Voters head to polls amid pandemic once again for Wisconsin's partisan primary

More than 160 Milwaukee sites open for in-person primary voting

In April, just five polling places were staffed in Milwaukee. For the August primary, there were more than 160 as in-person voters and poll workers took part with COVID-19 precautions in place.

MILWAUKEE - Amid the coronavirus pandemic, Wisconsin once again headed to the polls. Wisconsin's polling places were open until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 11 for the 2020 partisan primary election -- deciding who will face off in November.

Across the state, clerks sent out 894,000 ballots. In the City of Milwaukee alone, the Milwaukee Election Commission received 45,000 ballots as of Tuesday morning with thousands more expected by the end of the day.

In April, Milwaukee only had the staffing to open five polling places. On Tuesday, there were more than 160 polling places -- and nearly 700 National Guard members served as poll workers across the state to help keep things running smoothly.

"They're just here to help. And for me specifically, I'm just here to help. I think that no matter where we go or what we do, as long as we are helping the community, that's all that really matters," said Said Mahamed, Wisconsin National Guard.

As far as masks, Governor Tony Evers' mask mandate did not apply to voters. But Milwaukee asked those without masks to vote curbside or at the entrance.

Election officials in Milwaukee said they were confident that all absentee ballots would be processed on time.