With one major election behind us, Wisconsinites look forward to the crucial state Supreme Court election.
In 2023, conservative Justice Patience Roggensack will complete her term and will not run for reelection. All eyes are turned to her soon vacant seat on this crucial council as the court’s majority is up in the air. Conservatives presently have a modest 4-3 majority in the Supreme Court with Justice Brian Hagedorn sometimes siding with the liberal justices. Thus, with a 3-3 split after the departure of Justice Roggensack, a window has opened for the Democratic Party to gain a majority for the next 10 years, assuming the remaining justices are not replaced.
In the context of the recent midterm elections, the results of the Supreme Court election will be a game changer. If a new liberal justice is elected, Governor Tony Evers may finally overcome the political deadlock he faces in trying to pass bills consistently rejected by the Republican-controlled legislature. For the general public, this presents an exciting opportunity for revising important laws that impact Wisconsinites like abortion and gerrymandering.
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Although the judicial system does not come into the eyes of the public as often as the legislative and executive branches, it often has the final say in many topics that impact society on a daily basis.
For instance, Gov. Tony Evers’s session to increase gun laws was met with disapproval from Republican legislators. On the other hand, when Evers received bills from Republican legislators to increase gun freedom, he used his executive power to veto the bill. Similar deadlock situations dominate Wisconsin politics as evidenced by Governor Evers’s veto of 126 GOP bills since 2021.
When decisions are handed to the state Supreme Court, its interpretation of any state law is “generally final and binding.” For instance, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, due to its Republican majority, has supported the redistricting put forth by Republican legislators that Evers called gerrymandering. The Supreme Court has the power to break deadlocks between the legislative and executive branches, which can change the state’s political landscape for years.
In June 2022, Evers announced a lawsuit against the abortion ban, bringing the hotly contested issue into the spotlight at a Supreme Court preparing for an exchange of justices. If the Democratic justice is elected, a 4-3 vote may overturn the 1849 ban on abortion that has loomed over women’s reproductive freedom for centuries in Wisconsin.
If a Republican justice is elected, the vote of Justice Hagedorn is likely to become the primary deciding factor in how the court rules abortion.
Topics like gerrymandering are at stake as well. The Supreme Court’s current selection of a Republican legislature’s redistricting map supports the division of votes into districts that support the election of a Republican majority in the state legislature. This, in turn, will foster greater support for Republican laws and ideals at the government level. However, if the Republican map is overturned by a new, liberal Supreme Court, the future of the State Assembly may be overturned completely.
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The candidates for this Supreme Court election include two liberals, Janet Protasiewicz and Everett Mitchell, and two conservatives, former Justice Daniel Kelly and Jennifer Dorow.
In past years, the vote between liberal and conservative justices has been extremely close. Moreover, since the state Supreme Court is elected by the public, this matter takes center stage for Wisconsinites.
Members of advocacy groups have realized what this election can mean for their interests. For instance, the director of Wisconsin’s Right to Life has increased her public advocacy campaigns to make individuals aware of this election and of the importance of their vote.
This is a rare opportunity to cast a vote on a position that could directly and dramatically change the way of life for years to come. For Wisconsin, this election is arguably more important than the midterm election. In a state where elections are largely heated and unpredictable, we as citizens have the golden opportunity to make our voices heard.
Ben Wikler, the chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, claims people tend to vote when the stakes are the highest, so high voter turnout isn’t expected in comparison to other, more prominent elections. We must, however, be aware that the stakes for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election are at least as high as political elections that generally receive the public spotlight.
Aanika Parikh ([email protected]) is a freshman studying molecular and cell biology.
