September 3, 2020 |
“Three individuals filed a lawsuit in Polk County Circuit Court Aug. 25 against Gov. Tony Evers’ order over the mask mandate.
Derek Lindo, Balsam Lake, Brandon Widiker, Amery and John Kraft, Roberts, are named as the plaintiffs.
According to the complaint, they are challenging the legality of Gov. Evers’ executive order on July 30, which called for a state of emergency that required masks to be worn in all public settings. The order went into effect August 1 and was set to expire September 28.
Evers issued a previous public health emergency on March 12 relating to COVID-19.
The lawsuit states, “by law, that original state of emergency – and the powers associated with it – expired 60 days after it was issued, and can only be extended by the joint resolution of the Legislature”, which didn’t occur.
“It is not even about whether there can ever be a mask mandate,” the suit continues. “This case is about: (1) whether a Governor may extend an emergency past the 60-day statutory time limit without legislative approval, and (2) whether a Governor may sequentially declare consecutive public health emergencies for the same underlying public health crisis.”
The plaintiffs are arguing they’ve been harmed because the order is unlawful, Wisconsin has had to spend taxpayer money to enforce the mandate and to deploy the National Guard to conduct coronavirus testing and to man polling places amid a shortage of workers.”