Judge declines to delay Wisconsin April 7 primary, extends absentee deadline

A federal judge on Thursday declined to delay Wisconsin's April 7 primary election, saying he doesn't have the authority to do so.

Why it matters: Wisconsin is the only state scheduled to vote next Tuesday that has not yet delayed its primary.

• Wisconsin's Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has issued a stay-at-home order to combat the spread of the coronavirus, but his refusal to delay the primary has angered his fellow Democrats and others who believe that he's putting the public at risk.

Details: District Court Judge William Conley denied an emergency request by state Democrats to postpone the election, saying the state legislature and governor should do so. Conley accused the state of "endangering the population" by moving forward with the contest.

Yes, but: Conley also required officials to count all absentee ballots received by April 13 and extended the deadline for voters to request absentee ballots to 5pm this Friday. He also removed a requirement for absentee voters to have their ballot signed by a witness.

Worth noting: The Democratic National Convention, which was set to be hosted in July in Milwaukee, was postponed earlier on Thursday until August.

Go deeper: All the states that have delayed primaries