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What happened?
A Waukesha County judge on Friday stayed his earlier ruling requiring Wisconsin election officials to verify the citizenship of currently registered voters, after the plaintiffs in the case joined the respondents in asking him for a pause.
Judge Michael Maxwell’s initial ruling, in early October, was in favor of the plaintiffs. But at Friday’s hearing, a lawyer representing them, Michael Dean, said they wanted it paused so they could instead focus on discovery. Dean said that would allow the plaintiffs to understand a key sticking point in the case: how detailed and accurate the state Department of Transportation’s citizenship data is.
State election officials have repeatedly said the DOT’s data is often inaccurate and can’t be used by election officials to reliably verify the citizenship of people on the state’s voter rolls.
Maxwell and lawyers for the state Department of Justice, who were representing the Wisconsin Elections Commission, initially seemed confused by the plaintiffs’ request to stay the ruling, which is what the state agencies had been seeking.
“What are we doing with this mess right now?” Maxwell asked, as the parties went back and forth before finally agreeing the judge should stay the ruling.
What’s the dispute?
In early October, Maxwell issued a ruling requiring election officials to verify the citizenship of existing Wisconsin voters and those seeking to register. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed by a Pewaukee resident last year seeking stricter verification of voters’ citizenship.
A few days later, Maxwell stayed the part of his ruling applying to new applicants, upon the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s request. But the state agency and the Wisconsin Elections Commission asked him to stay the entire ruling as they appealed it to a higher court, calling it “impermissibly vague” and in violation of state law. Friday’s hearing was to consider that request.
The case comes amid a nationwide debate on whether there are enough safeguards to prevent noncitizens from casting ballots.
Who are the plaintiffs and what are they asking for?
The current plaintiffs are Pewaukee resident Ardis Cerny and Waukesha resident Annette Kuglitsch, who sued the election commission, the Department of Transportation, and officials in both agencies.
Their lawsuit, filed in late 2024, seeks to implement a noncitizen voter audit in Wisconsin, and require election officials to verify the citizenship of people seeking to register to vote.
The respondents have argued that no state law requires them to verify voters’ citizenship. Using outdated databases like the DOT’s, they allege, could lead to the disenfranchisement of U.S. citizens.
What happens now?
The state agencies’ appeal is still pending before an appeals court based in Madison.
Read more Votebeat coverage of the fight over noncitizen voting in Wisconsin:
- Wisconsin officials appeal judge’s order on checking voters’ citizenship, Oct. 21, 2025
- Wisconsin Elections Commission challenges order requiring voter citizenship checks, Oct. 6, 2025
- Wisconsin must verify citizenship of registered voters and new applicants, judge rules, Oct. 3, 2025
- Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly approve ban on noncitizen voting, Nov. 6, 2024
- Fight over Wisconsin DMV data flares as GOP pushes noncitizen voting message, Oct. 25, 2024
- Noncitizen voting rarely happens. But Wisconsin voters are hearing a lot about it. Oct. 16, 2024
Alexander Shur is a reporter for Votebeat based in Wisconsin. Contact Alexander at ashur@votebeat.org.
