WHEREAS, even with the aforementioned consolidation of polling locations, as of April 2, 2020, the Wisconsin Elections Commission estimates that municipalities still need an additional 5,250 poll workers;
WHEREAS, no Wisconsinite should ever have to choose between exercising their constitutional right to vote and being safe, secure, and healthy;
WHEREAS, state and local public health officials – including local public health officers from Adams County, Barron County, Bayside, Brown Deer, Crawford County, Dane County, Door County, Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, Green Lake County, Florence County, Fox Point, Franklin, Glendale, Greendale, Hales Corners, Jefferson County, Madison, Marquette County, Milwaukee, Monroe County, Pierce County, Price County, Racine, River Hills, Rock County, Saint Croix County, Sauk County, Shorewood, Waushara County, Wauwatosa, West Allis, and Whitefish Bay – have determined that in-person voting on April 7 presents a “serious challenge to controlling the spread of COVID-19”;
WHEREAS, as Wisconsinites respond to the current public health emergency by conforming their conduct to Emergency Order #12 and social distancing guidance, municipal clerks are already reporting an unprecedented increase in requests for mail-in absentee ballots;
WHEREAS, on April 2, 2020, the Honorable William M. Conley, District Judge for the Western District of Wisconsin, ordered absentee ballots in the Spring 2020 election on April 7 may be received until 4:00 p.m. on April 13, 2020, absentee ballot requests may be made until 5:00 p.m. on April 3, 2020, and absentee voters may be relieved of the witness signature if they provide affirmation that they are unable to safely obtain such a signature;
WHEREAS, the intervening parties in the aforementioned case immediately appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and, most recently, the Supreme Court of the United States, potentially jeopardizing the commonsense relief ordered by Judge Conley and creating further uncertainty;
WHEREAS, the State of Michigan held a statewide election on March 10, 2020, and it is suspected that in-person voting led to the spread of COVID-19 in Michigan at a faster rate than the neighboring State of Ohio, which postponed its election;
WHEREAS, in light of the current public health emergency, it is incumbent upon the State of Wisconsin to take all reasonable steps to protect the constitutional right to vote;
WHEREAS, on April 3, 2020, I called a special session of the Wisconsin Legislature to act upon legislation to allow all Wisconsinites the opportunity to vote safely by mail;
WHEREAS, on April 4, 2020, the Wisconsin Legislature – with no discussion or debate – adjourned within seconds of convening;
WHEREAS, the Wisconsin Constitution establishes the purpose of State Government is to insure domestic tranquility and promote the general welfare, and, as Governor, I made an oath to uphold the Wisconsin Constitution;
WHEREAS, Section 323.12 (4)(b) of the Wisconsin Statutes provides that the Governor may issue orders “he or she deems necessary for the security of persons and property”; and WHEREAS, suspending in-person voting on April 7 is necessary to protect the security of the people of Wisconsin and slow the spread of COVID-19.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, TONY EVERS, Governor of the State of Wisconsin, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of this state, and specifically the Preamble, Article IV, Section 11, Article V, Section 1, and Article V, Section 4 of the Wisconsin Constitution and Section 323.12 (4)(b) of the Wisconsin Statutes, hereby order as follows: 11.
Suspend in-person voting for April 7, 2020, until June 9, 2020, unless the Legislature passes and the Governor approves a different date for in-person voting. In the interim, registered Wisconsin voters may continue to request absentee ballots until 5:00 p.m. on the fifth day immediately preceding the new in-person election date, consistent with Wis. Stat. § 6.86 (1)(b); clerks shall continue to provide absentee ballots within one business day of the time each elector’s request is received, consistent with Wis. Stat. § 7.15 (1)(cm); and eligible voters may continue to cast mail-in absentee ballots as long as they are returned so that they are delivered to the polling place no later than 8 p.m. n the new election date, consistent with Wis. Stat. § 6.87 (6). All ballots already cast in the 2020 Spring election will remain valid, will be tallied in conjunction with in-person voting on the new date, and will be included in all relevant canvasses for the Spring 2020 election. 22.
Require the convening of a special session of the Legislature at the Capitol in the City of Madison, to commence at 2:00 p.m. on April 7, 2020, solely to consider and act upon legislation to set a new in-person voting date for the 2020 Spring election. 33.
Provide that, given the necessary delay in the Spring 2020 election, those individuals currently serving in an office to be filled based upon the results of the Spring 2020 election ballot are authorized to continue fulfilling the duties of those offices, and exercising the privileges of those offices, until three business days after county, municipal, and school district clerks issue certificates of election, pursuant to Wis. Stat. §§ 7.53 (4), 7.60 (6), and 120.06 (10), once the deadline to file a petition for recount and appeal of recount has passed. On the third business day after the issuance of the certificate of election for any given office on the Spring 2020 election ballot, the term of the newly elected official in that office shall begin. Notwithstanding the delated beginning of the term for such offices, the terms of all such offices shall expire as if the Spring 2020 election occurred as initially scheduled and all terms of office began as would be anticipated under such circumstances. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Wisconsin to be affixed. Done in the City of Madison this sixth day of April, in the year two thousand twenty.
TONY EVERS
Governor
By the Governor:
DOUGLAS LA FOLLETTE
Secretary of State
_____________
Adjournment
Senator Fitzgerald, with unanimous consent, asked that the April 2020 Special Session II of the Senate stand adjourned until Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
Adjourned.
2:01 P.M.
