and spring election in the face of the coronavirus pandemic on Monday, even as the U.S. Supreme Court was weighing whether to intervene.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who had originally pushed for Tuesday’s election to proceed as planned, on Friday changed course and asked the Republican-controlled Legislature to extend absentee voting until May 19 and have it all be done by mail.
They have refused.
A federal just last week handed Democrats a partial win, allowing for absentee ballots to be counted through April 13, delaying the reporting of election results until then. But the judge, and later a federal appeals court, declined to postpone the election.
Republicans have appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking that it not allow absentee ballots to be counted beyond Tuesday. The court was considering whether to take action.
Meanwhile, mayors across the state, including Democrats in Wisconsin’s two largest cities of Milwaukee and Madison, have urged Evers not to hold the election out of public safety concerns. Republicans have said the election can be held safely.
As of Sunday, there were nearly 2,300 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin and 68 deaths, according to the state Department of Health Services.
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