Law Forward

Cap Times Idea Fest — Sept. 8-13 in Madison Tickets on sale now for sessions with leaders from the realms of government, business, research, education, social justice and culture.

Law Forward’s Jeff Mandell and Kate Shaw, from the podcast @strictscrutiny.bsky.social, will kick off Cap Times Ideas Fest September 8, followed by NYT’s Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Maureen Dowd. Get your tickets here! captimesideafest.com @captimes.com

We are proud to stand with our clients as we continue to move forward!

Voting Rights in Wisconsin: Verifying Citizenship Status with Voter Registration Data Wisconsin’s elections are safe and secure. On a foundation of hyperbole and baseless fear, Trump-aligned politicians are now trying to establish barriers to the ballot box, imposing obstacles that mak...

This practice is not required under Wisconsin or federal law. This aggressive, uninformed executive action threatens to disenfranchise eligible voters and begs the question: What else cold be done with voters’ sensitive information? Read the analysis: www.lawforward.org/wisconsin-vo...

With only this baseless narrative as justification, the Trump Administration is seeking to obtain and centralize vast amounts of sensitive voter registration information. They allege this information can and should be used to confirm that registered voters are citizens.

Yet since losing the popular vote in 2016, President Trump and his allies have consistently beat the drum of election fraud, escalating in 2020 with false claims of a stolen election, and now insisting that, despite his 2024 win, noncitizen voting fraud is rampant.

There is no evidence that noncitizens vote in sufficient numbers to impact election results. Any public policy changes—especially changes to our foundational election system—should be shaped by research, analysis, and public input and adopted only after careful consideration.

Voting Rights in Wisconsin: Verifying Citizenship Status with Voter Registration Data Wisconsin’s elections are safe and secure. On a foundation of hyperbole and baseless fear, Trump-aligned politicians are now trying to establish barriers to the ballot box, imposing obstacles that mak...

Only eligible electors should vote in government elections. True. Ensuring that happens is an important government function. Also true. But does noncitizen voting actually threaten our election results? No. (1/5)
www.lawforward.org/wisconsin-vo...

We are excited to announce that Doug Poland has joined Law Forward as Director of Litigation. Doug, a renowned trial and appellate attorney who has played a key role in multiple successful challenges to Wisconsin's gerrymandered legislative maps and other cases, co-founded Law Forward in 2020.

Disability Rights Under State Constitutions Thirty-five years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, state constitutional anti-discrimination clauses, voting rights, and educational guarantees can expand protections for peopl...

In a WI lawsuit currently workings its way through the courts, disability rights advocates argue that a state constitutional provision stating that “all votes shall be by secret ballot” requires the state to provide voters with disabilities an equal opportunity to vote privately and independently.

Disability Rights Under State Constitutions Thirty-five years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, state constitutional anti-discrimination clauses, voting rights, and educational guarantees can expand protections for peopl...

July is #DisabilityPrideMonth and we are proud to stand with our client Disability Rights Wisconsin in fighting to expand voting rights under the Wisconsin Constitution. Our lawsuit is covered in this great summary of lawsuits nationwide by State Court Report @statecourtreport.org

Voting Rights in Wisconsin: Proof of Citizenship under the SAVE Act and Trump’s Executive Order Wisconsin’s elections are safe and secure. On a foundation of hyperbole and baseless fear, Trump-aligned politicians are now trying to establish barriers to the ballot box, imposing obstacles that mak...

Our latest policy analysis breaks down how the SAVE Act and Trump’s recent executive order create needless barriers to voting.

Read part one of our two-part series:
www.lawforward.org/wisconsin-vo...

Voting Rights in Wisconsin: Proof of Citizenship under the SAVE Act and Trump’s Executive Order Wisconsin’s elections are safe and secure. On a foundation of hyperbole and baseless fear, Trump-aligned politicians are now trying to establish barriers to the ballot box, imposing obstacles that mak...

Noncitizen voting is already illegal in #Wisconsin, but Trump-aligned politicians are pushing laws that make it harder for eligible citizens to vote. These proposals won’t protect elections; they’ll disenfranchise lawful voters who are lacking easy access to additional documents. (1/2)

Law Forward is excited to support the League of Women Voters in their Celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act! Registration closes today, don't miss your chance to attend!

Opinion | Time to finish the de-gerrymandering of Wisconsin spencer Black: The state Supreme Court ended extreme gerrymandering for legislative districts. Now they need to address the GOP-rigged congressional districts.

Law Forward is working to change that with a new case in the courts. It’s time to finish the job and let the voters decide. Check out the op-ed by Spencer Black calling for action @captimes.com captimes.com/opinion/gues...

Opinion | Time to finish the de-gerrymandering of Wisconsin spencer Black: The state Supreme Court ended extreme gerrymandering for legislative districts. Now they need to address the GOP-rigged congressional districts.

In 2023, Law Forward overturned gerrymandered state legislative maps ushering in #farimaps state legislative elections in 2024, but Wisconsin’s congressional maps remain gerrymandered.

Voting Rights in Wisconsin: Proof of Citizenship under the SAVE Act and Trump’s Executive Order Wisconsin’s elections are safe and secure. On a foundation of hyperbole and baseless fear, Trump-aligned politicians are now trying to establish barriers to the ballot box, imposing obstacles that mak...

Wisconsin’s elections are safe and secure. On a foundation of hyperbole and baseless fear, Trump-aligned politicians are now trying to establish barriers to the ballot box, imposing obstacles that make it harder for us to exercise our right to vote. Read more:
www.lawforward.org/wisconsin-vo...

New lawsuit takes different path in effort to overturn Wisconsin's congressional map Tuesday’s lawsuit argues the issue with the map is that it's an "anti-competitive gerrymander that artificially suppresses electoral competition in most of the plan’s districts."

Our new lawsuit asks the court to put people back at the center of democracy where they belong. Learn more: www.wpr.org/news/liberal...

We found that Wisconsin’s congressional maps were so egregiously drawn under the auspices of Paul Ryan in 2011, that the median margin of victory for candidates is close to 30% – that is an incumbent protection plan not a participatory democracy.

At Law Forward we wondered why, in an evenly divided state, six out of eight congressional seats are held by one party? We talked to the nonpartisan experts at Harvard’s Election Law Clinic, and we crunched the numbers. 🧵

Wisconsin town loses federal appeal over its ban on electronic voting machines Trump’s Justice Department has forged ahead in this case involving the town of Thornapple even as it has withdrawn from several other voting lawsuits brought under the Biden administration.

- said Lisa Hassenstab, of Disability Rights Wisconsin,” reports
@votebeat.org

Law Forward filed an amicus brief in the case, and we’re also in state court separately working to protect voting rights in the Town of Thornapple.
Read more:
wisconsinwatch.org/2025/07/wisc...

“Voters with disabilities already face many barriers in the electoral process, and making sure they have access to a system which allows for basic voting rights to be met is a minimum and legal standard that they should not be worried about when exercising their right to vote,”

A three-judge panel in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday “against a Wisconsin town that disavowed electronic voting machines, siding with the U.S. Justice Department’s argument that this would unfairly harm voters with disabilities."🧵

Donate Help us fight back against the well-funded, coordinated rightwing legal movement that has attacked democracy in Wisconsin.

We can’t allow this type of brazen scheme to become the new normal -- undermining free and fair elections nationwide. That is why we are in court right now working to hold him accountable. Join us! www.lawforward.org/donate/

Just months ago, the world’s richest man injected tens of millions of dollars into the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. This includes dangling $1,000,000 awards to induce people to vote and tilt the outcome of the race to his liking.

Good news – our lawsuit couldn’t start until we got a copy into Elon Musk’s hands. That has now happened, and our case is underway! 🧵

We’re asking the Court to restore fairness and to put people, not politicians, back at the center of our democracy.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy and voters from each district, argues that the current maps, first drawn in 2011 by Paul Ryan, is an unconstitutional, anti-competitive gerrymander that suppresses the voice of voters.

Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy, et al v. WEC After overturning Wisconsin’s gerrymandered state legislative maps in 2023 in the Clark v. WEC case and ushering in a fair maps election in 2024, Law Forward is now turning its attention to Wisconsin’...

Last week, Law Forward, in partnership with the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School and Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, filed a complaint in Dane County Circuit Court against Wisconsin’s gerrymandered congressional maps. www.lawforward.org/wbl-v-wec/

Register — Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition

Hello Dodgeville! The Fair Maps Co is embarking on a statewide tour to gather input on the future of fair maps. bit.ly/MapsCommunityHearings

📍Dodgeville
📅 July 13 at 4 p.m.

The Coalition has been hard at work drafting a proposal for legislation, and we want to HEAR FROM YOU!

When the outcome of an election is predetermined, it discourages challengers from running, voters from voting, and insulates politicians from their constituent’s demands. #FairMaps