How Far Did Wisconsin GOP Push To Avoid Special Elections?

MADISON, WI — Democrats in Wisconsin won a startling special election in a Republican-held State Senate seat in December, and it appeared that Republicans, led by Gov. Scott Walker, tried everything they could to delay two more legislative special elections for nearly a year.

Critics say Walker wanted to avoid another embarrassing defeat at the hands of Democrats. Supporters claimed filling the seats amounted to bad timing and a waste of taxpayer money. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 voters were left without some form of representation.

The legal battle between state Republicans and the courts dragged on for three months. After Walker's legal challenges to the delays were cut down one-by-one, he called for a special election for 1st Senate District and 42nd Assembly District on the last day of a court-imposed deadline. Walker ordered the special election to be held on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. If a primary is necessary, it will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.

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Walker went on record saying that it would have been a "waste of taxpayer money" to fill the vacant legislative seats, because the Legislature's regular session is nearly complete.

Amy Hasenberg, Press Secretary for Walker said to Patch.com, "A D.C.-based special interest group is forcing taxpayers to pay for special elections for seats that will be filled again in just a few short months. The Legislature has indicated they are done. To illustrate how ridiculous this is, nomination papers for the fall elections are due on June 1st, which means candidates will already be on the November ballot before the special elections are held."

Democrats countered, saying that he was trying to block potential Democratic victories in both districts after they captured a stunning victory in a special State Senate election in December.

"With the majority that Republican should in the state legislature, [Republicans] have the ability to pass any legislation they want. For a governor of any party to work with the legislature to undermine a judicial ruling, is outrageous. Their plan would have set a precedent that could have grave long-term consequences," State Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) told Patch.

Walker Sued

The National Redistricting Foundation, an affiliate of Attorney Eric Holder's National Democratic Redistricting Committee, filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court on Feb. 26.

At the heart of the lawsuit is Holder's claim that Walker has not exercised his legal duty to call for a special election.

The suit stated, in part:

"Governor Walker’s improper refusal to issue writs of election to hold a special election to fill the vacancies in State Assembly District 42 and State Senate District 1 as promptly as possible is therefore currently causing and will continue to cause substantial injury to Plaintiffs, who have been and will remain unrepresented. Plaintiffs have a clear legal right to elect representatives to
fill those vacancies (and to representation in the Legislature) and Governor Walker has a plain legal duty to issue the writs of election to hold a special election as promptly as possible."

You can read the full text of the lawsuit here: https://democraticredistrictin...

Timeline of Events: Walker vs. the Courts

On March 22, Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds ruled that Walker was bound under state law to hold special elections so voters could have representation in the Legislature. The deadline for Walker to call for special elections would be March 29.

On March 27, two days before the court-imposed deadline, Walker filed an appeal, asking the court to delay the special election deadline by eight days. The reason? To call the State Legislature into session to change state election laws to allow for further delays in these, and subsequent special elections. You can see the text of that bill here: https://www.wpr.org/sites/defa...

On March 28, The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Wednesday turned down Walker's request for his delay. Dane County Judge Richard Niess said during his ruling that if Walker had called special elections within four days of the announced vacancies, they could have been on the ballot for the April 3 spring election.

On March 29, With time slipping away to call the State Legislature back to Madison for an emergency session, Walker and fellow Republicans gave up the fight to delay special elections. On March 29 - the date of the court-imposed deadline, Walker issued Executive Order #280 calling for a special election for 1st Senate District and 42nd Assembly District. Walker ordered the special election to be held on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. If a primary is necessary, it will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Circulation of nomination papers for candidates may begin, March 29, 2018. Nomination papers must be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17, 2018.

Patch.com File Photo