Wisconsin Voter All. v. Reynolds

• Docket Number: 2022AP1749
• Decision Date: 09 November 2023
• Parties: Wisconsin Voter Alliance and Ron Heuer, Petitioners-Appellants, v. Terry Reynolds, Respondent-Respondent.
• Court: Wisconsin Court of Appeals

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Wisconsin Voter Alliance and Ron Heuer, Petitioners-Appellants, v. Terry Reynolds, Respondent-Respondent.

No. 2022AP1749

Court of Appeals of Wisconsin, District IV

November 9, 2023

APPEAL from an order of the circuit court for Juneau County Cir. Ct. No. 2022CV128: PAUL S. CURRAN, Judge. Affirmed.

Before Kloppenburg, P.J., Blanchard, and Nashold, JJ.

NASHOLD, J.

¶1 Wisconsin Voter Alliance and Ron Heuer (collectively "Alliance") appeal a circuit court order dismissing their petition for a writ of mandamus against Terry Reynolds the Register in Probate for Juneau County. Alliance's mandamus action seeks a court order requiring Reynolds to provide records that, according to Alliance, would show a discrepancy between individuals deemed ineligible to vote or register to vote as a result of guardianship proceedings in Juneau County and individuals appearing on the list of ineligible voters maintained by the Wisconsin Elections Commission ("WEC").^[1] Alliance alleges in its petition that Reynolds denied Alliance's records request and that Alliance is entitled to the records pursuant Wis.Stat. § 54.75 and Wisconsin's public records laws. See Wis. Stat. ch. 19.

¶2 The circuit court dismissed Alliance's writ petition. Relevant here, the court concluded that the records Alliance seeks are precluded from disclosure pursuant to Wis.Stat § 54.75, which provides that "court records pertinent to the finding of incompetency" are "closed." On appeal, Alliance concedes that it is not entitled to most of the records requested in its petition and now argues that it is entitled to only one type of record, namely, documents called Notice of Voter Eligibility forms. Alliance also argues judicial bias. We reject Alliance's arguments and affirm the circuit court order.

BACKGROUND

¶3 Wisconsin Voter Alliance is a Wisconsin corporation. Ron Heuer is its President.

¶4 On June 15, 2022, Alliance sent a communication to Reynolds requesting answers to three specific questions regarding the number of people adjudicated incompetent in Juneau County during specific time periods. Reynolds responded by email the same day, and Alliance does not dispute that this was fully responsive to its three questions.

¶5 On June 28, 2022, Alliance sent an email to Reynolds, with an attached letter requesting "Names, Addresses, Date of Birth and a copy of all wards under guardianship in your county." The letter stated that Alliance made this request due to its "concerns" that wards under guardianship in Juneau County were improperly registered to vote and had improperly voted in recent elections. The letter cited Wis.Stat. § 54.75, which provides:

All court records pertinent to the finding of incompetency are closed but subject to access as provided in s. 51.30 or 55.22 or under an order of a court under this chapter. The fact that an individual has been found incompetent and the name of and contact information for the guardian is accessible to any person who demonstrates to the custodian of the records a need for that information.

Alliance relied on the second sentence of this statute, stating that it had a "need" for the requested records and that it had no other way to obtain them.

¶6 On July 26, 2022, prior to receiving Reynolds' response to the June 28 request, Alliance sent another email to Reynolds, "clarify[ing]" its prior request. Specifically, Alliance requested on July 26 the following, in a "readable, electronic format," regarding all guardianship orders in effect in Juneau County from "January 1, 2016[, to] the present," for "wards with no voting rights": "(1) name; (2) address; (3) date of birth; (4) caption of the order; (5) [circuit] court file number; (6) date of guardianship order restricting voting rights; (7) date of guardianship order restoring voting rights, if any; and (8) date of death, if any."

Alliance also sought copies of all guardianship "orders restricting wards' voting rights" for that same time period.

¶7 In addition, Alliance requested the records that are the subject of this appeal: Notice of Voting Eligibility ("NVE") forms "sent to the Wisconsin Elections Commission anytime." As noted, Alliance concedes on appeal that it is not entitled to most of the records it sought in the requests summarized above, and now argues that it is entitled to only the NVE forms generated as a result of guardianship proceedings. These NVE forms are used in the circuit courts in conjunction with guardianship proceedings under Wis.Stat. ch. 54.^[2] As specifically established by statute, during guardianship proceedings "in which an individual is found incompetent and a guardian is appointed," the court may "declare that the individual has incapacity to exercise" certain rights, including the "right to register to vote or vote in an election, if the court finds that the individual is incapable of understanding the objective of the elective process." Wis.Stat. § 54.25(2)(c)1.g.

¶8 When a circuit court makes a determination that the individual is incapacitated in this respect as part of a guardianship proceeding, that determination "shall be communicated in writing by the clerk of court to the election official or agency charged … with the responsibility for determining challenges to registration and voting." Wis.Stat. § 54.25(2)(c)1.g. The parties here agree that, during the relevant time period, the NVE forms were the proper means for transmitting such communications. It is also undisputed that WEC has relied on the NVE forms as part of its processes to update the statewide voter registration database.

¶9 The parties also do not dispute that, in addition to a copy of the NVE form being sent to WEC, the NVE form is also made a part of the guardianship court file. The record contains what one of the parties in this case has labeled an "Example Form," which appears to be an actual NVE form from a guardianship proceeding in Taylor County, with information about the ward redacted. The NVE form has a place for a signature of the county's register in probate, contains the guardianship case number, and (although redacted in the example) the subject individual's name, date of birth, and address. The form also has two alternative check boxes, one stating that the individual "is not competent to exercise the right to register to vote or to vote in an election," and the other stating that the individual "has been restored the right to register to vote and to vote in an election." Above the check boxes is the following: "The circuit court declared on [date] that:" followed by a blank space. Because the information following the colon has evidently been redacted in the example form, it is unclear what additional information is included in that section other than, at the least, the name of the subject individual being "declared" to be "not competent to exercise the right to register to vote or to vote" or "restored [that] right." The bottom right-hand corner of the NVE form references Wis.Stat. § 54.25(2)(c)1.g., discussed above, and Wis.Stat. § 54.64(2), which addresses the circuit court's review and modification of an incompetency finding and the court's termination or limitation of a guardianship.

¶10 On the same day that Alliance sent Reynolds its July 26 records request, Alliance filed with the circuit court a petition for a writ of mandamus against Reynolds pursuant to Wis.Stat. § 19.37(1)(a), along with a proposed order. The petition alleges that Reynolds failed to provide Alliance with the records that it had requested, even though Alliance "demonstrate[d]" a "need" for the records under Wis.Stat. § 54.75. The court "declined" Alliance's proposed order on August 18, 2022.

¶11 Reynolds denied Alliance's July 26 records request on August 9, 2022. Pertinent to this appeal, Reynolds stated that the requested NVE forms are exempt from disclosure by Wis.Stat. § 54.75, and therefore are not required to be provided under Wis.Stat. § 19.36(1). See § 19.36(1) ("Any record which is specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal law or authorized to be exempted from disclosure by state law is exempt from disclosure" under public records law). Reynolds also stated that, even if the requested information and records were otherwise subject to disclosure, the privacy interests relating to guardianship proceedings outweigh any public interest in disclosure of the records under the public records law.

¶12 On August 22, 2022, Reynolds moved to dismiss Alliance's writ petition.^[3] Reynolds argued that Alliance's petition fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted because disclosure of the records is barred under Wis.Stat. § 54.75 and the exception in the same provision for identified information is not met. ¶13 On August 24, 2022, the circuit court issued an order dismissing the petition on the merits, with prejudice. The court concluded that there is no "identified, clear[,] positive[,] and plain non-discretionary duty that [Reynolds] has failed to perform" because, pursuant to Wis.Stat. § 54.75, the records are "closed" and the exception for the release of identified information is not met.

¶14 Alliance appeals the order dismissing its petition for a writ of mandamus.

DISCUSSION

¶15 Alliance raises two primary arguments on appeal. First, it argues that the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion when it dismissed Alliance's petition for a writ of mandamus.^[4] Alliance separately argues that the court was biased against Alliance and that this bias requires reversal. For the reasons that follow, we reject both arguments.

I. Alliance's Mandamus Action

A. Mandamus Principles and Standard of Review

¶16 "Mandamus is an extraordinary writ that may be used to compel a public officer to perform a duty that ...