Election and Political Law

The team at Stafford Rosenbaum has been at the center of many of Wisconsin’s most significant election and political law disputes in recent memory. Stafford Rosenbaum’s Election and Political Law Team has represented political parties, candidates, nonprofit organizations, research institutions, private businesses, local government bodies, and elected officials from all three branches of government.

Stafford Rosenbaum has handled a broad variety of election and political matters, including disputes over voting rights, ballot access, election recounts, recall efforts, election administration, ethics complaints, defamation, and more. The team has also handled a variety of constitutional or democracy matters, including issues involving separation of powers, abortion access, labor rights, due process, and equal protection.

Some of Stafford Rosenbaum’s notable successes include:

Representing Elected Officials or Public Bodies

• Represented Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers in argument to the Wisconsin Supreme Court related to the legality of ballot drop boxes under Wisconsin law.
• Represented Governor Tony Evers as special counsel to help guide him through election law issues during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Represented a large Wisconsin city in response to baseless allegations of election fraud during the 2020 election.
• Represented a legislator in successful defenses of an ethics complaint before the Wisconsin Ethics Commission.
• Represented former Republican Governors as amici in the United States Supreme Court.
• Represented a large Wisconsin city in a politically-motivated lawsuit related to its security protocols.
• Advised numerous local government bodies on various election administration issues.
• Advised executive branch agencies in administrative and constitutional law issues.

Representing Political Parties, Committees, and Candidates

• Represented the Democratic National Committee and others in a variety of issues related to the 2024 Presidential Election, including voting rights issues and ballot access challenges.
• Represented complainants who successfully challenged the nomination papers of the Birthday Party candidate (Kanye West) and the Green Party candidate (Howie Hawkins) seeking to be placed on the ballot for the November 2020 general election. Successfully defended motions for temporary restraining orders in the state circuit court and the Wisconsin Supreme Court seeking to overturn the Wisconsin Elections Commission’s actions.
• Represented multiple candidates and local officials in election recounts and recount challenges.
• Represented elected official in successful challenge to opponent’s placement on ballot based on opponent’s constitutional ineligibility to hold office; obtained court order reversing Wisconsin Elections Commission’s decision on emergency basis after the Commission unlawfully placed candidate on ballot.
• Argued successfully against Wisconsin Elections Commission’s challenge to Wisconsin Assembly candidate’s nomination paperwork; convinced six Commissioners to unanimously reject the opinion of their staff attorneys, who recommended excluding the candidate from the ballot.
• Advised candidates on issues related to defamation, privacy, and other First Amendment or speech-related campaign issues.
• Counseled candidates on issues related to compliance with Wisconsin’s Ethics Code and Public Records Law.

Representing Non-Profit Organizations

• Obtained a preliminary injunction from a federal district court in April 2020 on behalf of Voces de la Frontera, Souls to the Polls, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, the Service Employees International Union Wisconsin Council, and other individuals and voting rights groups that secured an extension of the time by which Wisconsin voters could return absentee mail-in ballots beyond the April 7, 2020 election. Successfully defended the injunction on appeal to the United States Supreme Court.
• Obtained a temporary injunction from Dane County circuit court on behalf of Disability Rights Wisconsin, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, and four individuals to secure electronic absentee ballot delivery for voters with disabilities. While the Wisconsin State Legislature was able to halt that temporary relief, our team is still fighting this case on behalf of these same plaintiffs to secure electronic ballot delivery and return for voters with certain disabilities so they can vote independently and privately.
• Represented Gathering Waters in argument before the Wisconsin Supreme Court in case relating to legislative overreach and the Wisconsin constitutional separation of powers.
• Obtained a preliminary injunction in federal court in two consolidated actions filed on behalf of several individual voters, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, and others seeking greater protections for the November 2020 General Election in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Represented Disability Rights Wisconsin as intervenors in an original action before the Wisconsin Supreme Court addressing the statutory provision under Wisconsin law making it easier for voters who are “indefinitely confined” to obtain mail-in absentee ballots.
• Represented the Service Employees International Union Wisconsin Council, the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, and others in opposing a lawsuit seeking to remove hundreds of thousands of registered voters from Wisconsin’s voting rolls.
• Advanced the views of the Wisconsin Public Health Association, the Wisconsin Nurses Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics Wisconsin Chapter, and other get-out-the-vote, health care, community, and labor organizations in support of the Safer at Home order issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Brought suit on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Disability Rights Wisconsin, Black Leaders Organizing for Communities, and others to challenge the constitutionality of the Legislature’s December 2018 Extraordinary Session.
• Argued in the Wisconsin Supreme Court on behalf of Madison Teachers, Inc. and several individual members opposing a challenge to the authority of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Representing Research Organizations, Academics, and Others

• Represented a research organization in response to false claims of election fraud.
• Represented several prominent law professors in amicus briefs to the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court.
• Retained by several national democracy or voting rights organizations to advise on intricacies of Wisconsin election law.
• Advised a statewide nonprofit in the early childhood care and education space in navigating targeted attacks based on organizational commitment to inclusivity.

Filed Under: Election & Political Law