Wisconsin voters take risks to cast ballots

Thousands of voters in Wisconsin stood in line for hours on Tuesday, many without protective masks, but thousands more stayed home. Only five of Milwaukee’s 180 polling locations opened after many poll workers backed out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of a court order, election officials won’t release the final results, including the winner of the Democratic presidential primary, until at least Monday. Former Vice President Joe Biden had led in the polls.

How did the state prepare for the vote? In Madison, officials erected barriers to protect poll workers and encouraged voters to bring their own pens to mark their ballots. Some voters said they didn’t receive their absentee ballots by Tuesday. The Wisconsin Supreme Court blocked Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ attempt to delay the election. The state reported more than 2,500 COVID-19 infections and 93 related deaths as of Wednesday morning.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s report in The Stew about how the coronavirus has upended the 2020 campaign.