Wisconsin Supreme Court weighs activist’s attempt to make ineligible voter names public

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court will hear a case Tuesday brought by a conservative activist who is seeking guardianship records in an effort to find ineligible voters.

The lawsuit tests the line between protecting personal privacy rights and ensuring that ineligible people can’t vote. And it is the latest attempt by those who questioned the outcome of the 2020 presidential race to cast doubt on the integrity of elections in the presidential swing state.

Former travel agent Ron Heuer and a group he leads, the Wisconsin Voters Alliance, allege that the number of ineligible voters doesn’t match the count on Wisconsin’s voter registration list. They want the state Supreme Court to rule that counties must release records filed when a judge determines that someone isn’t competent to vote so that those names can be compared to the voter registration list.

Heuer and the WVA filed lawsuits in 13 counties in 2022 seeking guardianship records.

A state appeals court in 2023 overturned a circuit court ruling dismissing the case and found that the records are public. It ordered Walworth County to release them with birthdates and case numbers redacted. The county appealed to the state Supreme Court, which is hearing oral arguments in the case on Tuesday.

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