Background: Voters in the state’s presidential primary election cast their ballots at UW-Madison’s Memorial Union in Madison, Wisconsin, on April 2, 2024. (AP Photo/John Hart, Wisconsin State Journal, File). Inset: Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Maxwell (Judge Jack Pitzo).
Wisconsin residents must have their voter registration status reviewed before the next statewide election in February, a county judge ordered.
Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Maxwell has ruled that the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) must review the current voter registration lists to identify any non-U.S. citizens who might be registered. He further instructed the state’s election regulation authorities to ensure all new voters are verified as lawful citizens.
To accomplish this verification, election officials are advised to use state Department of Transportation records or other legally available resources. However, the method for confirming the status of individuals without a driver’s license was not specified in the directive.
Maxwell asserted that the WEC was “breaching state and federal laws by maintaining an electoral system that could potentially include individuals on the voter rolls who may not be legally eligible to vote in Wisconsin.”
The decision — which was prompted by an August 2024 lawsuit from a state resident — elicited swift responses.
U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany, a Republican running for the governor’s office in Wisconsin, praised the ruling as “A BIG win for election integrity and a cause I have championed in Congress.”
On the other hand, the Wisconsin Department of Justice, representing the WEC, requested an immediate halt to Maxwell’s order, stating that implementing such a review process would require significant time.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, said Maxwell’s order would “require a massive overhaul of Wisconsin’s voter registration system and the creation of new verification requirements not otherwise provided for by statute,” per ABC News. Kaul was also considering a run for governor but just this week announced he would seek reelection as the state’s attorney general instead.
Maxwell reportedly scheduled a hearing on the request for a hold for Oct. 31, arguing an immediate stay would violate due process.
The conflict over voter registration in one of the country’s most hotly contested “swing” states illustrates the national divide over how elections should be conducted. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have argued for stricter requirements for voters, while Democrats have insisted that certain suggestions or implementations — such as requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote — will disenfranchise voters who do not have easy access to such documents.
Voter fraud has not been proven to be a significant problem in Wisconsin or elsewhere across the country. In The Badger State, the WEC — which is a bipartisan agency — has only reported four alleged cases of citizenship-related election fraud since the agency was created in 2015, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Wisconsin will have a primary election on Feb. 17, 2026.
