Current:Home > InvestWisconsin Supreme Court agrees to hear case affecting future of state’s elections leader -EquityExchange
Wisconsin Supreme Court agrees to hear case affecting future of state’s elections leader
View
Date:2025-04-18 14:40:56
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would hear a lawsuit that could determine whether the state’s top elections official could remain in her post after Republicans who controlled the state Senate sought to fire her last year.
The liberal-controlled court said it would hear the case but did not immediately set a date for oral arguments. The court almost certainly will not rule before the Nov. 5 election.
Meagan Wolfe serves as the nonpartisan administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, an agency run by a bipartisan board that oversees elections in the key presidential battleground state. Republicans unhappy with her, especially after the 2020 election won by President Joe Biden, have attempted to oust her from her job.
Wolfe has been the subject of conspiracy theories and targeted by threats from election skeptics who falsely claim she was part of a plot to rig the 2020 vote in favor of Biden. Biden defeated Donald Trump in 2020 by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, and his win has withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firm’s review, and multiple state and federal lawsuits.
Senate Republicans voted in September 2023 to fire Wolfe, despite objections from Democrats and the Legislature’s nonpartisan attorneys, who said the Senate didn’t have the authority to vote at that time because Wolfe was a holdover in her position and had not been reappointed.
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul sued to challenge that vote, and in court filings, Republican legislative leaders changed course and claimed their vote to fire Wolfe was merely “symbolic” and had no legal effect. They also asked the judge to order the elections commission to appoint an administrator for the Senate to vote on.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Ann Peacock, in a January ruling, said Wolfe is legally serving as administrator of the elections commission as a holdover given that the commission deadlocked on whether to reappoint her. The Senate’s vote to remove her had no legal effect and the commission has no duty to appoint a new leader while Wolfe is serving as a holdover, Peacock ruled.
Republican leaders of the Legislature appealed and asked the state Supreme Court to take the case directly, skipping a state appeals court, which it agreed to do on Wednesday.
It is possible that the court will not issue a ruling until next year, after lawmakers elected in November take office. Democrats hope to cut into Republicans’ 22-10 majority in the Senate. The Senate has the power to approve or reject gubernatorial appointees and others, like Wolfe.
Republicans have rejected 21 of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ appointees, breaking with the longtime bipartisan precedent of approving a governor’s choice.
veryGood! (9153)
Related
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Two SSI checks are coming in November. You can blame the calendar.
- Oklahoma storms injure at least 11 and leave thousands without power
- Remains of naval aviators killed in Washington state training flight to return home
- DeepSeek: Did a little known Chinese startup cause a 'Sputnik moment' for AI?
- 2025 NFL draft order: Updated list after early slate of Week 9 games
- ‘Womb to Tomb’: Can Anti-Abortion Advocates Find Common Ground With the Climate Movement?
- The Futures of Right Whales and Lobstermen Are Entangled. Could High-Tech Gear Help Save Them Both?
- Are Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp down? Meta says most issues resolved after outages
- Social media users weigh in on Peanut the Squirrel being euthanized: 'This can’t be real'
Ranking
- Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
- The Futures of Right Whales and Lobstermen Are Entangled. Could High-Tech Gear Help Save Them Both?
- Getting Out the Native Vote Counters a Long History of Keeping Tribal Members from the Ballot Box
- Remains of naval aviators killed in Washington state training flight to return home
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Mega Millions winning numbers for November 1 drawing: Jackpot rises to $303 million
- Federal Court Ruling on a Reservoir Expansion Could Have Big Implications for the Colorado River
- Holding Out Hope On the Drying Rio Grande
Recommendation
The Louvre will be renovated and the 'Mona Lisa' will have her own room
Texas Sued New Mexico Over Rio Grande Water. Now the States are Fighting the Federal Government
Trial in 2017 killings of 2 teenage girls in Indiana reaches midway point as prosecution rests
Could daylight saving time ever be permanent? Where it stands in the states
Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
The man who took in orphaned Peanut the squirrel says it’s ‘surreal’ officials euthanized his pet
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Nice Comeback
How Fracking Technology Could Drive a Clean-Energy Boom