Tag: Wisconsin Supreme Court

Liberal challenger wins Wisconsin court election over Trump pick

“It’s a victory for justice and democracy in an election that should never have taken place in person,” the state’s Democratic Party chair said.

Liberal Wisconsin state Supreme Court challenger Jill Karofsky defeated conservative Justice Daniel Kelly in the biggest battle of Wisconsin’s April 7 elections. But the war over voting in Wisconsin and other states isn’t even close to ending.

Karofsky’s victory over Kelly, who was backed by state Republicans and President Donald Trump, comes after Democrats threatened lawsuits over the election, which was marred by last minute chaos, including significant numbers of polling places closed due to coronavirus and disagreement between the Democratic governor and the Republican legislature over whether to postpone the vote.

It’s an early preview of the raw, intense legal fights over voting rights and ballot access set to multiply across other states this year, as the two parties prepare to contest a presidential election amid the pandemic. Continue reading.

Voting advocates say Wisconsin election should be a warning

Shortage of poll workers leads to consolidated sites, long lines

The long lines, closed polling sites and last-minute political wrangling that characterized Tuesday’s elections in Wisconsin could be a preview of what’s to come across the country in November if state and congressional officials don’t start to prepare now, according to voting rights advocates.

“We’re going to see a massive change in the way people are voting and the way election officials are going to have to run their elections,” said Lawrence Norden, director of election reform at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. “The real question is, are we going to make the changes necessary to avoid an election meltdown?”

Wisconsin was the first state to have in-person voting amid a statewide stay-at-home order, making it a test of how to hold elections during the coronavirus pandemic. Voting rights advocates largely saw it as a failure. Continue reading.

Scott Walker’s handpicked candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court loses in a landslide

The following article by Josh Israel was posted on the ThinkProgress website April 4, 2018:

Walker’s candidate and a scheme to eliminate the State Treasurer both lost by double digits.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice-Elect Rebecca Dallet Credit: Dallet’s Twitter Feed

Wisconsin voters sent a strong message to Gov. Scott Walker (R) and the National Rifle Association on Tuesday, electing liberal Rebecca Dallet to an open seat on the state’s Supreme Court.

Dallet defeated a Walker-appointed and NRA-endorsed judge, Republican-backed conservative Michael Screnock, by a surprisingly lopsided 56 percent to 44 percent majority. Her win narrows the pro-Walker conservative majority on the court to 4 to 3 — and marks the first win by a liberal to an open seat since 1995. Continue reading “Scott Walker’s handpicked candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court loses in a landslide”