Now is time to make changes to November election

It was, as expected, a mess. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, and despite the clear safer at home order, Wisconsin plowed ahead with an election yesterday. It was hardly a typical election. We didn’t know until less than 24 hours before the polls opened if the vote would even be held on schedule. It did, even though Wisconsin is the only one among 15 states which had an April election that didn’t postpone the vote or make changes to how people vote. More people voted absentee than ever before, and those who did go to the polls stood in line for two hours or more to cast a ballot. We won’t know the results until at least next week, and no doubt someone will challenge the legality of the election, tying the whole thing up in court. What is clear is that Wisconsin needs a new system of voting. The state should move to mail-in balloting, because it is certainly possible this pandemic may still exist. Either way, will people want to go to the polls again? Our lawmakers should extend voting opportunities, and do away with the requirement that absentee ballots contain a witness’s signature. Wisconsin is one of only two states to have such a requirement, even as many seniors are trapped in their homes alone. Such discussion should begin now, because the November election will be here soon enough, and we don’t want a repeat of yesterday’s mess.