Wisconsin’s supreme court is technically non-partisan, but in fact is a highly partisan court that makes very partisan rulings.
And it could flip from conservative to liberal on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, which “could have wide-ranging consequences for the whole country,” Newsweek said in an article here.
Wisconsin is one of the most ruthlessly gerrymandered states; in 2018 state Assembly elections, Republicans won 44% of the popular vote, but got two-thirds of the Assembly seats. Last year before the 2022 elections, a 4-3 conservative court majority upheld the GOP redistricting maps. In 2021, a former GOP state supreme court justice was at the forefront of Republican efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential results, which Biden narrowly won.
Recognizing the high stakes, the competing sides have spent over $42 million on this judicial election. If the liberal candidate wins, the state’s U.S. House districts could be redrawn, a pre-statehood 1800s law prohibiting abortions will be thrown out, and the state’s 2024 electoral votes will be harder to challenge. Wisconsin is a swing state, and its electoral votes matter. Stay tuned. Update (4/4/23): The liberal won, 55%-45%, aided by a large Gen Z turnout.