In Wisconsin, a court that almost overturned Biden's win flips to liberal control
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is flipping to liberal control for the first time in 15 years with the start of the term of a new justice who made abortion rights a focus of her winning campaign
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Wisconsin Supreme Court flips to liberal control for the first time in 15 years Tuesday with the start of the term of a new justice who made abortion rights a focus of her winning campaign.
Janet Protasiewicz will be sworn into office with a ceremony in the state Capitol Rotunda, the type of pomp and circumstance typically reserved for governors. Protasiewicz's win carries tremendous weight in Wisconsin, a battleground where the state Supreme Court has been the last word on some of the biggest political and policy battles of the past decade-plus.
The conservative-controlled court came within one vote of overturning President Joe Biden's narrow win in the state in 2020, though Biden still would have had enough electoral votes to claim the presidency. More battles over voting rules and elections are expected leading up to 2024, along with challenges to the state's abortion ban, Republican-drawn political boundary lines and a host of other hot-button political issues.
Protasiewicz, a Milwaukee County judge, ran with backing and deep financial support from Democrats, abortion rights groups and other liberals in the officially nonpartisan race. She handily defeated her conservative opponent in April, raising expectations among liberals that the new court will soon do away with the state's abortion ban, order new maps to be drawn and ensure a long line of Democratic success after 15 years of rulings that largely favored Republicans.
Even as liberals have high hopes that the new court will rule in their favor, there are no guarantees. Republicans were angered when a conservative candidate they backed in 2019 turned out to sometimes side with liberal justices.
Protasiewicz replaces retiring conservative Justice Pat Roggensack, who served 20 years, including six as chief justice.
While it may be a while before the court weighs in on some topics, a new lawsuit challenging the GOP-drawn legislative and congressional district maps is expected to be filed within weeks. And there is already a pending case challenging Wisconsin’s pre-Civil War era abortion ban, and a county judge ruled last month that it can proceed, while also calling into question whether the law actually bans abortions.
The rules for voting and elections are also expected to come before the court heading into the 2024 presidential election.
A national Democratic law firm filed a lawsuit last month seeking to undo a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling last year banning absentee ballot drop boxes.