Month: May 2011

Justice Prosser Officially Wins WI Supreme Court Election

Posted on by Hamilton

Eight weeks after the election, Justice David Prosser has officially won another 10-year term to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Justice Prosser’s challenger, JoAnne Kloppenburg, announced today that she will not legally challenge the final election results.

After a close election on April 5, Justice Prosser won by 7,316 votes. A statewide recount was requested by Kloppenburg, which found that Justice Prosser won by 7,006 votes.

This race was important on many levels. Had Justice Prosser lost the race, the Court would have swung the balance of power back to the more liberal justices. It is likely that a number of the major civil liability reforms in Act 2 will ultimately land in the court system. Those provisions could have been in jeopardy had Kloppenburg won the race.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Recount Yields No Major Changes – Justice Prosser Still Well Ahead of Kloppenburg

Posted on by Hamilton

With 71 of 72 counties having completed the recount in the race between Justice David Prosser and his challenger, JoAnne Kloppenburg, Justice Prosser’s lead has declined by only 355 votes. The only county left to report its official recount is Waukesha County, where Kloppenburg would have to pick up 6,962 votes.

According to University of Wisconsin political science professor, Ken Mayer, the chance of Kloppenburg winning is statistically impossible. In order for Kloppenburg to pull out a victory in Waukesha County, she would have to pick up one vote for every 18 votes cast. According to Prof. Mayer, the probability of this happening is “zero.”

Yet, it’s uncertain whether Kloppenburg will stop at the recount. As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial page notes, the sole reason for Kloppenburg ordering a recount all along maybe to setup a legal challenge.

Visit the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council’s website for continuous updates.