Author: Jessica Gregory

The Trump campaign lawsuit against Gov. Tony Evers and the Wisconsin election results was denied by the Wisconsin Supreme Court Thursday.

In a 4-3 decision, the majority ruled that the case must first be heard in lower courts. Conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn concurred with the three liberal Justices that the lawsuit will need to be filed in a circuit court.

“This section provides that these actions should be filed in the circuit court, and spells out detailed procedures for ensuring their orderly and swift disposition. Following this law is not disregarding our duty, as some of my colleagues suggest,” Justice Hagedorn said. “It is following the law.”

Dissenting conservative Justices believed that the Wisconsin Supreme Court could have taken the case due to time constraints while still referring to circuit courts, reports the Associated Press.

Donald Trump's lawsuit aimed to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state by tossing out 221,000 ballots that his campaign argues were illegally cast. Absentee ballot irregularities are Trump's main target. Election recounts in Wisconsin only occured in Milwaukee and Dane Counties, so if the courts sided with Trump it would greatly impact the vote tallies. 

Attorneys for Gov. Tony Evers called Trump's lawsuit “an assault on Democracy”. On Monday, Gov. Evers finalized the recount's results by certifying Joe Biden as winner. Biden won by a total of 20,000 votes.