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Evers calls for special legislative session to address election

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Tony Evers addresses media in a teleconference March 30.

Gov. Tony Evers today signed Executive Order #73 calling the Legislature to meet in Special Session on Sat., April 4, 2020 at 4 p.m. to take up changes to the upcoming spring election, his office announced in a press release Friday.

Evers is urging the Legislature to take up legislation allowing an all-mail election, to send a ballot to every registered voter who has not already requested one by May 19, and to extend the time for those ballots to be received to May 26, according to the release.

“Your efforts to maintain social distancing, the sacrifices you have made when it has come to your jobs, your schooling, and your day-to-day activities are what we need to flatten the curve to protect the people of our state. It’s also what we need to do to support our healthcare workers who are making heroic efforts to test, treat, and prevent this virus. At the same time, we also have to be patient with ourselves and each other because we’re all doing this for the very first time,” Gov. Evers said in a video to Wisconsinites.

On Thursday, a federal judge said he did not have the authority to move the date of the election, as was sought by a number of groups, but he did allow for a one-day extension of the deadline to request absentee ballots and will allow absentee ballots to be turned in until April 13.