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Voting is underway in the April election that will decide whether liberals or conservatives hold the Wisconsin Supreme Court majority and whether the state’s photo ID law will be written into the constitution.
There are plenty of local races, too, including school funding proposals. This election is likely to see high turnout, and the Supreme Court contest has already seen unprecedented rates of spending that will almost certainly make it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history.
Who is running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court?
The race to fill the seat of a retiring justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court is between Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford and Waukesha County Circuit Court Judge Brad Schimel. The race is nominally nonpartisan, but in effect Crawford is running as a liberal, and Schimel, a Republican former attorney general, is running as a conservative.
Why is the Wisconsin Supreme Court race so important?
Partisan and activist groups have pegged the Wisconsin Supreme Court race as one of the most consequential off-year elections.
You may have seen a lot of political ads about this election. The spending is high because of the cases that often go before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Given the gridlock between the Republican-controlled Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, many of the state’s most important questions — about voting rights, the legality of abortion, and the power of unions — are coming before the courts. And the outcome of the election will determine which way the court leans.
Conservatives long controlled the court, but liberals flipped it in 2023. Now, a retiring liberal justice’s seat is up for grabs. If conservatives win, they’ll flip the court back in their favor for now, though a conservative justice’s seat is up next year and the year after. If liberals win now, they’ll all but guarantee their majority for the next few years.
With regard to voting rights and election administration — the topics Votebeat covers in the most detail — the majority may determine a range of issues, from the legality of drop boxes to whether voters with disabilities should be allowed to return ballots electronically.
What would Question 1, the voter ID constitutional amendment, do if it’s ratified by voters?
In practice, ratification of the measure to put the state’s photo ID requirement in the constitution wouldn’t change anything for voters. That’s because the law is already on the books, and has been in full effect for nearly a decade. Almost all voters need to show a photo ID either every time they vote in person or request an absentee ballot.
The biggest effect of ratifying the proposal would be that it would be harder for courts — or the Legislature if it switched to Democratic control — to strike down or repeal the photo ID requirement.
Would Question 1 take away the photo ID exceptions for military personnel and indefinitely confined voters?
No, it would not.
Under Wisconsin law, most voters have to show an ID every time they vote. In-person voters have to show their IDs at the polls, and most absentee voters must provide their IDs electronically when they request a ballot.
But there are exceptions to the rule for a few categories of voters, including those serving in the military, Wisconsin voters living abroad, residents of care facilities voting absentee, and people who are indefinitely confined because of their age, illness, or disability.
Another exception applies to a group known as confidential voters: people affected by domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking. Those voters can register to receive a confidential voter card without showing a photo ID.
If the amendment passes, the exceptions established by law would still apply to those groups. The amendment says so.
It would be difficult to undo the laws creating the exceptions because of the potential legal issues that would arise by enforcing the state’s photo ID requirements for the groups currently exempt from it.
Why is the voter ID amendment on the ballot?
Republicans introduced and passed the proposed amendment because they support the photo ID requirement, and fear that the Wisconsin Supreme Court, currently under liberal control, would vote to strike it down if the issue came before the court.
Constitutional amendment proposals must pass the Legislature in two successive sessions and can’t be vetoed by the governor.
Generally, the state’s photo ID law is popular. Most constitutional amendment proposals in Wisconsin pass when they come before voters, and 74% of Wisconsinites polled in 2021 supported the photo ID requirement.
What else is on the ballot in the April election?
The statewide contests on every voters’ ballot are the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, the photo ID constitutional amendment proposal, and an election for the state’s top school official. Then there are plenty of judicial and local races that vary by where you live.
You can find out what else is on your ballot by entering your address here at MyVote.wi.gov.
Alexander Shur is a reporter for Votebeat based in Wisconsin. Contact Alexander at ashur@votebeat.org.
