On Tuesday, the eyes of the world were on Wisconsin – though I'm sure they wished they could avert their gaze. 

Despite the coronavirus pandemic closing down businesses and shutting down gatherings – including the two Supreme Courts who imparted decisive rulings on the situation – the Wisconsin hosted in-person voting for its primary election on Tuesday, April 7. From last-minute rulings to missing absentee ballots and conflicting reports on rules, the Wisconsin election was a full-scale fustercluck no matter your side of the aisle – and that's all before people were lined up for blocks and gathered into close quarters in the midst of a once-in-a-generation health crisis, forced to choose between voting or potentially infecting themselves and others.

Here's how national publications, news outlets and the world saw the events on Tuesday. 

The New York Times

The Guardian

"Amelia Brummond, 34, submitted her request for a ballot for herself and her husband on 12 March. Her husband’s ballot came weeks later, but hers never came. She said she tried to follow up with election officials in Milwaukee, but never got an answer. Brummond, who has five children, said she won’t go to the polls on Tuesday because it’s too risky. She wanted to vote in a school measure that was on the ballot, but won’t be able to.

"'I can’t bring coronavirus into my house,' she said. 'I’m just going to have to opt out.'"

The Daily Beast

"Still, on Tuesday voters showed up, trying to be socially distant, but undoubtedly putting themselves at risk to cast their ballot. In Milwaukee, where the city’s election commission had shifted 180 voting locations to 'five voting centers' because of 'severe shortages in election workers,' long lines formed. The videos and photos of voters doing something so ordinary in such panicked times immediately drew expressions of shock online.

"One of those voters, Ronny Hill, 65, a retired construction worker, waited over two hours to vote. Dressed in a jogging suit and wearing a medical mask, plastic gloves and a Marines baseball cap, he said his sense of duty outweighed his fear of the virus.

"'Was I scared? Hell yea I’m scared!' he said. 'This virus is taking out the black people in this community, but I knew what I had to do. My daddy couldn’t vote during his time, so I voted for him.'

"A lengthy wait also didn’t deter Lauren Gilbert, a student support consultant and adjunct professor. The 26-year-old voted Tuesday at a polling place located in a predominantly black neighborhood and described lines that 'were around the block.'

"'It took me almost 2 hours to vote,' Gilbert said. 'I wasn’t scared, I felt empowered. I am passionate about voting as an educator.'

"'I always vote, but I didn't want to be here today. I'm afraid I could get the virus and bring it home to my family, but my absentee ballot didn't arrive,' said Lilly Miller, 34, a full-time stay-at-home mom. 'My husband stayed home from work with the kids so I could come vote. My husband received his ballot, so he was able to vote.'

"Jazemeka Fuller, 18, a senior in high school, was casting a ballot for the first time on Tuesday.

"'I'm not gonna lie, I'm scared,' she said. 'When I was younger I was really excited to turn 18 and vote. My granddad used to always tell me the history of voting in this country and how Black people couldn't vote. But today, the excitement I had is gone.'"

The BBC

"Sally Rohrer, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, volunteered at a local polling station, a location that combined four sites into one. 

"Many voters who turned out on Tuesday donned masks and socially distanced as they lined up. 

"But Ms Rohrer told the BBC she and other volunteers were not supplied with masks. 

"She said that while many voters had covered their face not everyone had. 

"'This is a huge risk, not only to our health but to our democracy,' Ms Rohrer said."