Milwaukee County must conduct in-person voting after all, under Wisconsin Supreme Court order

A Wisconsin Supreme Court finding that Gov. Tony Evers couldn't shut down in-person voting Tuesday due to concerns about the coronavirus pandemic overrides the executive order by Milwaukee County officials declaring that all municipal in-person polling places may not open on Tuesday, according to County Executive Chris Abele.

The joint order from Abele and Director of Emergency Management Christine Westrich had said all polling places in Milwaukee County would remain closed Tuesday unless Evers or the Legislature took further action, or a court orders otherwise.

On Monday evening, the Wisconsin Supreme Court did just that, ruling 4-2 to block Evers' order.

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"To my view, the most important thing we do as elected officials is to preserve life and that is far more important than anything else, and it's spelled out in so many places in state law," Abele said during a virtual press conference Monday before the ruling. 

Abele said before the ruling that he would be "prepared to look for other tools to keep people safe" if the state Supreme Court didn't find in Evers' favor.

Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun said this area of the law is "quite complicated."

"There are different types and articulations of authority both under the Constitution and under state statutes and no one has faced these particular factual circumstances or the severity of the risk to public health and lives that we are facing across the state, but in particular in Milwaukee County," she said.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr. 

Contact Mary Spicuzza at (414) 224-2324 or mary.spicuzza@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MSpicuzzaMJS or Facebook at facebook.com/mary.spicuzza.