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A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court declined Thursday to hear President Donald Trump’s lawsuit seeking to reverse his defeat to Democrat Joe Biden in battlefield status, sidestepping a decision on the merits of the claims and instead, ruling that the case must first make its way through lower courts. .
In another blow to Trump, two dissident conservative judges questioned whether disqualifying more than 221,000 ballots as Trump wanted would be the appropriate remedy for the errors he alleged.
The loss in a 4-3 ruling was the latest in a string of losses to Trump’s post-election lawsuits. Judges in several battlefield states have rejected his allegations of fraud or wrongdoing.
Trump asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to disqualify more than 221,000 ballots in the state’s two largest Democratic counties, citing irregularities in the way absentee ballots were administered. His lawsuit echoed claims that were previously rejected by election officials in those counties during a recount that barely affected Biden’s profit margin of roughly 20,700 votes.
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Trump’s attorney, Jim Troupis, said he would present the case immediately in circuit court and that he expected to return to the Supreme Court “very soon.”
“It was clear from his briefs that the court recognizes the seriousness of these problems and we look forward to taking the next step,” he said in a statement. Trump’s team submitted the request Thursday night.
In asking the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case directly, Trump had argued that there was not enough time to fight the legal battle starting with a lower court, given the looming date of December 14 when voters presidential votes cast.
Morry Gash / AP
Judges from various states on the battlefield have rejected President Trump’s allegations of fraud or wrongdoing.
Swing judge Brian Hagedorn joined three liberal justices in denying the request without commenting on Trump’s allegations. Hagedorn said the law makes clear that Trump must initiate his lawsuit in lower courts where factual disputes can be resolved.
“We do well as a judicial body to abide by time-tested judicial standards, including, and perhaps especially, in high-profile cases,” wrote Hagedorn.
“Following this law is not neglecting our duty, as some of my colleagues suggest. He is following the law. “
Trump filed a similar lawsuit in federal court on Wednesday.
Chief Justice Patience Roggensack, in a disagreement joined by Judge Annette Ziegler, said she would have taken the case and referred it to lower courts for factual determination, which could then be reported to the Court. Supreme for a ruling.
Susan Walsh / AP
In asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case, Trump had argued that there was insufficient time to fight the legal battle starting with a lower court, given the impending date of December 14 when presidential voters cast their votes.
But he also questioned whether it was appropriate to disqualify the ballots, saying it “may be out of reach for a number of reasons.”
Conservative Judge Rebecca Bradley wrote that the court “waives its duty” by failing to determine whether election officials complied with the law and inaction will undermine public confidence in the elections.
Allowing the electoral commission to enact the law governing the elections would be a “fatal blow to democracy,” he wrote.
“While some will celebrate or condemn the court’s inaction based on the impact on their preferred candidate, the importance of this case transcends the results of this particular election,” he wrote in a dissent joined by Roggensack and Ziegler.
“The inaction of the majority leaves an indelible stain on our most recent elections.”
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers praised the decision. “I was frankly surprised that it wasn’t unanimous,” Evers said.
Morry Gash / AP
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has praised the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision, saying “frankly I was surprised that it was not unanimous.”
Trump’s lawsuit challenged procedures that have been in place for years and were never found to be illegal.
He claimed there were thousands of absentee ballots without a written request on file. He argued that the electronic record created when a voter requests a ballot online, the way the vast majority are requested, does not comply with the letter of the law.
It also contested ballots in which election clerks filled in missing address information on the certification envelope where the ballot is inserted, a practice that has long been accepted and that the state election commission told clerks was good.
Trump also challenged absentee ballots in which voters declared themselves “indefinitely confined,” a state that exempts them from having to show photo identification to cast a vote and which was used much more this year due to the pandemic.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court in March ruled that it was up to individual voters to determine their status.
Taylor Glascock / The Washington Post
The court Thursday night also declined to hear a lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin resident, Dean Mueller, who argued that the ballots placed in mailboxes were illegal and should not be counted.
Roggensack, Chief Justice, appointed Racine County Reserve Judge Stephen Simanek to hear the case at the circuit court level. Simanek retired in 2010.
The court Thursday night also declined to hear a lawsuit filed by a Wisconsin resident, Dean Mueller, who argued that the ballots placed in mailboxes were illegal and should not be counted. The short court order included a single line stating that Roggensack, Ziegler and Bradley disagreed with the denial.
Another lawsuit filed by conservatives is still pending in court seeking to invalidate the ballots. In federal court, there is Trump’s lawsuit and another with similar claims from Sidney Powell, a conservative attorney who was removed from Trump’s legal team.
Wisconsin certified Biden’s victory this week, setting the stage for a Democratic list of voters previously chosen to cast the state’s 10 electoral votes for him.
