MADISON, WIS. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled 5-2 on Tuesday that guardianship records are not public, rejecting an attempt by conservative activist Ron Heuer to obtain them. Justice Brian Hagedorn joined the liberal majority in the decision.

Heuer, a former travel executive who leads the Wisconsin Voter Alliance, filed the lawsuit in 2022 seeking guardianship records in 13 Wisconsin counties. He asked the state Supreme Court to rule that counties must release records filed when a judge determines a person is not competent to vote. The lawsuit alleged that the number of ineligible voters did not match the count on Wisconsin's voter registration list.

Erick Kaardal, Heuer's attorney, argued that privacy concerns could be balanced with the public's right to access government records by redacting identifying or sensitive information on the forms. Sam Hall, the attorney for Walworth County, stated that those seeking the records intended to cross-check ineligible voters against registered names. Hall said this cross-checking cannot be done without releasing the person's name and address.

In Wisconsin, a guardianship order is issued by a court, granting legal rights over an individual deemed unable to make decisions about their life. A Wisconsin court can remove a person's right to vote if they are determined to be unable to understand the objective of the election process.

Prior to the Supreme Court's decision, two lower state appeals courts issued divergent rulings. An appeals court based in Waukesha ruled in 2023 that the records should be made public and ordered Walworth County to release the records with birth dates and case numbers redacted. Conversely, an appeals court based in Madison denied access to the records. The Wisconsin Supreme Court's recent decision overturned the Waukesha appeals court ruling.

Heuer was an investigator in the 2020 election probe led by former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, which found no evidence of fraud or abuse that would have changed the election results. The Wisconsin Voter Alliance filed two unsuccessful lawsuits attempting to overturn Joe Biden's win in Wisconsin, where Biden defeated Donald Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in 2020. The 2020 election results in Wisconsin withstood independent and partisan audits, reviews, lawsuits, and recounts. Donald Trump won Wisconsin in 2024 by approximately 29,000 votes. There are no pending lawsuits challenging the results of the 2024 Wisconsin election.