Three Solid Reasons to Vote in Wisconsin’s Spring Elections

November 5, 2024 is in the rearview mirror. The build-up, drama, and anxiety that preceded the Presidential election are past. People are by-and-large returning to the political norm of tuning out politics and getting on with their lives. Not only is this normal, it’s understandable.

The next two election dates (February 18 primary election and April 1 general election) will be local and state in nature. The only two statewide offices on the ballot are the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) leader and a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. There will be several local elections as well as a statewide referendum question: making the electoral Voter Identification requirement a fixture in the state constitution.

Historically these off-year elections draw a turnout between 25% and 35% statewide.

What Is at Stake and Why Should You Vote?

A famous politician once said, “All politics is local.” That axiom is absolutely true, and yet these elections have the lowest levels of participation. I won’t try to explain why this is the case; rather here I make a case as to why you should vote.

1. Leadership of the highest education office in the state is on the ballot. The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) is responsible for setting public school statewide educational policies and standards. While education leadership is exercised at the local level via School Boards, they usually defer to policies developed by DPI. There will be a primary election on February 18 to reduce the number of candidates for the position of State Superintendent of Public Instruction from three to two. While this is a nonpartisan primary, all three candidates are known to be Democrats … but some are more liberal than others. Start doing your homework here: DPI candidates weigh in on top issues ahead of Feb. 18 primary – WisPolitics
2. The result of the state Supreme Court race will determine the ideological orientation of the court for the next three years. Judges should be merely judges — neither Conservative nor Liberal. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Since the election of Janet Protasiewicz, the political orientation of the Wisconsin state Supreme Court has tilted liberal. The newly configured court revisited and re-legalized election Drop Boxes. The court also injected itself into the legislative redistricting debate by forcing a change in the legally drawn maps to give one political party an electoral advantage.

Currently a challenge to Act 10 is scheduled to be heard by the state Supreme Court. Other anticipated challenges to current law include School Choice, Voter ID, Right to Work, and Abortion Rights/access. If you are a Liberal/Democrat you look forward to these challenges; if you are a Conservative/Republican you expect that these challenges will overturn current law. The stakes and consequences are very high.

3. Maintaining Voter Identification for Wisconsin elections. Currently only 24 states (Wisconsin included) require photo identification when voting. Democrats have fought against this requirement, claiming the requirement makes voting more difficult for minorities and lower-income individuals. That argument could be the basis for a challenge to the state Supreme Court. Susan Crawford (the acknowledged liberal running for the state Supreme Court) was one of the lead attorneys who previously argued in court against photo identification and would probably bring this position to the court if elected. Voting YES on April 1 to enshrine voter ID in the state constitution would help prevent the gutting of this requirement.

There you have it: Three solid reasons for voting in the Wisconsin primary election on February 18 and general election on April 1. Do you have other reasons? Please let us all know in the Comments section below!