Wisconsin voters head to the polls Tuesday to determine the balance of the state’s highest court.
Liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz is facing off against conservative Dan Kelly, a former state Supreme Court justice.
Here are some key statistics about the race as of Election Day:
$28.4 million: The amount of ad spending since the primary election, according to AdImpact. The race is the most expensive of its kind in state history.
449,820: The number of Wisconsin voters who have requested an absentee ballot, as of March 30. In the last state Supreme Court race in 2020, nearly 1.3 million voters requested an absentee ballot during the onset of the Covid pandemic.
434,985: The number of absentee ballots returned by Wisconsin voters, as of Tuesday morning. That is nearly double the amount of ballots returned in the February primary around this time.
One: The number of debates between Protasiewicz and Kelly. Their only debate took place on March 21, where the two candidates sparred over allegations in attack ads.
4-3: The current ideological balance of the court, with conservatives in the majority. The court will have a liberal majority if Protasiewicz wins, or a conservative majority if Kelly wins. However, Justice Brian Hagedorn, a conservative, has previously joined the court’s liberals in key rulings.
15: The number of years since liberals held the majority on the court. The 2008 election of Michael Gableman tipped the court’s balance toward conservatives.
10%: The margin by which Kelly lost to now-state Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky back in the 2020 state Supreme Court race. Kelly was appointed to the court by former GOP Gov. Scott Walker in 2016, but lost a subsequent election to the seat, 45% to 55%.
Four: The number of candidates in the primary field. After the Feb. 21 primary, Kelly and Protasiewicz advanced over liberal Dane County Circuit Court Judge Everett Mitchell and conservative Waukesha County Court Judge Jennifer Dorow.
Nearly 21%: The percentage of the voting population that turned out for the primary contest in February, compared to 16% in 2020.
Nearly double: The number of votes Protasiewicz won in the primary election compared to Kelly. Protasiewicz won about 446,000 ballots versus Kelly’s 232,751 votes.
10: The number of years in a justice’s term. The longest serving member of the court, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, will finish her third 10-year term in 2025.