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Amid federal upheaval, myriad important legal and policy developments continue to unfold at the state level. The Essays in this Special Issue were presented at, or grew out of, the fifth annual Public Law in the States Conference hosted by the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School in May 2025.

"In interviews with NBC News, nonpartisan experts on Wisconsin law and legal processes explained that even though the process hadn’t been used before in Wisconsin, the notion of a panel of three judges drawn from different courts convening over a redistricting case wasn’t unusual. In fact, it was modeled after federal statues requiring that a similar panel be arranged to hear most redistricting cases."

"Currently, Wisconsin requires voters to attest their U.S. citizenship when they register to vote which is under penalty of law, but there is no demand to submit proof of citizenship. Under this pending order, election officials would have to obtain that proof, and it is not clear how the Wisconsin Elections Commission would enforce the order, according to State Democracy Research Initiative executive director Bree Grossi Wilde."

On April 1, 2025, Wisconsin voters will choose the newest justice on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In doing so, they will determine whether the court retains its current 4-3 liberal lean or flips back to a conservative-leaning majority. Either way, the race could have major implications for high-profile issues likely to come before the court, including abortion, election law, and union rights. To provide context and background on the supreme court candidates, this explainer details the types of cases Crawford and Schimel have handled as circuit judges, looks at how their rulings have fared on appeal, analyzes key democracy-related decisions they have authored, and examines what they have said about major issues that may soon come before the court.

"The April 1 election includes a Wisconsin Supreme Court race that could maintain or end the liberal majority on a court that has decided many voting rights cases, as well as an amendment that could enshrine strict Voter ID requirements into the state constitution."

"Wisconsin has long had a photo ID requirement for voting on its books — one of the strictest in the nation. This year, voters will decide whether to make it harder to weaken that requirement. The April 1 ballot contains a proposal that would enshrine the photo ID requirement in the state’s constitution."

"Eight states will have constitutional amendments backed by Republican lawmakers on the November ballot designed to make clear that only American citizens can vote in elections in those states. But it’s already illegal for noncitizens to vote in elections in those states and at the federal level, and it rarely happens."

National-level developments in law and government typically grab the biggest headlines and drive discourse in the legal academy. With a high-stakes presidential election, major U.S. Supreme Court rulings, and more, 2024 has been no exception. But many consequential legal developments have unfolded at the state level as well. The Essays in this Special Issue explore questions pertaining to state public law, including examining distinctive features of state governance and the relationship between states and the federal government.

"State voters are being asked to change Wisconsin’s constitution for the third straight election. This time, voters are being asked to change one word in the constitution, from every U.S. citizen 18 and older can vote, to *only* U.S. citizens 18 and older can vote. There are already laws on the books that prohibit non-citizens from voting in federal and state elections, so why the need for this change?"

As part of the November 5th election, Wisconsin voters will be asked for the fifth time this year whether to amend the Wisconsin Constitution. Wisconsin voters will decide whether to amend the constitutional provision defining suffrage or voting rights. Specifically, the ballot question asks: “Shall section 1 of article III of the constitution, which deals with suffrage, be amended to provide that only a United States citizen age 18 or older who resides in an election district may vote in an election for national, state, or local office or at a statewide or local referendum?”