WI primary election has four candidates on Supreme Court ballot

Update: Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz and former Justice Dan Kelly are the top two vote getters and advance to the April 4 general election.

The WI primary election on Feb. 21st, has a significant election of the vacant state Supreme Court Justice position. They are currently four candidates on the ballot Waukesha County circuit court judge, Jennifer Dorow, former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, Daniel Kelly, Dane County circuit court judge, Everett Mitchell, and Milwaukee County circuit court judge Janet Protasiewicz.

The next court justice will leave significant impact on state court ruling regarding decisions like overturning the ban abortion. Kaci Lundgren, the Douglas County Clerk talked about how you can prepare for the WI primary. “The best thing to do is to do a search for a non-biased, nonaffiliated website that would give you information about each of the candidates so you understand their stances on everything. Again, these are nonpartisan positions, so you want to make sure that you are understanding where they are coming from.” Lundgren said. “Even though it might be a small election, it can make a huge difference. Please get out to your polling location and myvote.wi.gov, you would type in your address and it will bring up your sample ballot, your polling location, your municipal clerk, and anything that you need to be able to vote.”

While low voter turnout often happens during an odd-year primary. There are issues like voting rights and redistricting, encouraging Wisconsin residents to vote. Jeff King, the Outgami County Clerk talked more about the voter turnout. “I think we’ll have good turnout. Typically, it’s a little lower turnout for February, but I think people will probably be more interested in. It’s hard to say exactly. But, you know, I could see maybe 10 to 20% more turnout than we see typically.” King said.

However, the state supreme court is not the only item on the ballot. There are several other locally elected positions that can be voted on. Claire Woodall-Vogg, the Milwaukee Election Commission Director explained the importance of local elections. “We always see people who vote every four years, but if you were to vote, you have a much more significant weight to your voice when you’re voting and local elections. We oftentimes see those local races being decided by tens, if not hundreds of votes to be filled.” Woodall-Vogg said.

For another story you can read you can look here https://www.wdio.com/front-page/top-stories/wisconsin-primary-election-results/.