The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Trump campaign’s attempt to have more than 220,000 absentee ballots discounted. The ruling serves as another blow to the campaign’s legal challenges contesting the results of the November presidential election.
The original complaint stated that the Wisconsin vote recount contained “mistakes, irregularities and illegal behavior,” which led to the improper inclusion of deficient ballots. It also stated that Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers attempted to illegally certify election results and name Wisconsin’s electors prior to the closing of the recount appeal deadline.
In its brief ruling, the Supreme Court stated that the campaign’s complaint was inappropriately filed and should be redirected to the circuit court because the record contains factual disputes between the two parties. However, with two judges dissenting, the decision was not unanimous. Dissenting Justice Rebecca Grassl Bradley stated that “the importance of having the State’s highest court resolve the significant legal issues presented by the petitioners warrants the exercise of the court’s constitutional authority to hear this case as an original action.” Similarly, Chief Justice Patience Roggensack stated that by denying this petition for original action, “we leave future elections to flounder and potentially result in the public’s perception that Wisconsin elections are unfair.”
Wisconsin certified its election results on November 30.