The decision to continue with Wisconsin’s scheduled presidential primary and down-ballot elections is receiving a lot of negative publicity.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders both blasted the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) executive order postponing in-person voting, as IJR previously reported.
On Tuesday morning, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) did not mince words as he shared his displeasure that the election was happening, “Good morning and welcome to the Shit Show!”
He added, “Today’s episode has been produced by the Supreme Court and directed by the incomparable Speaker and Senate Majority leader duo. Buckle up. This one’s sure to disappoint!”
Good morning and welcome to the Shit Show! Today’s episode has been produced by the Supreme Court and directed by the incomparable Speaker and Senate Majority leader duo.
— Mandela Barnes (@TheOtherMandela) April 7, 2020
Buckle up, this one’s sure to disappoint!
Barnes’ comments come after the Wisconsin Supreme voted to overturn Evers’ executive order postponing in-person voting.
Republicans in Wisconsin challenged Evers’ order, arguing that he did not have the authority to change the election date.
“The governor does not have constitutional or statutory authority to modify, suspend or otherwise alter the statutes. Nor does the governor have the constitutional or statutory authority to set the time, place, and manner of elections.”
Evers had previously asked the legislature to approve legislation that would send ballots to Wisconsin residents so they could vote from home. He also sought to extend the deadline for mail-in ballots to be received.
But, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday night that Wisconsin could not extend the deadline for mail-in ballots.
The majority opinion read, “Extending the date by which ballots may be cast by voters — not just received by the municipal clerks but cast by voters — for an additional six days after the scheduled election day fundamentally alters the nature of the election.”
The election comes as public health officials have urged Americans to follow social distancing guidelines to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. The latest data finds that there are 378,289 confirmed cases of the virus in the U.S., as of Tuesday afternoon.