CDC: 'No clear increase in cases, hospitalizations, deaths' in WI after April election amid COVID-19

Early voting underway as virus worries linger

New research shows there was no surge in COVID-19 cases due to voting in April. Now, early voting is underway and pandemic precautions remain in place.

MILWAUKEE - A week before Wisconsin again heads to the polls, a new report found no uptick in COVID-19 because of the April election. Milwaukee gained national attention for long lines, delays and in-person voting during a pandemic, and city leaders say there won't be a repeat.

Officials plan to open more than 160 polling locations Tuesday, Aug. 11. In April, only five were open. This time, officials say there are enough poll workers -- and half are new.

As Milwaukee voters cast their ballots during a pandemic, again, this time, there will be plexiglass between voters and poll workers.

Long lines in Milwaukee during April election amid COVID-19

"Hopefully, when you go to your polling place on Election Day, it won't feel any different than going to your grocery story nowadays," said Claire Woodall-Vogg, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission.

You can bring your own pen. Otherwise, poll workers will sanitize a loaner.

Early voting in Milwaukee

"It took like, 3 hours," said Alex Rice of the April election. Rice voted early this time around.

The April election almost didn't happen. The day before, Governor Tony Evers ordered it postponed.

"I cannot, in good conscience, stand by and do nothing," said Evers on April 6. "The bottom line is, I have an obligation to keep people safe."

Then, the state Supreme Court ruled the election should go on.

Now, a new report from the CDC shows "no clear increase in cases, hospitalizations, or deaths was observed after the election, suggesting possible benefit of the mitigation strategies, which limited in-person voting and aimed to ensure safety of the polling sites open on Election Day."

Governor Tony Evers

FOX6 News asked the governor about that order to postpone the April election on Tuesday.

"We're going back in time," said Evers. "I didn't realize we were going a retrospective, here. Under no circumstances were we ready for an election when we had municipalities not being able to find enough poll workers to do an election well."

Voting in Burlington amid COVID-19 in April

That was the reason Milwauee officials said they slashed the number of polling places in April, but come Aug. 11...

"I think the big difference is we had time," said Claire. "The time to plan, the time to acquire all of the necessary PPE and we've had time to communicate with our election workers on what to expect.

There were only about 2 weeks leading up to April 7 to really put together a plan on how to operate in-person voting during a pandemic.

As for the Aug. 11 election, clerks in other locations in Wisconsin still need 900-plus poll workers, including Cudahy, Cedarburg, Kenosha, Racine, Waukesha and Wauwatosa.