WI 2025 Supreme Court Election Statement

On Tuesday, April 1, Wisconsin voters will choose a new Supreme Court Justice to fill the seat of retiring justice Ann Walsh Bradley. The results of this election will not only impact the rights of Wisconsin’s residents for decades to come, but will also heavily influence electoral politics at the national level. Given the urgency of this election, the Center for Racial and Gender Equity (CRGE) is working to inform Black Wisconsinites and allies about its importance, what the role of a state Supreme Court justice is (and isn’t), and how wealthy individuals outside of Wisconsin are impacting the information residents and the general public are receiving about this race. 

CRGE is a non-profit, non-partisan organization working to build Black political power and electoral participation. Wisconsin is frequently cited as one of the worst states in the nation for Black people, based on the extreme racial disparities that exist here. The diminished quality of life that Black Wisconsinites experience has everything to do with equitable laws; and while the Supreme Court cannot make laws, they can strike down laws that violate Wisconsinites’ civil rights. For the Wisconsin Supreme Court to work for everyone, we must elect justices who believe that everyone is entitled to civil rights, and that those rights are worth defending. 

CRGE has been out in communities talking with voters about this race since January, and there are two things we’re seeing that deeply concern us. The first is that many Wisconsin voters are not aware that this election is coming up, or what is at stake, illuminating the urgent need for us to reach as many voters as possible with information before April 1. 

The second major concern is the nature and origins of one-sided political ads that are circulating, which contain misinformation intended to keep voters from doing their own research on the candidates. 

Elon Musk - the richest man in the world, and an unelected individual who is currently taking a wrecking ball to our federal government - is bankrolling the ads you have seen favoring candidate Brad Schimel, painting Schimel as a “law-and-order candidate” who will be “tough on crime”. A group tied to Musk has even gone as far as to create fake pro-Crawford ads that further this narrative. 

So why does Musk care so much about this race? He has no history as a Wisconsin resident, but he does have business interests here. In fact, his company, Tesla, has a lawsuit pending against the state that is likely to reach the Supreme Court. Knowing this, it is clear why Musk wants to influence the elections - to stack the court for his own financial gain. 

Musk’s ads also spread a dangerous, false narrative about what the role of the state’s Supreme Court actually is. The state’s highest court does not charge people with crimes or try criminal cases, nor does it dictate criminal justice policy decisions. The Supreme Court does not legislate (make laws or policies); its job is to make sure that existing laws and policies are properly followed, that new laws do not violate our civil rights, and that errors are not made in the legal processes of the lower courts. It does not have the power to release people en masse from incarceration, as Musk’s ads insinuate. 

There is another, more far-reaching reason why Black communities in particular should be closely following this race: future Black electoral power depends on its outcomes. In recent years, the Wisconsin state legislature has worked to retain a conservative majority through a practice of racial gerrymandering known as “dilution”. Wisconsin is made up of districts that elect representatives to serve our best interests in government. By breaking up Black communities into multiple majority-white districts, Wisconsin Republicans have been able to dilute Black political power and prevent voters from electing representatives that will prioritize their needs and concerns. 

Wisconsin’s district maps were gerrymandered along racial lines for 12 years prior to 2024, when new maps proposed by Governor Tony Evers were adopted. Although far from perfect, the new maps rightfully restored a measure of power to the Black electorate by reducing dilution. 

This process was possible because the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the racially gerrymandered maps, seeing them as a violation of voters’ rights. The Court determined that the racially gerrymandered maps gave a partisan advantage to the Republican party.

Whether or not Wisconsin returns to increased racial gerrymandering and diluted maps will depend heavily on who wins the April 1 election. This is why the race is of national interest: because Wisconsin is one of just a handful of swing states in the U.S. so the future outcomes of national elections will also depend on how district maps are drawn. It is obvious that those with politically exclusive beliefs are desirous of benefitting from those decisions. 

There is no single candidate who will save Black Wisconsinites from the systemic injustices that we face, in which every level of every branch of government has been complicit. However, we also must recognize the reality that some candidates want to diminish our power to self-advocate more than others, and will actively work to make life harder for us by deepening racial disparities. 

Black voters and allies must turn out in record numbers for this race, because our rights will be the first on the chopping block if the proponents of racial gerrymandering win. And we must not blindly follow the lead of Elon Musk, who has helped to lead a nationwide purge of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. He is complicit in the firing of highly qualified Black officials and the erasure of Black historical figures from government websites and records. He is a man who believes that white South Africans are more entitled to U.S. assistance than are the Black victims of Apartheid, and he espouses the belief that students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities have lower IQs than other students. 

Do not let political ads paid for by billionaires be the deciding factor in your vote - the people behind these ads do not have our best interests at heart. Please do your own research - you can find a list of resources on our website.