Following last spring's election, where Wisconsin voted in a liberal justice to the state Supreme Court, Republican leaders are further exploring a possible impeachment. A new poll suggests the idea doesn't sit well with voters.
A Better Wisconsin Together, a left-leaning research group, is out with new survey results showing that Wisconsinites oppose impeaching Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz by a 24% margin.
The poll was released the same day Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced he's putting together a panel to look at grounds for removing the judge.
A Better Wisconsin Together's Deputy Director Mike Browne said based on the election and the survey, such a move goes against the will of voters.
"Wisconsin voters value their votes and they expect that their legislators will respect the results of those votes," said Browne. "The impeachment proceedings threatening to overturn the election are very definitely in opposition to what a very strong majority of Wisconsin voters feel."
Despite the political leanings of his group, Browne said the poll of 600 registered voters - conducted by a national firm - was essentially evenly split in connecting with Republicans and Democrats.
Vos and other Republicans have floated a possible impeachment over opposition to comments Protasiewicz made on the campaign trail regarding redistricting. Her victory switched the court to a liberal majority.
Browne noted that any misgivings about what the judge said prior to the election don't carry much weight.
"The judicial commission, which oversees and enforces court ethics, has already dismissed several baseless complaints brought by state Republicans against Justice Protasiewicz," said Browne, "and they declare the matter closed."
Also from the poll, 46% of Wisconsin voters think any effort to remove Protasiewicz is driven by political motivations among Republicans based on the election results.
Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
