MADISON - Tuesday's election won't be decided until a week later under a Friday decision from a federal judge who has ordered Wisconsin election officials to make it easier to vote by mail.

U.S. District Judge William Conley on Friday ordered clerks not to report results the April 7 election until April 13, when absentee ballots are due.

The extended deadline to return mailed ballots was part of Conley's Thursday order to make changes to the spring election amid an outbreak of coronavirus, making it easier to vote by mail.

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On Friday he clarified that clerks may not report results of Tuesday's election, effectively moving the election to April 13.

State law requires clerks to report unofficial returns on election night and state election officials didn't want that to start happening on Tuesday when only a portion of ballots will have been counted.

The vote-tabulating issue is the latest one to tie up election officials as they try to figure out how to safely conduct an election during the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 53,000 worldwide.

In his initial ruling, Conley did not require that absentee ballots be postmarked by election day. That means voters who have received absentee ballots could fill them out and return them days after voting would normally conclude.

Election observers have raised concerns that reporting returns starting Tuesday would have affected the behavior of those who requested ballots but hadn't cast them by election day. It could also lead to pressure on voters who hadn't returned their ballots from campaigns and parties if they see that some races were tight.

Conley allowed absentee ballots to be returned after Tuesday because tens of thousands of voters likely won't receive them until after election day. He determined that if they requested their ballots on time, they should be able to cast them.

Shortly after he issued his order, the state and national arms of the Republican Party filed an appeal seeking to block the bulk of Conley's ruling.

"The court’s last-minute injunction substantially interferes with the integrity of Wisconsin’s election, grants relief that no plaintiff requested, changes the rules for completing absentee ballots in the middle of an election, creates voter confusion, and plainly conflicts with binding precedent," wrote attorney Patrick Strawbridge.

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Contact Molly Beck at molly.beck@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @MollyBeck.