2008 Wisconsin elections

2008 Wisconsin elections

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The 2008 Wisconsin fall general election was held on November 4, 2008. All of Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election. Within the state government, sixteen seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election. At the presidential level, voters chose ten electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which then helped select the president of the United States. The 2008 fall partisan primary was held on September 9, 2008.

In the fall general election, the Democratic presidential candidate, Senator Barack Obama, won Wisconsin's ten electoral votes, defeating Senator John McCain. There was no change to the partisan makeup of Wisconsin's congressional delegation. The state senate saw no change in partisan composition, as all incumbents were re-elected, and vacancies in seats held by both parties were filled with no change to the party that held the seat. In the state assembly, Democrats gained five seats while one Independent was re-elected after having previously served as a Republican.

The 2008 Wisconsin spring election was held on April 1, 2008. This election saw a contested race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a presidential preference primary for both major political parties, a constitutional amendment referendum, as well as various nonpartisan local and judicial offices. The 2008 spring primary election was held on February 19, 2008.

State offices

Legislative

Senate contests

Main article: 2008 Wisconsin Senate election

The 16 even-numbered districts out of the 33 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate were up for re-election in 2008. Prior to the election Democrats held the majority with 17 seats, Republicans held 14 seats, and two seats were vacant. In the election, both parties regained their vacant seats and returned to the 18 seats held by Democrats and 15 seats held by Republicans which was seen after the prior election.

Assembly contests

Main article: 2008 Wisconsin State Assembly election

All of the 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were on the ballot for the Fall general election, November 4, 2008. Prior to the election, 52 seats were held by Republicans, 47 seats were held by Democrats, and one seat was held by an Independent. In the election, Republicans failed to defend their majority and Democrats took a majority of seats for the first time in 14 years.

Judicial

State Supreme Court

Judge Michael Gableman was elected with 51% of the vote, defeating incumbent Justice Louis Butler with 49% of the vote. ^[1] The heavy spending of outside interest groups in this race, including Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, ^[2] inspired some to call for reforms to Wisconsin election law and the selection of judges. ^[3] The ascendancy of Michael Gabelman to the bench shifted the Court in a more conservative direction. ^[4]

State Court of Appeals

Three seats on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals were up for election on April 1, 2008.

State Circuit Courts

Thirty nine of the state's 261 circuit court seats were on the ballot for the Spring general election, April 1, 2008. Only 9 seats were contested. One incumbent justice faced a challenger and was subsequently defeated.

Ballot measures

Prohibit Partial Veto Authority

April 1, 2008
Partial Veto. Shall section 10(1)(c) of article V of the constitution be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating a new sentence by combining parts of two or more sentences of the enrolled bill?
Results
Choice Votes  % Yes 575,582 70.61% No 239,613 29.39% Total votes 815,195 100.00%

Prohibit Partial Veto Authority

By a margin of 335,969 votes, the Wisconsin voters chose to amend the state's Constitution to implement restrictions on the governor's ability to partially veto legislation. ^[5] The purpose of the amendment was to reduce the veto power of the Governor, sometimes known as the "Frankenstein veto", which has been historically used by governors of irrespective of their party to rework legislation. ^{[6] [7]}

The line-item veto, also known as a Frankenstein veto is a historic fixture of Wisconsin politics and acted as a way for the governor to bypass the state legislature regarding legislation as the veto gave the governor the ability to strike out words, numbers, and even entire sentences from different bills, though this ability was reduced over time. The veto was used by governors of both parties, such as Patrick Lucey (D), Tony Earl (D), and Tommy Thompson (R) and Jim Doyle (D) during their terms. During all their terms, the veto was also restricted via judicial action, such as in State ex. rel. Wisconsin Telephone Co. v. Henry, which recognized the ability of the governor to use such a veto, and Risser v. Klauser, which prohibited the governor from using a write-in veto to alter monetary amounts which were not appropriated by the legislature The veto has also been restricted in prior constitutional amendments, such as in 1990, when voters approved an amendment to end the "pick-a-letter" veto, which was the selective vetoing of letters or numerical characters to form a new word. ^[8]

Local elections

Milwaukee County

Milwaukee Mayor

• A regularly scheduled mayoral election was held in Milwaukee, concurrent with the Spring general election. Incumbent mayor Tom Barrett defeated challenger Andrew J. Shaw and was re-elected to a second four year term. ^[9]

External links

• Wisconsin Government Accountability Board Registered Candidates
• Project Vote Smart - Wisconsin
• Wisconsin Senate districts map
• Wisconsin Assembly districts map
• Search Wisconsin candidate Statements of Economic Interest

References

1. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Gableman victorious
2. Wausau Daily Herald ^{[ permanent dead link ]} - Report shows special interests dominate Wis. Supreme Court race
3. CBS 3 WISC Archived 2008-08-03 at the Wayback Machine - Some Call For Changes In Supreme Court Races
4. The Capital Times - Gableman's victory shifts court to right
5. "State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2009-2010". University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
6. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Voters drive stake into 'Frankenstein veto'
7. Wisconsin State Journal - Good riddance to monster veto
8. Radatz, Clark G. (January 2004). "The Partial Veto in Wisconsin" (PDF). Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
9. Schultze, Steve; Sandler, Larry (January 3, 2012). "Abele, Barrett see little opposition in spring races". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . Retrieved April 29, 2012.