Contact: Patrick Rodenbush
rodenbush@democraticredistricting.com
Today, an appellate judge in Wisconsin ruled that Governor Walker has an obligation to call for special elections in two districts that have been without representation since December. Following the decision, Governor Walker announced he will not appeal the decision to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
In response, Eric H. Holder, Jr., Chairman of NDRC and 82nd Attorney General of the United States, released the following statement:
“This is a victory for the citizens of Wisconsin who are without representation because of Governor Walker’s refusal to do his job. Walker and Republicans in the legislature should stop trying to find new ways to keep the people they’re supposed to represent from voting and finally hold the special elections.”
Last week, a judge ordered Governor Walker to issue a writ by tomorrow, March 29th, that calls special elections for two seats in the state legislature. The National Redistricting Foundation (NRF), a 501c(3) affiliate of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), supported plaintiffs residing in State Assembly District 42 and State Senate District 1 in the litigation.
On December 29, 2017, Representative Keith Ripp and Senator Frank Lasee both resigned from the legislature to take positions in Governor Walker’s administration. Since that time, Governor Walker has refused to call special elections to fill the vacancies even though he has a plain legal duty to fill them “as promptly as possible.”
