Milwaukee normally has 180 voting sites; because of coronavirus, fewer than 12 polling places will be open April 7
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said Tuesday he is not comfortable telling residents to go to the polls on April 7 during the coronavirus pandemic, comments he made as the city pares back its polling locations to a small fraction of its normal total because of a shortage of poll workers.
"My fear is that our election in Wisconsin might be the largest public event in the country in April," Barrett said.
Events large and small have been canceled across the nation, including in Milwaukee, as the coronavirus spreads.
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The City of Milwaukee expects to have only 10 to 12 voting sites — or possibly fewer — open for in-person voting citywide during its April 7 election day, Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Neil Albrecht said Tuesday.
That's a dramatic reduction from the 180 sites that are typically open on an election day. Albrecht cited a drastic shortage of poll workers as the reason for the change, saying that earlier in the week the city was down to 400 poll workers, rather than the 1,400 Milwaukee would typically have.
"The City of Milwaukee has maintained a long-standing tradition of voting sites that are very often within walking distance of a voter's home," Albrecht said. "We will not be able to do that on April 7."
The city will be going toward a model of "voting centers, which is a consolidation of voting sites," Albrecht said.
He acknowledged that voters gathering to cast ballots in person also raises the risk that the virus could spread.
"We're very concerned about that, in terms of the community gathering at a voting site on election day being contradictory to public health guidelines," Albrecht said.
Barrett said it "defies logic" to ask people to work the polls for hours on end during a pandemic that has caused the cancellation of much smaller gatherings.
"This fantasy that somehow, well, it's an election and people aren't going to get sick, I think it's so irresponsible, so irresponsible for us to go down this path," Barrett said.
Barrett — who faces a challenge from Democratic state Sen. Lena Taylor — has called on state leaders to conduct the election by mail only while County Executive Chris Abele has called for delaying the election.
Abele, who is not running for re-election in April, echoed Barrett's comments.
"Everybody cares about a free and fair democracy and everybody cares about the vote, but one thing that's a hell of a lot more important is safety and saving lives," Abele said.
The City of Milwaukee has issued 70,000 by-mail absentee ballots, and expects to send out as many as 100,000, Albrecht said. He added that people have also been using Milwaukee's drive-up voting, saying the average wait time has been about 45 minutes.
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Contact Mary Spicuzza at (414) 224-2324 or mary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS.