April 7, 2026 — Wisconsin Supreme Court Election — Polls open 7am–8pm · Check your polling place: myvote.wi.gov

April 7, 2026 — Wisconsin Supreme Court — countthebillswi.org

The candidates
on this issue.

The April 7 Supreme Court race does not happen in isolation. The court that takes its seat after April 7 will interpret every bill on this site — every gender identity law that passes, every challenge to those laws, every conflict that arises. The question is whether the court does that neutrally — or whether one candidate already knows what the answer should be.

This page presents public legislative and judicial records. It draws no conclusions. The records speak for themselves.

The court that interprets
the laws being written.

Every bill on the Count the Bills WI site — every veto override, every parental choice mandate, every constitutional amendment — will eventually face legal challenge. Those challenges will be decided by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

A 4–3 liberal majority currently controls the court. A Taylor win would create a 5–2 liberal supermajority. A Lazar win would maintain the 4–3 balance. That mathematical difference determines the court's ideological direction for years.

4–3
Current court balance
Liberal majority controls the Wisconsin Supreme Court as of today. Every consequential case is decided by this margin.
5–2
Supermajority if Taylor wins
A Taylor win would give liberals a 5–2 supermajority — the most decisive shift in the court's direction in decades.
10+
Years of legislation at stake
Every gender identity bill, every parental choice challenge, every religious liberty conflict — all of it reaches this court eventually.

"The person who spent a decade writing these bills is now asking voters to put her in the position of interpreting them. That is not a coincidence. It is a strategy. And it is worth knowing before April 7."

Same race. Very different records.

Both records below are public and verifiable. Chris Taylor's legislative record is searchable at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov. Maria Lazar's judicial record is publicly available through the Wisconsin court system.

Chris Taylor
Former Wisconsin Assembly Member, 2011–2020 · Madison Democrat
→ Spent a decade as a legislator before running for this court
AB 319 · 2019
Co-sponsored statewide gender identity non-discrimination protections across employment, housing, education, and insurance.
2019 Session
AJR 156 · 2019
Co-sponsored constitutional amendment to add gender identity as a protected class in the Wisconsin Constitution.
2019 Session
AB 436 · 2019
Co-sponsored legislation restricting criminal defenses based on a victim's gender identity or sexual orientation.
2019 Session
AB 111 · 2019
Co-sponsored conversion therapy ban targeting minors — defining prohibited practices in part by reference to gender identity.
2019 Session
AB 312 · 2019
Co-sponsored legislation related to gender identity protections in education settings.
2019 Session
AB 418 · 2019
Co-sponsored additional gender identity protections legislation in the same session — one of six bills on this issue in a single term.
2019 Session
Maria Lazar
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Judge since 2019 · Waukesha County
→ Has served on the bench — has not served in the legislature
Judicial record
Served as a Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge. Her record is her judicial decisions — not her legislative sponsorships, because she has none.
2019 – present
No legislative record
Lazar has not served in the legislature. She has not co-sponsored gender identity bills on either side. Her role has been to apply the law as written, not to write it.
Court of Appeals, District 2
The distinction
A judge who has not pre-committed to one side of an active legislative debate is in a different position to interpret that debate than a judge who spent a decade advancing one side of it.
The core question for voters
Endorsed by
Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, law enforcement groups, and conservative and moderate legal organizations. Endorsed as a neutral, qualified jurist.
2026 Campaign

Six bills in one term.
Then she ran for the court.

This is not a record assembled from opposition research. Every bill number below is publicly searchable at docs.legis.wisconsin.gov. The record is hers. The pattern is worth knowing before voters decide whether she is the right person to interpret the laws she spent a decade advancing.

BillYearWhat it doesThe judicial implication
AB 3192019Statewide gender identity non-discriminationEmployment, housing, education, and insurance. Would have made gender identity a protected class across virtually all of Wisconsin civic life.Any challenge to gender identity protected-class status would reach the Supreme Court. Taylor wrote the statute. Should she interpret it?
AJR 1562019Constitutional amendmentWould add gender identity to the Wisconsin Constitution as a protected class, creating a constitutional right to gender identity accommodation statewide.Constitutional amendments, once passed, are interpreted by the Supreme Court. Taylor co-authored this one.
AB 4362019Criminal defense restrictionRestricts what a criminal defendant can argue if the claim involves the victim's gender identity — changing the scope of allowable defenses in Wisconsin courts.Criminal law challenges are appellate matters. Taylor wrote the restriction. Should she rule on challenges to it?
AB 1112019Conversion therapy banDefines prohibited practices in part by reference to gender identity. Creates a new category of professional liability for licensed practitioners.Professional licensing and liability questions reach appellate courts. Taylor shaped the definitional framework.
AB 3122019Gender identity education protectionsGender identity protections in education settings — affecting schools, administrators, and students statewide.Education policy conflicts — especially parental rights vs. institutional policy — are a primary source of Supreme Court litigation.
AB 4182019Additional gender identity protectionsSixth gender identity bill in a single legislative term. One of the most concentrated single-session records on this issue in Wisconsin history.The volume is the point. This is not incidental. This is the organizing purpose of her legislative career applied to the court.
Should the person who wrote
the bills interpret the bills?

Courts are supposed to be neutral interpreters of the law — not advocates for outcomes they already believe in. That principle applies regardless of the issue.

If you support gender identity legislation —

"Ask whether you want it decided by a court whose majority includes someone who wrote it. Advocates on courts produce decisions that can be reversed. Neutral decisions are harder to overturn."

If you oppose gender identity legislation —

"Ask whether a court with a 5–2 liberal supermajority — including the principal author of this legislation — is the court that will interpret any challenge you bring. The answer is straightforward."

If you believe in judicial neutrality —

"Ask whether a decade-long record of advancing one side of the most contested issue before the court is consistent with neutrality. The record is public. The question answers itself."

If you weren't aware of Taylor's legislative record —

"That's exactly the point. The record is public. The connection between her legislative career and this court race has not been prominently discussed. Now you know."

Three messages.
Ready to send.

April 7 — Polls open 7am to 8pm

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Sources: Chris Taylor legislative record: docs.legis.wisconsin.gov — AB319, AJR156, AB436, AB111, AB312, AB418 (2019 Session). Ballotpedia: ballotpedia.org/Chris_Taylor. Maria Lazar: Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District 2, appointed 2019. Court balance: Wisconsin Supreme Court official records. All records are public and verifiable. This page presents factual records only and draws no conclusions. · countthebillswi.org · Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.