Friend –

For years, extremist Wisconsin politicians have demonstrated their willingness to compromise democracy for political purposes, and now some state legislators are taking it a step further by seriously considering the prospect of impeaching a Supreme Court Justice who was elected by an 11-point margin this past April. Today's announcement of the creation of a panel intended to explore the criteria for impeachment reflects the severity of this threat to democracy. Read the statement we made yesterday.

Let's call this what it really is: a shameless, politically motivated stunt designed to invalidate the will of Wisconsin voters. If impeachment proceeds under these circumstances, it would pose a dire threat to democracy in our state and set a dangerous precedent that the results of a free and fair election can be undone by extreme politicians dissatisfied with the outcome.

In Wisconsin, we've grown accustomed to politicians stopping at nothing to preserve their power, even when it comes at the expense of our voting rights. Over the years, our democracy has been decimated by pervasive voter suppression, unfounded challenges to perfectly legitimate elections, fake elector schemes, and more. This is an extension of that long-term undemocratic effort.

We can't let extreme politicians subvert elections for their own gain. Democracy doesn't work like that. It can't.

Wisconsinites expect and deserve fair and free elections.

In solidarity,

Dr. Melinda Brennan
Pronouns: She, her, ella
Executive Director, ACLU of Wisconsin