States turn to absentee ballots for primary elections

Just a month ago the words “sanitized ballot” might have produced a federal election fraud investigation.

Now, that’s the instruction Wisconsin is giving to voters as the state sends out absentee ballots ahead of next week’s primary.

For voters who are quarantined alone amid the coronavirus crisis, the state has an 11-point, step-by-step instructions on how to open their ballot, clean it and recruit someone else — perhaps the pizza delivery guy — to witness it, per state law.

“That is another hurdle in social distancing,” said Charles Franklin, director of the Marquette Law School Poll.

U.S. District Judge William Conley looked to ease the burden on voters Thursday, ruling that an exemption would be carved out for voters who provide a written affirmation that they could not safely find someone to do the witness certification.

So goes voting in coronavirus times.

Elections officials from Maine to Alaska are trying to strike a balance between ensuring the safety of voters and election workers by limiting their exposure to the virus while protecting the right to vote.

Lawsuits, meanwhile, have been filed in Arizona seeking to ease the rules governing how signatures are collected for ballot measures in response to COVID-19 concerns, and cities and towns across Texas have delayed their May 2 races for spots on city councils and school boards.

Since President Trump declared a national emergency, a dozen states and Puerto Rico have postponed their presidential primaries, according to a running tally from The New Center.

Other states — Alaska, Hawaii, and Wyoming — have decided voting in their elections will be done entirely by mail.

But in Wisconsin, despite concerns expressed by Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont and some Democrats, Tuesday’s primary is set to go on as planned — making the state the first in the nation to vote since Illinois, Florida and Arizona went to the polls on March 17.

The decision is partly fueled by down-ticket races for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as well as hundreds of contests to fill mayorships, city council seats, and school board posts.

Chris Walton, chairman of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party, said electoral terms are set to end for various elected officials in Milwaukee — including Mayor Tom Barrett.

“If we don’t have an election, we don’t have a new city government and then the city of Milwaukee is flying blind,” Mr. Walton said. “I don’t think that is what we want right now.

“I get why people are upset, but … we can’t have normal expectations to an unnormal situation,” he said. “I am sympathetic to this, but I am also like, ’Look, folks, we have to be flexible here.’”

Primary supporters argue things could get worse over the coming months.

“The other consideration is we might be better voting this Tuesday rather than when the pandemic is set to speak in a month or two,” Mr. Franklin said, alluding to one of the arguments be made.

A Marquette Law School Poll this week found that 51% of voters wanted the election postponed, compared to 44% who want it to stay on track for Tuesday.

The sense of urgency heightened Thursday when the Democratic National Committee announced it was moving the national convention, which is being held in Milwaukee, from early July to late August, and after Milwaukee County reported the 19th death from the virus.

The state Legislature has the power to change the date of the election and to extend the terms of elected leaders if necessary. But Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, and GOP leaders in the statehouse are plowing ahead. Mr. Evers issued a shelter-in-place order and has urged voters to vote by mail. More than 1 million absentee ballots have been requested.

The deadline to request an absentee ballot had been Thursday at 5 p.m., but Judge Conley extended the deadline a day and also extended the deadline until April 13 for the ballots to be received.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission is scrambling to find poll workers because health concerns have older residents passing on the chance to work.

With an estimated shortfall of 7,000 poll workers, local leaders are also consolidating polling locations — creating more social distancing challenges.

The elections commission, meanwhile, issued guidance on how someone who is self-isolating or quarantined could find a witness to observe the process of the voter marking a mail-in ballot.

The first steps involve washing and sanitizing their hands before getting their ballot from the mail, and soon after, the coordination with the mailman, pizza delivery guy, neighbor, etc., begins.

“When someone arrives to provide the voter with supplies or services, they ask them to be a witness for their ballot. The witness should be prepared to watch the voter mark their ballot through a window or by video chat,” it says.

Mr. Walton said there is no perfect solution. “Some of the older folks don’t have people coming over to visit as much, so maybe you can’t find someone to sign your absentee ballot. It is hard … you just can’t run up to anybody,” he said. “Because someone might be sick.”