Wisconsin governor moves to delay election

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Monday moved to postpone the state's presidential primary for two months because of the coronavirus pandemic, prompting a court challenge and adding to confusion about whether voters will be able to head to the polls on Tuesday.

The executive order from Evers, a Democrat, would delay in-person voting until June 9.

But Republicans almost immediately said they would ask the state Supreme Court to intervene, calling Evers' decision an unconstitutional overreach.

The governor himself has questioned whether he has the power to reschedule the election, and the maneuvering left the fate of the election up in the air less than 24 hours before polls were slated to open.

Other states that were slated to vote this month have postponed their elections until May or June, but Republicans in Wisconsin have refused to delay.

At the presidential level, Joe Biden already has a commanding delegate lead over Bernie Sanders, and the Wisconsin results aren't likely to dampen his march to the Democratic nomination.

But the tumult in one of the most critical general election battlegrounds underscored the challenge of voting during a pandemic when public health officials are discouraging groups from gathering for virtually any reason to prevent the spread of the virus.

"Frankly, there's no good answer to this problem — I wish it were easy," Evers said in a statement.

"I have been asking everyone to do their part to help keep our families, our neighbours, and our communities safe, and I had hoped that the Legislature would do its part — just as the rest of us are — to help keep people healthy and safe."

Republicans are expected to take their case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is controlled 5-2 by conservative justices.

One of them is on the ballot Tuesday and has not participated in other election-related legal fights, narrowing the conservative majority to 4-2.

A separate legal fight over absentee ballots was pending before the U.S. Supreme Court.

While several states had scheduled primaries in recent weeks, Wisconsin had been alone in moving ahead with in-person voting in the midst of the pandemic.

Evers and Republicans initially agreed that it was imperative for the election to proceed because thousands of local offices are on the ballot Tuesday for terms that begin in two weeks.

There is also a state Supreme Court election putting the conservative incumbent against a liberal challenger.