A New Study Shows That Holding Wisconsin’s April Election Made the COVID–19 Crisis Worse
The state of Wisconsin plowed ahead with an in-person election last month despite the many clear dangers. A new study suggests exactly what many feared: a direct link between voting in person and spreading COVID–19.
Poll workers during curbside voting on April 7, 2020 in Madison, Wisconsin. Andy Manis / Getty
Republicans have asserted that there was no problem with Wisconsin holding an election in the middle of a pandemic. State lawmakers plowed forward with the April election, suggesting it was totally safe. Despite health warnings, Joe Biden and Donald Trump did not call for the election to be postponed. A GOP congressman recently insisted: “If you look at Wisconsin, I’ve yet to see a spike or anything (in coronavirus cases) that anybody has said was statistically significant related to the fact that they had voting.” Meanwhile, Trump has been criticizing the larger push for vote-by-mail systems.
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