Wisconsin Supreme Court Flips to 5-2 Liberal Majority as Chris Taylor Wins Seat in Voting Rights Victory

Wisconsin's highest court just shifted decisively toward protecting voting rights, and Republicans who have spent years rigging the state's electoral maps should be worried.

Chris Taylor, a Dane County state appeals judge and former Democratic state assemblymember, defeated conservative Maria Lazar on Tuesday to claim a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The win gives liberals a commanding 5-2 supermajority on the bench -- a dramatic reversal in a state where conservatives controlled the court for years while gerrymandering ran rampant.

Taylor ran explicitly on voting rights, making clear that access to the ballot and fair representation would be central to her judicial philosophy. That message resonated with Wisconsin voters who have watched their state legislature remain locked in Republican control despite Democrats regularly winning statewide races.

The timing could not be more critical. Wisconsin's supreme court hears lawsuits challenging congressional and state legislative redistricting, and the state's maps have been among the most gerrymandered in the nation. Republicans drew district lines so favorable to themselves that Democrats would need to win the statewide popular vote by massive margins just to have a shot at legislative majorities.

Last year, the court declined to hear a pro-voting lawsuit that challenged Wisconsin's congressional map -- a decision that allowed the rigged districts to stand. But with Taylor's victory establishing a liberal supermajority, future challenges to partisan gerrymandering now have a real chance of succeeding.

Voters are already fighting for a court order to redraw the maps and end decades of manipulation. Taylor's election suggests the court may finally be ready to act.

"Wisconsinites showed up in droves to elect Chris Taylor because they know every election is an emergency," said Devin Remiker, chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, in a statement Tuesday night.

That urgency is justified. Wisconsin remains one of the most fiercely contested battleground states in the country, and control of its legislature has national implications. Fair maps would give voters a genuine say in who represents them -- a basic democratic principle that has been systematically denied.

Taylor's background includes service as a circuit court judge and as a member of the state assembly, where she represented a Madison-area district. Her judicial record and legislative experience gave her credibility on both the law and the political realities of gerrymandering.

The supreme court race was officially nonpartisan, but the stakes were anything but neutral. Conservative groups poured money into supporting Lazar, while progressive organizations mobilized to turn out voters for Taylor. The result was a clear referendum on whether Wisconsin's courts would continue enabling voter suppression or start dismantling it.

With the midterms approaching, the new liberal majority on the state supreme court could prove decisive. Voting rights cases that would have been dead on arrival under the previous court now have a path forward. Challenges to restrictive election laws, unfair maps, and voter access barriers will get a fair hearing.

This is what accountability looks like when voters have the power to choose their judges. Wisconsin just chose fairness over rigging, and the implications will echo far beyond the state's borders.