Voting logistics in doubt right up to Election Day
The April 7 election was in question right up to the eve of the election before the Wisconsin Supreme Court on a 4-2 decision the afternoon of April 6 struck down an order issued just hours earlier by Gov. Tony Evers to suspend in-person voting.
A short time later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all absentee ballots for the Spring Election would have to be postmarked or received by local clerks by the following Tuesday to be counted.
That decision overturned an earlier ruling by a federal court judge who extended the dead- line for absentee ballots to be received until April 13.
The bottom line for voters was that they had to go to their local polling place during a global pandemic to cast a ballot if they hadn’t already voted by absentee ballot. The City of Burlington consolidated its polling places at the Department of Public Works facility and offered drive-thru voting for residents.
Local incumbents ruled the day in the pandemic election with a turnout that surpassed 2019 numbers, but fell short of those posted during the 2016 presidential primary.
The election will be most remembered, however, for the conditions under which it was conducted – in the midst of a coronavirus outbreak with many voters and poll workers wearing masks and other protective equipment.
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