Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to release voter records sought by conservative activist

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected a conservative activist’s bid to obtain guardianship records in a bid to find ineligible voters in the presidential battleground state.

The case has been making its way through the courts for years and stems from conservative attempts to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in Wisconsin over President Donald Trump in 2020.

Here’s what you should know:

A conservative activist brought the case

This case tested the line between protecting personal privacy rights and ensuring that ineligible people cannot vote.

Former travel director Ron Hoyer and a group he leads, the Coalition of Wisconsin Voters, filed the lawsuit in 2022 alleging that the number of ineligible voters did not match the number of voters on Wisconsin’s voter registration list. The lawsuit does not specify how many people could be affected.

In Wisconsin, a guardianship order is granted by a court, giving a person certain legal rights over another person who they determine is unable to make decisions about their life. The court has the power to withdraw the right to vote from a person under a guardianship order if it is determined that the person is unable to understand “the purpose of the electoral process.”

Hoyer asked the state Supreme Court to rule that counties must release records submitted when a judge decides someone is ineligible to vote so those names can be compared to a voter registration list.

Read more: A federal judge rejects a Justice Department lawsuit seeking detailed voter data in Maryland

Heuer’s attorney, Eric Kardal, said privacy concerns could be balanced against the public’s right to access government records by withholding identifying or sensitive information on forms.

But the Walworth County attorney said those seeking access to records want to verify ineligible voters and compare them to the names of those registered. They can’t do that, attorney Sam Hall said during oral arguments, without revealing the person’s name and address.

Hall praised the ruling, saying it “protects the privacy of vulnerable individuals while preserving their dignity.”

Kardal did not immediately return an email seeking comment.

The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, which advocates for public access to the documents but has not taken a position on the issue, said the court’s decision was “narrowly tailored and should not have significant impact.”

The council praised the court for clarifying the standard for deciding similar cases in the future, but “it is always disappointing when access to public information is restricted.”

The liberal justices who control the Wisconsin Supreme Court dismiss the case

In a 5-2 ruling Tuesday, the liberal majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court along with conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn ruled that the records were not public as the conservative activist claimed.

The court heard the case after two lower appellate courts issued differing rulings. One appeals court, based in Madison, denied access to the records while another appeals court, based in Waukesha, said in 2023 that the records should be made public.

Walworth County ordered their release with dates of birth and case numbers redacted.

The Supreme Court overturned the Court of Appeal ruling that the records must be made public.

Justice Janet Protasevich wrote for the majority that state law is clear that the requested records are not public and that “the coalition has no right to access the records.”

Conservative Justices Annette Ziegler and Rebecca Bradley dissented, saying the court adopted a “broad and unwieldy definition of what constitutes records relevant to a finding of incompetence” to include forms that indicate a person has been found ineligible to vote.

These forms are not relevant to a finding of incompetence and are therefore subject to the open records law, Ziegler and Bradley wrote.

This case was one of several targeting the 2020 elections

The case was an attempt by those who questioned the outcome of the 2020 presidential race to question the integrity of the elections in the presidential swing state. Heuer and WVA filed lawsuits in 13 Wisconsin counties in 2022 seeking custody records.

Heuer and WVA pushed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election in a failed attempt to overturn Biden’s win in Wisconsin. Heuer was appointed as an investigator in the botched 2020 election investigation led by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. The investigation found no evidence of fraud or abuse that would change the election results.

WVA also filed two unsuccessful lawsuits that sought to overturn Biden’s win in Wisconsin.

Trump won Wisconsin in 2024 after losing it in 2020

Biden defeated Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin in 2020, an outcome that withstood independent and partisan audits and reviews, as well as lawsuits and recounts requested by Trump. Trump won Wisconsin in 2024 by about 29,000 votes.

There are no pending lawsuits challenging the results of the 2024 election or calls to investigate the outcome.