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President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk celebrated after Wisconsin approved a voter ID referendum on Tuesday amid a closely watched state Supreme Court race and two special elections in Florida. The Context Voters in Wisconsin decided on Tuesday to add a voter ID requirement to the state's Constitution. Wisconsin voters are already required to show photo ID based on a state law passed in 2011.
But proponents of the Republican-backed proposal that was on Tuesday's ballot argued that adding it to the Constitution would help cement the requirement. What To Know Trump celebrated the approval of the referendum on Truth Social, writing: "VOTER I.D.
JUST APPROVED IN WISCONSIN ELECTION. Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT." He added: "This is a BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS, MAYBE THE BIGGEST WIN OF THE NIGHT.
IT SHOULD ALLOW US TO WIN WISCONSIN, LIKE I JUST DID IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!" Meanwhile, the America PAC, which was founded by Musk, posted on X, formerly Twitter: "BREAKING: Wisconsin Question 1, which adds a Voter ID requirement to the state's Constitution has passed." The SpaceX CEO replied to the post, writing, "Yeah!" Trump and Musk's comments came as Republicans suffered a resounding defeat in the state's hotly contested Supreme Court race, in which Democratic-backed Judge Susan Crawford triumphed over Republican-backed Judge Brad Schimel. Musk and the president had both thrown their support behind Schimel, with Musk spending more than $25 million to get him elected to the state's highest court.
Crawford's victory in the election solidifies liberals' 4-3 majority on the court. Republicans saw better results in Florida, where GOP candidates Jimmy Patronis and Randy Fine won special elections in the state's 1st and 6th Congressional Districts, respectively. Their victories bolster the Republican Party 's control of the House of Representatives, though it would have held the majority even if Democrats had managed to flip the two seats.
Patronis will replace former Republican Representative Matt Gaetz , who gave up his seat after Trump tapped him last year to serve as attorney general. But Gaetz withdrew from consideration amid sharp scrutiny related to sexual misconduct allegations against him. Fine will fill the House seat formerly held by Mike Waltz, who resigned to serve as Trump's national security adviser.
What People Are Saying Greg Price, who works on the White House's rapid response team, wrote on X: "A ballot initiative to add Voter ID to the Wisconsin state constitution is currently passing overwhelmingly." Sam Liebert, state director of All Voting is Local, a nonpartisan voting rights organization, said in a statement to the Associated Press: "We should not be purposefully leaving eligible voters behind by setting up additional barriers to the ballot, but unfortunately, those in the Badger State have one more step to take before voting." What Happens Next The voter ID requirement will now be added to the Wisconsin Constitution.
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