# Republicans lose the state supreme court election in Wisconsin **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 14, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739 "2020-04-14T02:07:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/1 "2020-04-14T02:07:01Z")
This is great news, because this is why the GOP fought so hard against mail in ballots on the state level, and then the federal supreme court (the same one that basically said gerrymandering wasn’t their concern because gerrymandering benefits republicans) had the 5 conservative judges say Wisconsin had to have their in person election despite there being a pandemic. The conservative politicians and judges thought forcing people to vote in person would reduce voter turnout and lead to a republican victory. Instead the liberal judge won. > **[Liberal Challenger Defeats Conservative Incumbent in Wisconsin Supreme Court...](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/04/jill-karofsky-wisconsin-supreme-court.html)** > > Republican’s voter suppression efforts appear to have backfired spectacularly. > [@](#): > > Jill Karofsky, a liberal judge running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, has defeated Daniel Kelly, the conservative incumbent, according to results from the April 7 election that were released Monday afternoon. Karofsky’s victory narrows the court’s conservative bloc to a 4–3 majority, putting progressives in striking distance of flipping the powerful court. It may also force Republicans to reconsider their position on absentee voting during the coronavirus pandemic. Wisconsin Republicans sought to exploit COVID-19 to suppress Democratic votes, forcing citizens to risk their health to stand in line for hours at a handful of polling places or surrender their right to vote. Donald Trump and his allies appeared to be eyeing a similar strategy for November. But in Wisconsin, at least, that strategy seems to have backfired. I hope this has repercussions regarding the GOPs efforts to suppress voting by mail in November of 2020, since it didn’t work in Wisconsin. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/2 "2020-04-14T02:09:52Z")
IMHO, having anyone elected to the judiciary is a terrible method for getting judges on the bench. The whole point of a judge is that he/she is someone who needs the fortitude and conviction to do the right but unpopular thing while in court. By subjecting them to public ballot, you’ll get judges who’ll make their legal decisions based off of what voters want, not what the law is or ought to be applied. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/3 "2020-04-14T02:14:25Z")
The potential loss of life with all that close proximity was a price they were all too willing to pay in order to suppress the vote enough to keep the seat. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/4 "2020-04-14T02:19:10Z")
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! This makes me so happy!!! Thanks for posting it, **Wesley**!! **Velocity** … as opposed to being selected and appointed by the governor of a state? Because that’s how it’s usually done. It’s very political. Judges leaving the bench often time their departures so that their replacement is either named by a governor of their same party, or so that the seat must go to election if the governor is not of the same party. Once a judge has been appointed to the bench, it’s quite difficult to dislodge them in an election. Voters as a rule don’t know or understand the politics involved in this process and just vote for the “incumbent.” I had a ringside seat through quite a number of judicial appointments by governors in my time as a judge’s assistant in California. Often the picks were good ones irrespective of party, but a couple of times they made me want to take a bath. Don’t kid yourself. It’s always political – and sometimes even worse. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/5 "2020-04-14T02:24:08Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > IMHO, having anyone elected to the judiciary is a terrible method for getting judges on the bench. The whole point of a judge is that he/she is someone who needs the fortitude and conviction to do the right but unpopular thing while in court. By subjecting them to public ballot, you’ll get judges who’ll make their legal decisions based off of what voters want, not what the law is or ought to be applied. Is the system of having judges nominated by partisan executive level politicians and then voted on my legislative politicians honestly better? ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/6 "2020-04-14T06:07:49Z")
Views expressed are not necessarily my own. > [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Is the system of having judges nominated by partisan executive level politicians and then voted on my legislative politicians honestly better? Let’s try Heinlein’s ultra-libertarian fantasy from MOON IS A HARD MISTRESS. No “state” exists. Parties to a dispute hire a judge based on reputation and price. The law in a case is whatever the judge says it is and applies nowhere else. If parties disagree with a verdict they can hire another judge; no refunds. If one party refuses judgement, toss-em out the airlock. That’ll minimize frivolous suits and charges. Lacking a “state”, no supreme court is necessary. But people like voting and parties and that sort of shit, as Heinlein laments. Society organizes and it all goes downhill, away from libertarian paradise. Then we get crooked pols. Remember, the honest politician (or cop or judge) is one who stays bought. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/7 "2020-04-14T06:53:29Z")
\*\*\*Happy news! \*\*\* (But the R’s still have a majority on that Court — Will they use it to subvert the November election?) Has the effect on turnout been analyzed? Some oldsters may be unable to tolerate long queues. And the usual Republican ploy is to force long queues _only_ in D-leaning precincts. _ **But with a D Governor — Tony Evers defeated Scott Walker in 2018 — they were no longer able to do that?** _ Similarly, Gretchen Whitmer turned the Michigan Governorship from Red to Blue in 2018, so that state should have a fairer election. Both these states still have GOP legislatures: Can the Governors enact fairer elections by executive orders? Will the right-wing judiciary overturn such orders? If WI and MI actually turn D for November, the Democrats have a chance to win the Oval Office! They’ll still also need Florida OR Pennsylvania OR both North Carolina and New Hampshire. > [@Velocity](#): > > IMHO, having anyone elected to the judiciary is a terrible method for getting judges on the bench. The whole point of a judge is that he/she is someone who needs the fortitude and conviction to do the right but unpopular thing while in court… In an abstract theoretical setting I’d agree with you. But in real-world America, _ **That ship has already sailed.** _ Start a thread in Thread Games to explore alternate realities had the Gingrich-Limbaugh Sedition never happened. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/8 "2020-04-14T07:09:26Z")
I think it is amazing that this happened. Especially when you consider that in Milwaukee, there were only 5/180 polls open, which means each polling place had to service 60,000 voters. Not to mention the scandal that is still unfolding of many mail ballots not delivered and/or delayed past deadlines. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/9 "2020-04-14T10:35:49Z")
Bernie staying in the primary probably helped make this happen by driving a lot of progressives to the polls. Thanks Bernie! ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/10 "2020-04-14T10:56:04Z")
I am actually surprised – I figured the messed up election would help Kelly. How many people will die because they voted? As to why they didn’t vote absentee, some tried but never got their ballot. Green Bay had _two_ polling places while La Crosse had 8 (out the normal 13) – how these numbers were figured out wasn’t purely political (tell me if I am wrong) Brian MN resident who gets WI news ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/11 "2020-04-14T11:00:04Z")
Huge numbers of absentee ballots from liberal Dane County (Madison) coupled with voting troubles from the usual GOP base. Fear of infection and dislike of long lines kept a lot of those older voters home. Second the hurdle to send a picture of your voter ID to the city clerk may have been too high for a lot of seniors. It would be ironic that Republicans making absentee voting difficult were hoisted on their own petard. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/12 "2020-04-14T11:05:36Z")
[See this Twitter thread](https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1249869235683196928?s=20) by Ben Wikler - the Chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party. Short answer; months of planning, organising, knocking on doors. Then a quick pivot in mid-March when they saw things were going to be locked down. Read the thread; it’s well worth your time. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/13 "2020-04-14T11:34:04Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > The potential loss of life with all that close proximity was a price they were all too willing to pay in order to suppress the vote enough to keep the seat. Apparently they misjudged how many people felt so strongly about voting that they were willing to risk illness and death to do so. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/14 "2020-04-14T11:51:27Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Is the system of having judges nominated by partisan executive level politicians and then voted on my legislative politicians honestly better? I give you exhibit A- Brett Kavanaugh. The answer is no. I rest my case. Court selection is I think a serious problem at both the state and federal level. When judges are appointed, the majority party (even when they represent a minority of voters and have the majority through gerrymandering as is the case in Wisconsin) puts their political hacks in. When elected, the parties nominate judges sympathetic to their policies. Neither works for the public interest and I don’t see how it can be improved. ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/15 "2020-04-14T13:05:59Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I give you exhibit A- Brett Kavanaugh. The answer is no. I rest my case. > > Court selection is I think a serious problem at both the state and federal level. When judges are appointed, the majority party (even when they represent a minority of voters and have the majority through gerrymandering as is the case in Wisconsin) puts their political hacks in. When elected, the parties nominate judges sympathetic to their policies. Neither works for the public interest and I don’t see how it can be improved. The ten year term for justices was intended to help them stay aloof from politics. It worked in Wisconsin where the elections are supposed to be non-partisan until the Kochs started pouring in millions of dollars to get their own judges elected. Now the candidates might as well be nominated at party conventions. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/16 "2020-04-14T17:04:22Z")
Seeing **Musicat** posting in this thread reminds me to note that many people, all across the country, who spent hours and hours handwriting postcards to drive turnout in Wisconsin are celebrating this victory on social media. [e.g.](https://twitter.com/search?q=wisconsin%20postcards&src=typed_query&f=live) ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/17 "2020-04-14T20:10:03Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > I hope this has repercussions regarding the GOPs efforts to suppress voting by mail in November of 2020, since it didn’t work in Wisconsin. I think the repercussions will be the GOP will just start their efforts earlier and pour in more money. They’ll rationalize things by saying Kelly wasn’t that popular from the get-go and, all things considered, they did the best they could with the candidate they had. Also, Trump came in too late with his attacks on voting-by-mail. By November, they’ll have better candidates and a more polished and forceful message against mail-in ballots. Trump may even try to use an executive order to ban them. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/18 "2020-04-14T20:25:13Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > I think the repercussions will be the GOP will just start their efforts earlier and pour in more money. They’ll rationalize things by saying Kelly wasn’t that popular from the get-go and, all things considered, they did the best they could with the candidate they had. Also, Trump came in too late with his attacks on voting-by-mail. By November, they’ll have better candidates and a more polished and forceful message against mail-in ballots. Trump may even try to use an executive order to ban them. Or, they’ll attempt to get these election results tossed as invalid, based on all the irregularities caused by COVID-19. (Never mind that they themselves fought to protect those irregularities.) ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/19 "2020-04-14T20:37:51Z")
This really IS good news, and especially impressive news too, after the GOP went out of its way to hold the election in the middle of a plague in order to keep turnout low. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739/20 "2020-04-14T20:56:44Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > Or, they’ll attempt to get these election results tossed as invalid, based on all the irregularities caused by COVID-19. (Never mind that they themselves fought to protect those irregularities.) They didn’t want to hold the election during the pandemic, but they were overruled by the Democrat governor. Get with the (current) narrative. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/republicans-lose-the-state-supreme-court-election-in-wisconsin/851739.md?page=2)