Wisconsin's "Non-Partisan" Supreme Court's Actions Don't Match Words
Thursday, April 9th, 2020 -- 10:39 AM
(AP) -Anyone needing proof of the power and significance of the Wisconsin Supreme Court can look no further than the lines of mask-wearing voters that stretched for hours in Milwaukee during an election held despite a stay-at-home order because of the coronavirus pandemic.An election-eve decision by the court overturning the governor’s order to postpone the vote made the state an outlier in pushing ahead with voting, ignoring pleadings from health experts and local officials about the danger of spreading the virus. The fact that Wisconsin went forward when other states delayed their elections, and that many voters were willing to endure long waits to cast ballots, reflects the hotly disputed role the court has taken in a state with outsize importance in national politics. Since conservatives have held a majority on the state Supreme Court, the Republican-dominated Legislature has been able to enact laws that enhanced the GOP’s position, including voter ID laws and limits on labor unions, despite legal challenges from Democrats. The court would play a pivotal role in reviewing the drawing of new district lines for legislative and congressional offices following the 2020 census, which has a major impact on the balance of political power.
The court’s ruling to proceed with the election broke squarely along ideological lines. Four conservative justices voted to block the Democratic governor’s bid to delay the vote, while two liberals voted for it. Such a split has become common in some of the court’s highest profile rulings in recent years, particularly on hyper-partisan issues. The court in recent years has found on the side of conservatives in many high-profile cases. Democrats said the court’s favorable ruling for the voter ID requirement made it harder for their voters to cast ballots. More recently, court rulings upheld the Legislature’s ability to meet in a lame duck session to undercut Evers’ powers as governor after he defeated incumbent Republican Scott Walker in 2018. Keeping the court’s conservative majority is crucial for Republicans ahead of redistricting next year.
With Republicans in control of the Legislature and a Democratic governor, there’s little chance of agreement on new maps for legislative and congressional boundaries. Redistricting isn’t the only major case on the horizon. Litigation stemming from Tuesday’s election is expected. The state’s supreme court races have drawn huge campaign expenditures from outside groups on both the right and left. The Brennan Center for Justice, which tracks judicial election spending, put this race’s total at roughly $4.8 million, which is estimated to be the most expensive court race in the country.
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