Gov. Tony Evers

Gov. Tony Evers announced he signed Executive Order 73 Friday calling for the legislature to meet Saturday, April 4 to take up changes to the upcoming election. Evers wants the legislature to allow 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, 2020.

“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,” Evers said in a video. “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.

“As we’ve faced these challenges over the past few weeks, I have also asked the people of our state to do their part to help. Well here’s the bottom line folks: if, as elected officials, we’re going to expect the people of our state to make sacrifices to keep all of us safe, then, by golly, we better be willing do our part, too. So, today I announced that I am calling the Legislature into a special session to do its part—just as all of us are—to help keep our neighbors, our families, and our communities safe,” Evers concluded.