Wisconsin's In-Person Voting Linked To At Least 7 Coronavirus Cases

Wisconsin health officials said seven people may have been infected with the coronavirus as a result of in-person voting for the state’s April 7 primary elections. Health Commissioner Jeanette Kowalik said six of the cases were voters in Milwaukee and the seventh served as a Milwaukee ballot location worker.

Kowalik said the details behind these cases will be clarified to the public later this week, including whether any deaths occurred, reported the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

“As of now, we only have 30 percent of the data as far as any new COVID-19 cases that were associated with the date of the 7th of April … There needs to be a little bit more analysis so we can connect the dots,” Kowalik said.

Andrea Palm, the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, said that it does not appear that concerns that in-person voting would result in a large spike in coronavirus cases have borne out. Given that most individuals infected with the disease display symptoms within two weeks, any new coronavirus cases that have come as a result of the in-person voting should be apparent.

Even still, Palm said, it is possible other cases may emerge after the 14-day period.

The decision to continue with Wisconsin’s April 7 polling date quickly became a heated political issue as the seriousness of the pandemic became increasingly clear. Democrats in the state pushed strongly to postpone polling in order to accommodate mail-in voting. In an attempt to circumvent Republican opposition, Gov. Tony Evers issued a last minute order to delay voting. This was ultimately overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

In-person voting proved to be chaotic, with a limited number of polling locations open – just five instead of the usual 180 in Milwaukee – resulting in voters standing in long lines for many hours all over Wisconsin. Many others, though, chose to stay home out of concern for their personal health.

The push to shift elections toward a mail-in system has intensified over the past month, becoming a major political issue on the national stage, especially after Wisconsin. Democrats have been pushing for this change, arguing that the federal government needs to help states create or expand their absentee voting systems ahead of November.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has said that any future coronavirus relief bill would need to include funds for mail-in voting, though President Donald Trump continues to adamantly oppose such measures.