Wisconsin Supreme Court…We Said What We Said
The Wisconsin Supreme Court, earlier today, refused to take up a case brought by the Wisconsin Elections Commission which was asking for clarification on which Legislative District lines should be used for a potential recall election against Speaker Robin Vos.
In December of 2023, the WI Supreme Court had ruled the GOP-passed district lines were unconstitutional and must be changed. The Legislature passed the district lines suggested by Governor Tony Evers and those districts are set to be used in the November elections.
The problem at hand…a group of 2020 election deniers have attempted to recall Assembly Speaker Robin Vos due to his refusal to fire election administrators and nullify the 2020 Presidential election. Which district do they try to recall the Speaker from? His current district, which the Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional? Is it the new district, in which he has never been elected?
The recall organizers submitted signatures from both districts. Speaker Vos has challenged many of the signatures for various reasons, claiming the recall effort failed to reach the required number of signatures in either district.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission punted on making the decision themselves, appealing to the WI Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, in turn, told the WI Elections Commission, “We decline to further clarify or amend the opinion and order.”
This means the Election Commission will have to make a decision by April 11, the deadline for the agency to certify if the recall has enough signatures.
The Elections Commission decision can be appealed, which means this issue is still potentially far from decided. The longer this decision is held up, the better for both the Speaker and the Commission, as candidates for the Fall 2024 election can start circulating nomination papers on April 15…using the newly passed Legislative districts. It is difficult to imagine a Court ordering a Special Election when regular elections are being held so soon.
Stay tuned for updates…
#WISupremeCourt #SpeakerVos #Redistricting