GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — Absentee ballot requests have skyrocketed and the number of poll worker and polling places have plummeted, but plans for Tuesday's election carry on.
"I don't feel good at all about moving forward with this election on an in-person basis," Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich said Thurdsay.
Genrich has called on the state to postpone or alter the in-person election. The city filed a lawsuit and federal briefs in that effort. Now, Genrich said the city's 270 usual poll workers are down to just 17 and the usual 31 polling places down to just two-to-four.
"We've tried to identify the largest locations possible for something like this," he said. "It's looking like we're going to have a couple gymnasiums that we'll be able to use."
Many voters will not be going to those polling places and have instead requested absentee ballots. Genrich said Green Bay currently has a backlog of around 7,000 ballots.
Governor Tony Evers has urged people to vote by mail. Evers also wants to extend election deadlines, relax witness requirements, and begin counting early. However, Evers has said he can't change the election on his own without violating state law. He hopes the legislature will take up the issue.
"It flies in the face of every single recommendation we've been hearing from the CDC all the way down to our local health officials, and I'm extremely frustrated that the state of Wisconsin has not respected those guidelines in regard to this election," Genrich said.
The deadline to request absentee ballots is Thursday evening.
