{"id":8206,"date":"2020-04-08T15:35:22","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T19:35:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/press-releases\/common-cause-calls-for-emergency-congressional-hearings-on-elections-during-covid-19-pandemic-in-wake-of-wisconsin-primary\/"},"modified":"2020-04-08T15:35:22","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T19:35:22","slug":"common-cause-fordert-im-zuge-der-vorwahlen-in-wisconsin-auserordentliche-anhorungen-im-kongress-zu-den-wahlen-wahrend-der-covid-19-pandemie","status":"publish","type":"press","link":"https:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/de\/press\/common-cause-calls-for-emergency-congressional-hearings-on-elections-during-covid-19-pandemic-in-wake-of-wisconsin-primary\/","title":{"rendered":"Common Cause fordert nach den Vorwahlen in Wisconsin au\u00dferordentliche Anh\u00f6rungen im Kongress zu Wahlen w\u00e4hrend der COVID-19-Pandemie"},"template":"","class_list":["post-8206","press","type-press","status-publish","hentry","press_type-press-release"],"acf":{"details":{"summary":"Today, Common Cause called on Congress to hold emergency hearings to examine why Wisconsin voters were forced to risk their lives by standing in lines at polling places on April 7th during the COVID-19 pandemic when public gatherings were prohibited in the state. The letter to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the Committee on House Administration also urged the committees to explore how other states are adjusting their elections to ensure that all voters can be counted during the current pandemic in both the primaries and the general election. The letter also emphasizes the need for Congress to provide additional election funding to states in its next stimulus bill to help ensure every American is able to cast their ballot in a safe and secure manner.","featured_image":"","press_type":236,"authors":["{\"site_id\":\"1\",\"post_type\":\"person\",\"post_id\":7855}"],"related_issues":[110,143,169,2066],"related_work":false,"location":46},"sidebar":{"helper_enable_sidebar":false,"helper_media_contact":{"heading":"Media Contact","manually_enter_person":false,"person":null,"name":"","role":"","phone":"","email":""},"helper_links_downloads":{"heading":"Links & Downloads","links":null}},"page_layout":[{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"content":"Heute forderte Common Cause den Kongress auf, Dringlichkeitsanh\u00f6rungen abzuhalten, um zu untersuchen, warum die W\u00e4hler von Wisconsin am 7. April gezwungen waren, ihr Leben zu riskieren, indem sie in den Warteschlangen vor den Wahllokalen standen.th<\/sup> w\u00e4hrend der COVID-19-Pandemie, als \u00f6ffentliche Versammlungen im Staat verboten waren. Die Brief<\/a> to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the Committee on House Administration also urged the committees to explore how other states are adjusting their elections to ensure that all voters can be counted during the current pandemic in both the primaries and the general election. The letter also emphasizes the need for Congress to provide additional election funding to states in its next stimulus bill to help ensure every American is able to cast their ballot in a safe and secure manner.\r\n\r\n\u201cEvery American deserves to have their voice heard on election day, but voters should never be forced to risk their personal safety in order to cast a ballot,\u201d said Common Cause president Karen Hobert Flynn. \u201cThe decision to hold an in-person election in Wisconsin yesterday was reckless and irresponsible, endangering the lives of tens of thousands of Wisconsinites and needlessly disenfranchising thousands more. Congress must investigate this matter thoroughly and look for ways to ensure something like what happened yesterday is not repeated in November or ever again.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cThe sight of residents in Milwaukee, Green Bay, Waukesha, and other cities standing in lines that extended blocks amidst a pandemic was both inspiring and heartbreaking because it never should have happened,\u201d said Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin. \u201cThe refusal of the legislature to act to delay the vote and in fact going to court to keep the Governor from calling it off amidst a public health crisis is unconscionable. The people of Wisconsin deserve better and America deserves answers in order to ensure this is never allowed to happen again.\u201d\r\n\r\nWisconsin Governor Tony Evers attempted to halt the in-person election by executive order citing public safety but was blocked by a conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court after Republican legislators challenged the order. The ensuing problems with an in-person election amidst the public health crisis disproportionately affected communities of color. In Milwaukee, which is approximately 40% African American, only five polling paces were open instead of the 180 originally planned. Many voters were forced to stand in line for hours in order to cast their ballots. Some voters in these lines were even forced to endure hail during a thunderstorm because people were not allowed inside polling places due to social distancing requirements. Additionally, several hundred thousand of the 1.2 million Wisconsinites who applied for absentee ballots, never received them and were disenfranchised as a result.\r\n\r\nThe letter from Common Cause called on the committees to examine why Wisconsin failed to move its election to a later date or switch to prioritize vote-by-mail. Key questions that must be asked of Wisconsin\u2019s elected officials include:\r\n