Wisconsin Supreme Court Agrees to Hear WILL Lawsuit Against Wisconsin Elections Commission
High court will review whether state agency broke the law
The News: The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed to hearZignego v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, WILL’s lawsuit against the state agency for ignoring state law and failing to clean up the voter rolls. WILL filed a petition for review with the Wisconsin Supreme Court in March after the Court of Appeals overturned and remanded a December 2019 Ozaukee County Circuit Court decision.
The Quote: WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg said, “We are pleased the Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to hear this critical case. Recent months have made clear that state agencies, like the Wisconsin Elections Commission, must be held accountable when they ignore state law.”
Background: WILL sued the Wisconsin Elections Commission, on behalf of three Wisconsin voters, because the state agency was ignoring state law by leaving old and outdated voter registrations on the voter rolls. At a hearing on December 13, Ozaukee County Circuit Court Judge Paul Malloy ordered the Wisconsin Elections Commission to immediately comply with state law – cleaning up the voter rolls and removing registrations from outdated addresses.
After a petition to bypass to the Supreme Court resulted in a 3-3 tie (Justice Kelly recused), the Court of Appeals issued a stay on Judge Malloy’s decision on January 14, and overturned and remanded the decision on February 28.
WILL filed a petition for review with the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Zignego v. Wisconsin Elections Commission on March 11, 2020.
