What The Voters Are Saying on Wisconsin’s Historic Election Day

The nation was watching Wisconsin as the fiercely divided swing state headed to the polls last November. Just a few months later, it’s happening again.

This time, it’s for a spring election that’s as hotly contested — and expensive — as ever. Liberal Judge Susan Crawford and conservative Judge Brad Schimel are vying for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Whoever wins will determine the ideological balance of the court, which could decide the future of abortion rights, public employee unions and other hot-button issues in the near future.

It has been the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history, with unprecedented amounts of money pouring in from across the country.

Also on the ballot is a race for the state Superintendent of Public Instruction, where liberal incumbent Jill Underly faces conservative challenger Brittany Kinser.

Wisconsin voters will also weigh in on a statewide referendum on voter ID and local races.

As of Monday, 644,800 absentee ballots were returned, according to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, including 361,254 that were filled out in-person. That’s 57 percent more than were returned the day before election day the last time a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat was on the ballot in 2023.

To find your polling place and what’s on your ballot, visit myvote.wi.gov. You can register to vote at your polling place with proof of residence. Polls will be open until 8 p.m.

11 AM: Madison voters turn out for Crawford and against Trump

The Olbrich Botanical Gardens typically sees some of the highest voter turnout in Madison, said Chief Inspector Brent Sieling. And with a steady stream of voters so far, the polling place is meeting his expectations.

Madison resident Dana Janusz, 27, voted in the gardens late this morning. She always planned to vote in this election, but she said Elon Musk’s financial role in the election gave her extra motivation to cast her ballot for Crawford.

“I just wanted to show up and make sure that he knows that he can’t just buy elections,” Janusz said.

Longtime Madison resident John Braden, 64, also voted for Crawford. He said he felt good about her chances until Musk started giving out money to Wisconsin voters.

“I’m really hoping that Democrats saw it as a time to act, time to get out and vote, do something, anything,” Braden.

For Samantha Witthuhn, 34, the election results could decide the future of her family. Witthuhn had a difficult pregnancy with her now 5-month-old son who voted alongside her today. Maintaining reproductive rights was a major reason she voted for Crawford, she said.

“I don’t feel comfortable having another kid if those rights are taken away from us,” Witthuhn said.

Witthuhn recently moved to Madison from Illinois. But she’s originally from Appleton where she said most of her family members are Trump supporters.

“I’m excited to be here to cancel out their votes today,” Witthuhn said.

8:30 AM: Milwaukee voters fueled by record spending on state Supreme Court race

Milwaukee resident Joey Zocher headed to the polls in Bay View Tuesday morning. Zocher identifies as queer and said LGTBQ+ rights, women’s rights and education were top of mind.

“This year is, I think, particularly important, because we know Wisconsin is the first litmus of what’s going to happen [nationally],” Zocher said.

Zocher voted for liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford. She comes from a family of dairy farmers in northern Wisconsin, and said they often debate about politics.

“I think in the end, right now, everybody is seeing this isn’t even about politics, this is about money,” Zocher said. “I have faith that Wisconsinites are going to show up.”

Lynn Filak also lives in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. She said she usually votes for Democrats.

“I felt that Mr. Musk was trying to take over Wisconsin politics, and I wanted to make sure that my vote and how Wisconsin should be ruled is my idea and not his,” Filak said.

Just outside Milwaukee, voters hustled over the frost-covered parking lot into the Germantown Senior Center to cast their ballots.

The village of Germantown — a suburb of Milwaukee in Washington County — cast close to 60 percent of its ballots for Republican Donald Trump in last year’s presidential election.

It’s a historically Republican area.

One 61-year-old voter, who asked to stay anonymous, told WPR he typically votes Republican in off-year elections. He said he would’ve chosen Brad Schimel for state Supreme Court and Brittany Kinser for state superintendent even without the national attention paid to the Supreme Court race.

Jessica Koons, 37, voted for Crawford for state Supreme Court.

She said the race’s national attention emphasizes “how important it is,” but said she’s “skeptical of some of the donors.”

“As far as commercials go, I’m not real impressed when somebody’s slandering somebody else,” she said. “So those don’t really affect me as much as knowing what’s all being put into it.”

8 AM: Oshkosh voters show up to vote for abortion and education issues

Voters filed in and out of the Oshkosh Senior Center on the south side of the Fox River shortly after 8 a.m. Steven Lisbeth of Oshkosh said he voted for Brad Schimel because he was the state Supreme Court candidate most aligned with Trump.

“The things that Trump wants, I want to vote for that same type of thing,” Lisbeth said. “Brad Schimel, I think, represents that.”

Connie Kehoe-Purcell of Oshkosh also voted for Schimel. She said she couldn’t vote for Crawford because of the abortion issue.

“I’m a mother,” she said. “I can’t imagine someone saying it’s OK at any time during a pregnancy to put that child to death.”

Linda Bougie of Oshkosh called voting a “gift” and a “responsibility.”  She also said she voted for Schimel because she’s against abortion.

“I just felt comfortable with him, and the Catholic Church backs him,” she said.

But, some voters touted abortion as the main reason they voted for Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford. Matt McGuire, who came out to vote with his wife, said abortion rights were a big reason he voted for Crawford.

“There’s some things coming up on the ticket here this year that are important, and I want to make sure she’s in power there,” he said.

McGuire said they have a 5-year-old son and also voted to support a school referendum.

Shirley Lang of Oshkosh said she voted for Brittany Kinser in the state superintendent race. Lang said she works in the local school system and wants to see change.

“I don’t like all this stuff in schools. I work at a school. I know what it’s like. I know how the kids are getting treated, and I know that they’re not learning like what they should learn,” she said.

Steve Procknow, a veteran who lives in Oshkosh, said he voted for Schimel because he was worried that Crawford pre-judged cases.

“When someone goes to represent an office by declaring their position on something that hasn’t come before them yet, it makes me a little concerned that perhaps they’re not doing it for the right reason.”

7:30 AM: Abortion on the minds of voters in Superior

Brianna Stolan, 32, of Superior said she voted for liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford rather than conservative Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel because she’s a champion of women’s rights and abortion access.

“That’s a huge thing for me as a female, and Schimel, you know, he’s a threat to that safety and those rights that we should have as women in the United States,” Stolan said.

Stolan fears that Schimel would kowtow to President Donald Trump’s demands, but Superior residents Esther and Don Anderson said they’re backing Schimel to support Trump’s agenda.

Don, 81, and Esther, 79, said they support the president’s stance on immigration and crime. They added that they’re against abortion, and they worry what may happen if Crawford is elected to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

“We just hope it doesn’t follow what’s been going on in the political scene, as far as the Democratic agenda seems to have gone in the last number of years on those same issues that my wife just iterated,” Anderson said.

Nancy Anderson, 70, of Superior said she’s backing Schimel because she would like to see a shift to more conservative values on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, saying its current makeup is too liberal.

“He’s pro life. That’s important to me, and I agree with a lot of his values,” Anderson said.

Superior siblings Emily and Isaac Moder said the issue of abortion access played a role in their votes. Emily said she views abortion as health care, adding that religious views on the issue shouldn’t be part of politics. While 26-year-old Emily declined to say who she’s backing, her 23-year-old brother Isaac said he would likely vote for Crawford.

“I’m kind of in the middle personally, so it kind of feels a little weird because they both are kind of like on the polar sides,” he said. “I personally don’t think that anyone should be able to get an abortion just because they got pregnant, but at the same time, I don’t think that someone who got raped … should have to have that baby.”

Editor’s note: WPR’s Danielle Kaeding from Superior, Joe Schulz from Oshkosh and Nick Rommel and Evan Casey from Milwaukee contributed to this story.

LIVE: What Wisconsin voters are saying on Wisconsin’s historic April election day was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.