What happened to the Jefferson County judicial primary?

By Margo Kirchner
 
Voters in Jefferson County will not see a circuit court race on their primary ballots tomorrow, even though three candidates submitted a sufficient number of nomination signatures.
 
Just prior to the printing of primary ballots, a judge ruled that candidate Cortney Iverson was not constitutionally eligible and struck her name from the ballot.
 
Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen E. Ehlke found that Iverson has not been an attorney long enough to be elected judge in the spring 2025 elections.
 
The Wisconsin Constitution provides that to be eligible for judicial office at the circuit court or higher levels, a person must be an attorney licensed to practice law in Wisconsin for at least five years “immediately prior to election or appointment.”
 
Iverson was admitted to practice in Wisconsin in May 2020. She argued to the Wisconsin Elections Commission that because the term of office for circuit judge starts Aug. 1, she would meet the five-year requirement by the time she started the job.
 
The Wisconsin Elections Commission certified her as a candidate even after challenges by the two other candidates in the race.
 
Ehlke disagreed. He found that the key date for meeting the five-year requirement is the date of the election, and Iverson will have practiced for less than the required time on Feb. 18 (the primary) as well as April 1 (the general election).
 
“Words and phrases are to be given their common and ordinary meaning and ‘election’ is, I think, a pretty well understood word no matter what dictionary you use . . . . It’s not assuming office, it’s the election,” he said during a hearing in the case.
 
In his oral ruling, Ehlke found “there’s no question that this candidate is ineligible” and that Iverson “can’t cure that in any way, shape, or form because the five-year anniversary will occur in May after either the primary or the general election.”
 
The “constitutional provision is quite clear that you have to have been licensed as an attorney for at least five years prior to the election. And election is either the primary or the general election in April. It is not when the person who has been elected then later assumes the office. Those are two distinct things,” he said.
 
Ehlke ordered the elections commission to drop Iverson’s name and generate a new certified list of candidates for the primary and spring elections. He also barred the Jefferson County clerk from issuing any ballots to voters with Iverson’s name on it.
 
Iverson sought to challenge Branch 2 incumbent Theresa Beck, who was recently appointed by Gov. Tony Evers.
 
Jennifer Weber has been certified as a candidate to challenge Beck for Branch 2. Because just two candidates remain, they will appear on the April 1 ballot without a primary on Feb. 18.