Supreme Court election: Milwaukee County voter turnout hits new record; state sees nearly 2 million voters

MILWAUKEE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- About 1.8 million voters cast their ballots for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, surpassing the 2020 presidential primary election which saw 1.6 million voters. Experts said the Wisconsin abortion ban drove people to the polls.

On Tuesday, Judge Janet Protasiewicz beat conservative Dan Kelly for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, giving liberals court majority for the first time in many years, said political expert and professor at UW-Milwaukee, Mordecai Lee.

"For the last almost 15 years we've had a real conservative paradigm of Wisconsin politics. I think it cracked yesterday," said Lee.

Voter turnout was at its highest in Milwaukee County for a state Supreme Court election, said Milwaukee County clerk George Christenson.

"We had an upwards of 235,762 voters, people that voted, and that was compared to about 200,000 back in 2020 for the same type of election," said Christenson.

Christenson said it was a 45% voter turnout in Milwaukee County this year.

Christenson and Lee said the abortion ban was top of mind for many voters.

"I think what we saw yesterday is similar to the Trump effect, and that's the abortion effect-- in other words, the election was a referendum on abortion," said Lee.

Protasiewicz's win marks the beginning of the Democrats'  mission to repeal the pre-Civil War abortion ban in the state.

"Generally speaking, all the public opinion polls showed that Wisconsinites are pro-choice, about 60-65%, and pro-life about 35-40%, and that's, bang, exactly what we saw yesterday," said Lee.

Lee said the shift in the state's Supreme Court majority will play in favor of the left when it comes to state politics. He said in regard to the presidential election, both parties will have to battle it out to end up on top.