Wisconsin voters were already forming enormous crowds at the polling sites on Tuesday morning after the state’s Supreme Court struck down Gov. Tony Evers’ (D) executive order postponing in-person voting to June 9.
“Good morning and welcome to the Shit Show!” Lieutenant Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) tweeted. “Today’s episode has been produced by the Supreme Court and directed by the incomparable Speaker and Senate Majority leader duo.”
CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez posted a video showing long lines starting to form early Tuesday:
In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, THIS is the line for in person voting as the polls open for Election Day in Wisconsin. #COVID19 #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/WplsSHy9RF
— Omar Jimenez (@OmarJimenez) April 7, 2020
Evers had issued the order on Monday amid the COVID-19 outbreak to eliminate the risk of further infections at the crowded polling places. However, Wisconsin Republicans fought against the order and were handed a victory on Monday night when the state Supreme Court ruled that the elections must be held on schedule.
The governor slammed the ruling shortly afterward, saying that “thousands will wake up and have to choose between exercising their right to vote and staying healthy and safe.”
“In this time of historic crisis, it is a shame that two branches of government in this state chose to pass the buck instead of taking responsibility for the health and safety of the people we were elected to serve,” Evers said in a statement.
On Tuesday morning, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams urged Wisconsin voters to maintain a distance of six feet between each other and wear a cloth item over their faces.
“I say as a black man that I know that people have died for the right to vote,” Adams said during an interview on NBC’s “The Today Show” with Savannah Guthrie. “This is very important to our entire country, and if people are going to go out there and vote, please do it as safely as possible.”
The jam-packed sites can also be seen in videos posted by reporters Cassidy Williams from Fox 6 News, Matt Smith from WISN12 News, Astead Wesley from the New York Times and Asal Rezaei from Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin.
Here’s a look at the line once you get inside. It’s easy to spot who is a poll worker (all wearing blue gowns/masks) #WisconsinPrimary pic.twitter.com/g1qg1TCY4x
— Cassidy Williams (@CassidyWtv) April 7, 2020
Polls open in minutes. Here’s a look at the line in Waukesha, the city’s only polling location pic.twitter.com/Uqg08gannt
— Matt Smith (@mattsmith_news) April 7, 2020
Lines forming just 30 minutes after polls open in Milwaukee, people trying to space. Almost everyone has a mask pic.twitter.com/KVCJ7Ik0Xe
— Steadman™ (@AsteadWesley) April 7, 2020
HISTORIC: In the middle of a global pandemic, Wisconsin is the only state to move forward with an election. Polls now open until 8PM? @GovEvers move to delay voting until June 9th was blocked by State Supreme Court. Updated details all day on @SpectrumNews1WI pic.twitter.com/ttZU0PZriu
— Asal Rezaei (@asalrezaeitv) April 7, 2020
