Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Wisconsin's Chaotic Back-And-Forth Over Delaying Primary Could Be Sign Of Things To Come In November
The New York Times: Wisconsin Election Fight Heralds A National Battle Over Virus-Era Voting
Wisconsin voters will face a choice between protecting their health and exercising their civic duty on Tuesday after state Republican leaders, backed up by a conservative majority on the state’s Supreme Court, rebuffed the Democratic governor’s attempt to postpone in-person voting in their presidential primary and local elections. The political and legal skirmishing throughout Monday was only the first round of an expected national fight over voting rights in the year of Covid-19. (Herndon and Rutenberg, 4/6)
The Washington Post: Wisconsin Supreme Court Blocks Order By Governor To Stop Tuesday’s Elections In State’s Latest Whipsaw
The rapid-fire series of developments unleashed a torrent of confusion across Wisconsin. After Evers issued the order, some local governments announced that voting was canceled, while state officials urged election clerks to proceed as if the polls would open. Legal experts, meanwhile, questioned whether Evers’s actions were constitutional. “Unfortunately, they turned the health of our state into a political issue,” said Lois Frank, the village clerk in tiny Cambria, in eastern Wisconsin. (Gardner, Viebeck and Simmons, 4/6)
The Wall Street Journal: Wisconsin Election To Proceed After Conservative Courts Block Measures To Extend Balloting
Mr. Evers said that allowing the election to proceed goes against the advice of public-health experts. “Tomorrow in Wisconsin, thousands will wake up and have to choose between exercising their right to vote and staying healthy and safe,” he said. Last week, a federal judge in Madison, Wis., ordered election officials to accept absentee ballots received through April 13. Monday’s Supreme Court order allows ballots received through April 13 to be counted, but only if they were postmarked by Tuesday April 7. (Corse and Bravin, 4/7)
The Associated Press: Pandemic Politics: Wisconsin Primary Moving Forward
The National Guard will help run voting sites across the state after thousands of election workers stepped down fearing for their safety. Dozens of polling places will be closed, but those that are active will open at 7 a.m. CDT. Results were not expected to be released election night. In the wake of a legal battle over whether to conduct the election as scheduled, a court ruling appeared to prevent results from being made public earlier than April 13. (Bauer and Peoples, 4/7)
Politico: Wisconsin Is Holding The Most Dangerous Election Ever. Here’s Why.
It’s a civic catastrophe that never should have happened. But it’s also the culmination of a decade of total political war waged across one of the nation’s most competitive states — a Midwestern battleground poised to play an oversized role in the presidential election in November. “I’ve been here 10 years watching this. I am surprised that I’m surprised,” former Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate said of the politics he believes pushed the election forward amid a pandemic. “If anybody thinks that if we were under Gov. Walker that this court would have ruled the same way that they have today has not been paying attention to what’s been going on in this state for the last decade.” (Korecki, 4/7)
NBC News: Democrats Warn People Will Die As Courts Rule Wisconsin's Election On For Tuesday
Later in the day, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wisconsin Republicans on a separate issue, voting 5-4 along ideological lines to overturn a lower federal court's decision to extend a deadline for absentee balloting. Results will not be released until April 13, however, the Wisconsin Election Commission decided in an emergency meeting Monday, citing a part of the lower court ruling the Supreme Court did not overturn. (Seitz-Wald, 4/6)
Meanwhile —
The Wall Street Journal: Coronavirus Crisis Offers Test For Biden’s VP Shortlist
Joe Biden is expected to begin the vetting process for his running mate this month, as the coronavirus pandemic poses a key test for several potential contenders who have been involved in the response. Mr. Biden, the former vice president who has consolidated much of the party’s support behind him after a string of Democratic primary wins, has said he plans to vet six to 10 women—he has committed to selecting a woman—for the vice presidential nomination. (Parti and Jamerson, 4/7)
