Judge William Conleys assessment was blunt.

The state of Wisconsins Legislature and governor are not willing to step up and say theres a public health crisis and make it absolutely clear that we should not be allowing poll workers and voters to congregate on April 7, the U.S. district judge for Wisconsins Western District said at the end of a four-hour hearing on Wednesday.

Still, he said he was powerless to postpone the election, which is set to take place Tuesday as the coronavirus continues to spread around the country and Wisconsinites are under a stay-at-home order. On the ballot are presidential primaries for both parties and, perhaps more importantly, a state Supreme Court general election.

Conley is overseeing challenges from the Democratic Party and grassroots groups as they seek either to delay the election or expand absentee voting options. They hope to drop requirements like voter identification and witness signatures and extend deadlines for when ballots can be received.

On Thursday, Conley ruled that the election would not be postponed. He instead extended the deadline for the receipt of absentee ballots to April 13 and allowed voters who could not find a witness to send a written statement asserting that. It will be left to individual clerks to accept these excuses from the witness signature requirement, Conley said.

Multiple states have pushed back primaries or moved to all-mail elections so residents can stay home, a measure crucial to slowing the spread of the coronavirus. But Wisconsins Democratic governor and Republicans in the state Legislature, led by Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, have refused to postpone next weeks election. Whats more, the GOP leaders further oppose expanding absentee voting and loosening ID and witness requirements.

Their goal is to suppress the vote as much as possible and make barriers to voting as high as possible, Courtney Beyer, communications director for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said.

The judicial race is crucial to determine the partisan tilt of the states highest court. Justice Daniel Kelly, endorsed by President Donald Trump and linked to state conservative groups, is up against Jill Karofsky, a state district judge who is endorsed by local progressive groups and, most recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).