Wisconsin judge rules Trump lawsuit seeking to overturn Biden’s state victory

A WISCONSIN JUDGE ruled against Donald Trump’s lawsuit seeking to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory in the state, another in a series of defeats in the president’s extraordinary attempts to undo his loss.

He is expected to quickly appeal the ruling by reserve judge Stephen Simanek to the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court, although his chances there appear slim. He also has a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin where the judge could rule as soon as today.

Trump has been urging lower court judges to quickly rule cases so he can file appeals before the electoral college meets Monday and casts Wisconsin’s 10 votes in favor of Biden.

The Democrat won the state by approximately 20,600 votes, a 0.6% margin that withstood a recount requested by Trump in the two largest counties.

Trump asked in the state suit to disqualify more than 221,000 votes in the Democratic strongholds of Dane and Milwaukee counties. He did not contest the votes cast in the counties he won.

Judge Simanek ruled today that the election rules and guidelines were followed during the recount and there was no evidence to support Trump’s claims.

“The bottom line here is that the court must do everything possible to ensure that the will of the voters prevails,” the judge said.

Trump also wanted to disqualify absentee votes cast early and in person, saying that a proper written request for votes was not made; absentee votes cast by persons who claimed “indefinitely confined” status; absentee ballots collected by poll workers in Madison parks; and absentee ballots where the clerks filled in the missing information on the ballot envelopes.

Trump’s attorney, Jim Troupis, argued that Milwaukee and Dane county employees erred in relying on the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s guidance on absentee ballots.

He argued that the guidance, some of which had been in place for years or were modified in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic to make it easier for people confined indefinitely to cast their votes, contradicted state law.

Biden’s attorney, John Devaney, argued that everyone who voted in the presidential election did so “in full compliance with the laws that were in effect at the time of the election.” There is no evidence of fraud or illegal activity, he said.

Devaney also said that Trump “cynically” targeted ballots cast in Wisconsin’s two most urban non-white counties for disqualification.

He noted that no one challenged the laws in place before the election, including Trump when he won the state in 2016.

The president and his allies have suffered a series of defeats in Wisconsin and across the country, as they have filed lawsuits that are based on unsubstantiated allegations of widespread fraud and election abuse.

A Trump-appointed federal judge in Wisconsin said yesterday that the president’s lawsuit was “unbelievable,” “strange” and “very strange,” and calling for the results to be reversed would be “the most remarkable ruling in the history of this court or the federal judicial government “.

Federal District Judge Brett Ludwig promised to issue his ruling today.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court previously refused to hear the case before it went through the lower courts. Most justices have openly questioned whether it would be appropriate to disqualify the ballots Trump seeks.