Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Sees Record-High Voter Turnout

The Wisconsin Supreme Court election on Tuesday saw record-high voter turnout for a spring election not coinciding with a presidential race, Fox News reported. 

“Over 36 percent of eligible Wisconsin voters participated in the highly-anticipated election, surpassing the previous high of 34 percent set in the 2011 state Supreme Court race,” according to the report. “…Over 1.7 million Wisconsin voters participated in the Tuesday election — surpassing the approximately 1.6 million voters who took part in the 2011 election, which elected Justice David Prosser.”

Democrat Janet Protasiewicz secured a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court over Republican Daniel Kelly, giving liberals control over the state’s high court for the first time in 15 years and shattering the court’s current fragile 4-3 conservative majority. The previous makeup of the court came within one vote of overturning President Biden’s win in the state in 2020.

Protasiewicz notably leaned into her left-wing worldview while campaigning, decrying the state’s election maps as “rigged” and accusing the U.S. Supreme Court of “incorrectly” deciding the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. Her victory means she will likely get to weigh in on a challenge to the state’s 1849 abortion ban, which went into effect after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

“I can tell you with certainty that if I’m elected on April 4th, I’m sure that we will be looking — I am sure we will be looking — at that 1849 law,” Protasiewicz said at a campaign stop in March, adding that she “believe[s] in a woman’s right to choose.”

The results of the election could also impact how lawmakers redraw the state’s legislative districts ahead of the 2024 presidential election as well as parents’ rights, Second Amendment rights, and religious liberty.

The race ended up being the most expensive state judicial race in American history, topping at least $42 million — nearly triple the previous national record for a court race, according to the Associated Press.

“As of Monday, Protasiewicz and her backers have spent about $23.3 million compared with about $17.6 million for Kelly and his supporters, according to a report from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which tracks campaign spending,” according to the report.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin transferred millions of dollars to Protasiewicz’s campaign after receiving millions in donations from out-of-state billionaires like George Soros and J.B. Pritzker. She was also endorsed by Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups.