The Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to take up one of President Donald Trump’s lawsuits Thursday that seeks to overturn Biden’s win in the state.
Trump filed his lawsuit on Tuesday, a day after Gov. Tony Evers certified President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Wisconsin. The lawsuit challenges over 220,000 ballots cast by voters in Dane and Milwaukee counties.
In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that Trump must first file his lawsuit with a lower circuit court, as required by Wisconsin’s election recount laws. Justices were bitterly divided in the case, with Justice Brian Hagedorn being the only conservative to join the court’s three liberals in declining to hear Trump’s lawsuit.
“We do well as a judicial body to abide by time-tested judicial norms, even — and maybe especially — in high-profile cases,” Hagedorn wrote in his concurring opinion. “Following the law governing challenges to election results is no threat to the rule of law.”
In a dissenting opinion, conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley said the court’s majority permits the Wisconsin Elections Commission “decree its own election rules.”
“Allowing six unelected commissioners to make the law governing elections, without the consent of the governed, deals a death blow to democracy,” Bradley wrote.
The ruling is a victory for Wisconsin’s electors, who had joined Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes on Tuesday in a motion to block Trump’s lawsuit. Wisconsin’s presidential electors are set to cast 10 votes for Biden on Dec. 14.
Gov. Tony Evers supported the court’s decision Thursday afternoon but said he was “frankly amazed” that the decision was not unanimous.
Trump’s campaign was quick to respond to the court’s decision, vowing to immediately take their case to lower courts.
“It was clear from their writings that the court recognizes the seriousness of these issues, and we look forward to taking the next step. We fully expect to be back in front of the Supreme Court very soon,” Trump attorney Jim Troupis said.
Within hours, Trump filed lawsuits in Dane and Milwaukee counties, which Chief Justice Patience Roggensack quickly combined and appointed retired Racine County Circuit Judge Stephen Simanek to the case.
Also on Thursday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined on the same lines to hear a case from a Wisconsin resident who claimed election results were “tainted” by the illegal use of ballot drop boxes. The court has still not said whether it would take up a second case seeking to throw out the results. Both cases argued the Republican-controlled legislature should decide how to cast the state’s electoral votes.
Thursday’s ruling is the latest in a nationwide series of failed legal challenges for the Trump campaign. Though Trump filed a separate lawsuit in federal court Wednesday asking to put Wisconsin’s legislature in charge of deciding the state’s election results, Thursday’s loss is likely a death blow to his efforts to overturn Wisconsin’s election results.
Trump suffered another setback in his baseless efforts to overturn Biden’s victory on Tuesday when Attorney General William Barr asserted there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud.
Trump has yet to concede the election, which was called for Biden on Nov. 7 by the AP and other major networks. However, he said last Friday he would leave office if the Electoral College voted for Biden later this month, which it is poised to do.
Tyler Katzenberger is the former managing editor at The Daily Cardinal. He also served as the state news editor, covering numerous protests, elections, healthcare, business and in-depth stories. He previously interned with The Capital Times, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and is an incoming POLITICO California intern. Follow him on Twitter at @TylerKatzen.