File photo: WRN
Wisconsin voters head to the polls today to decide which two of the candidates for the State Supreme Court should advance to the April 5 general election.
On the ballot are incumbent Justice Rebecca Bradley, Appeals Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg, and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Joe Donald.
Bradley, who was appointed to the seat last fall, following the death of Justice Patrick Crooks, says she’s the only candidate to have served in all three levels of the state’s judicial system. Kloppenburg is in her second bid for the Supreme Court, after narrowly losing to Justice David Prosser in a statewide recount in 2011 — and she cites her time as an assistant state attorney general as well as a judge who has covered numerous areas of the law. Donald is a 20-year veteran on the Milwaukee County bench who developed the county’s drug-court and touts his long experience as a trial judge.
While several local races are on ballots across Wisconsin, the Supreme Court primary is the only statewide contest in today’s election. The Government Accountability Board has projected the average statewide turnout will be at about 10 percent. It also marks the first statewide election in four years where voters will be required to show a photo ID at their polling place.