Voters in the Badger State turned out on Tuesday to vote in a consequential spring election to choose a Supreme Court justice to serve a ten-year term that could shift the ideological balance of Wisconsin's Supreme Court.
Even though Wisconsin's Supreme Court election is nonpartisan, Guy had a great explainer on the stakes in Tuesday's election — one that has become the most expensive state Supreme Court race in U.S. history.
Election Day: Consequential Races Will Be Decided in Two States Today https://t.co/cy4o1HAcKi
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 4, 2023
Democrats are backing lower court Judge Janet Protasiewicz. If she wins, Wisconsin's highest court would shift to have a liberal majority for the first time in quite a while.
Across the aisle, Republicans are backing former state Supreme Court Justice Daniel Kelly, hoping to preserve the court's longstanding conservative majority.
Polls in Wisconsin closed at 8:00 p.m. CT, and live results in the race will update below:
In addition to the Supreme Court race, voters registered their opinion on two state referenda questions dealing with criminal justice policies.
Question 1 asked voters: "Shall section 8 (2) of article I of the constitution be amended to allow a court to impose on an accused person being released before conviction conditions that are designed to protect the community from serious harm?"
Question 2 asked: "Shall section 8 (2) of article I of the constitution be amended to allow a court to impose cash bail on a person accused of a violent crime based on the totality of the circumstances, including the accused's previous convictions for a violent crime, the probability that the accused will fail to appear, the need to protect the community from serious harm and prevent witness intimidation, and potential affinitive defenses?"
A third question to voters — an advisory referendum that would not change Wisconsin's state code — asked residents to answer whether "able-bodied, childless adults be required to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits?"