In a short video posted to social media on Monday evening, former Vice President Joe Biden thanked voters in Wisconsin for voting for him — and laid into the state GOP for forcing them to risk exposure to COVID-19 to cast their ballots.
"Thank you, Wisconsin," said Biden. "No other state in the nation has had to demonstrate the kind of courage you just did in your primary. You know, we often speak of the sacrifices Americans are willing to make to protect our freedoms, including putting their lives on the line. We saw that American spirit last week in Wisconsin. It's a testament to how much respect people have for their cherished right to vote, and we saw that courage not only in those who came out to vote, but in the dedication of those who did the work of carrying out the election ... under the most difficult of circumstances."
"But as grateful as I am for your support, and as proud as I am of the commitment and courage shown by so many in Wisconsin, it never should have come to that," Biden continued. "No one should ever have to choose between their health and our democracy. Instead, we saw Republicans willing to risk people's lives for their own political purposes, refusing to work with the governor to find an alternative solution to in-person voting last week. It was more than shameful. It put lives in danger unnecessarily, and I hope no one forgets what the Republicans in the state legislature did come November."
The battle over voting in Wisconsin, Biden said, was a "giant warning flare to the nation."
"We have to deal now — and I mean now, not tomorrow, now — with figuring out how we're going to conduct a full, and fair, and safe election in November," said Biden. "And that means providing our citizens with all the options for the exercise of the right to vote — by mail and in-person. If given the support they need, our state and local election officials can get this done. But Congress is going to have to be part of that solution."
"The people of Wisconsin have proven that Americans will risk their lives to protect our freedom, and to exercise their sacred democratic right to vote," Biden added. "But no leader in this nation should ask that any American have to risk their lives."
Watch below:
