The Wisconsin Supreme Court has put the state's chaotic presidential primary back on track, ruling that Democratic Governor Tony Evers cannot postpone in-person voting to June despite the coronavirus crisis.
Evers had moved earlier on Monday to postpone the primary election from Tuesday until June 9, citing health risks from the coronavirus pandemic, but Republicans quickly filed a legal challenge in the state Supreme Court.
In a separate lawsuit brought by the Wisconsin Republican Party, the US Supreme Court voted 5-4 to overturn a federal judge's decision extending the time for absentee voting until next week, meaning only absentee ballots postmarked by Tuesday will be counted.
The legal action means Wisconsin voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to vote in the primary, as well as state and local elections, despite orders to stay at home and a ban on public gatherings to limit exposure to the virus, which has killed more than 10,000 people nationwide and infected more than 350,000.
Republicans argued Evers did not have the authority to postpone the election and accused him of "unconstitutional overreach".
"The state's highest court has spoken: the governor can't unilaterally move the date of the election," Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said in a joint statement after the court ruled 4-2 in favour of their motion to block Evers.
"This election will proceed as planned," they said.
In the US Supreme Court ruling, the court's conservative majority said the federal courts should not alter rules on the eve of an election.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the minority, said it could lead to "massive disenfranchisement" in Wisconsin given the explosion of demand for absentee ballots.
A record of nearly 1.3 million absentee ballots had been requested but only about 725,000 had been returned by Monday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission said.
Evers described his order as a last-ditch effort at preserving public safety after the Republican-controlled legislature rejected his call last week to cancel in-person voting on Tuesday and extend the time to return absentee ballots into late May.
Australian Associated Press
