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Court rejects right-wing effort to obtain confidential guardianship records and restrict voting rights for Wisconsin seniors and those with disabilities
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court today ruled in Wisconsin Voter Alliance v. Kristina Secord to protect the privacy and voting rights of Wisconsinites under guardianship, rejecting politicized attempts to obtain confidential records about some of the state’s most vulnerable residents. Law Forward previously filed an amicus brief in the case on behalf of Disability Rights Wisconsin and the Greater Wisconsin Agency on Aging Resources.
Law Forward’s brief argued that individuals under guardianship retain their right to vote unless a court makes an individualized, evidence-based finding to the contrary. Wisconsin law expressly requires records on these proceedings—and even the fact that someone is under guardianship—to be kept strictly confidential to protect people with disabilities and older Wisconsinites from exploitation, stigma, and discrimination.
“Like all Wisconsinites, individuals under guardianship deserve dignity and respect,” said Law Forward Legal Fellow Taylor Gilbertson. “It should go without saying that any effort to reveal their private voting records would risk a profound injustice. The Court was right to protect them.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed that Wisconsin values the privacy and confidentiality of proceedings for people under guardianship. The majority held that Notice of Voting Eligibility forms are pertinent to guardianship determinations and are a closed record under Wisconsin statute, meaning these forms cannot be produced under public records requests.
