Wisconsin's primary is still set for Tuesday, and both sides of the aisle are refusing to push it back


Wisconsin Democrats are still supposed to get out and vote on Tuesday, but also stay inside to prevent COVID-19 spread.
It's up to the state's Republican-held state legislature to push back the Democratic presidential primary like many other states have, especially after U.S. District Judge William M. Conley refused to do so himself in a decision issued Thursday. But Democrats in the state are also openly upset with Democratic Gov. Tony Evers for not pushing the legislature earlier and harder, Politico reports.
The fact that Wisconsin's primaries are still happening has been widely panned as potentially disenfranchising given that the state is under a stay-at-home order. "You can't have a stay-at-home order but then tell millions of people to go stand in line and congregate near one another across the state," the Democratic mayor of Racine told Politico. Low turnout in the Democratic primary could not only be a terrible look for a state that President Trump narrowly won in 2016, but also swing a vote over the state's Supreme Court seat in Republicans' favor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Still, Evers has largely just claimed he's powerless to change anything, Politico notes. He did propose last Friday that the legislature send mail-in ballots to everyone in the state, but by then, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said the move would be "logistically impossible."
Conley had hinted he wouldn't delay the primary before he issued his final decision. But he also told The Washington Post it shouldn't be his decision to begin with, saying "I don't think it's the job of a federal district judge to act as a super health department for the state of Wisconsin."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Trump’s budget bill will increase the deficit. Does it matter?
Today's Big Question Analysts worry a 'tipping point' is coming
-
Film reviews: The Phoenician Scheme, Bring Her Back, and Jane Austen Wrecked My Life
Feature A despised mogul seeks a fresh triumph, orphaned siblings land with a nightmare foster mother, and a Jane fan finds herself in a love triangle
-
Music reviews: Tune-Yards and PinkPantheress
Feature "Better Dreaming" and "Fancy That"
-
Elon Musk slams Trump's 'pork-filled' signature bill
speed read 'Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong,' Musk posted on X
-
Depleted FEMA struggling as hurricane season begins
speed read FEMA has lost a third of its workforce amid DOGE cuts enforced by President Donald Trump
-
White House tackles fake citations in MAHA report
speed read A federal government public health report spearheaded by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was rife with false citations
-
Judge blocks push to bar Harvard foreign students
speed read Judge Allison Burroughs sided with Harvard against the Trump administration's attempt to block the admittance of international students
-
Trump's trade war whipsawed by court rulings
Speed Read A series of court rulings over Trump's tariffs renders the future of US trade policy uncertain
-
Elon Musk departs Trump administration
speed read The former DOGE head says he is ending his government work to spend more time on his companies
-
Trump taps ex-personal lawyer for appeals court
speed read The president has nominated Emil Bove, his former criminal defense lawyer, to be a federal judge
-
US trade court nullifies Trump's biggest tariffs
speed read The US Court of International Trade says Trump exceeded his authority in imposing global tariffs