July 10, 2024 – The State Bar of Wisconsin is holding a special election in October to fill a vacancy at the organization’s president-elect post.

Electronic voting will begin on Oct. 10 and members will have 15 days to vote, with the election closing at noon, Oct. 25, 2024. Results will be announced Oct. 28, 2024.

See more information on voting in this election.

Meet the Candidates

Dan D. Gartzke of Madison and David E. Lasker of Mauston have accepted nominations to run for State Bar of Wisconsin president-elect.

The election will fill an immediate vacancy at the president-elect post. The winner will serve the remainder of the term that ends on June 30, 2025, before becoming president.

Gartzke (U.W. 1986) is with Boardman & Clark LLP, Madison. Lasker (U.W. 1973) is Juneau County corporation counsel.

Look for more information on the candidates in the Aug. 7 and Sept. 4 issues of InsideTrack, and for their candidate pages later this month on WisBar.org.

Why is This Special Election Needed?

The special election is required because of the following circumstances:

• The membership elected Jane Bucher as State Bar president-elect in April 2023. The president-elect serves a one-year term before serving a one-year term as president.
• Bucher announced in February 2024 that she applied for an open judicial seat on the Green County Circuit Court.
• In March 2024, Gov. Tony Evers appointed Bucher to the judicial seat.
• Under Wisconsin Supreme Court rules, judges cannot serve as State Bar officers or members of the State Bar’s Board of Governors.
• Bucher resigned as president-elect, leaving a vacancy.
• In April 2024, Ryan Billings won the election to serve as president-elect starting on July 1, 2024.
• In May, the State Bar’s Board of Governors appointed Billings to fill the vacancy at president-elect, for the remainder of Bucher’s term.
• This allowed Billings to become president on July 1, 2024.
• When Billings took office as president, it created a vacancy for president-elect.
• The special election in October will fill the vacancy.
• The new president-elect will serve until June 30, 2025, then become president of the State Bar on July 1, 2025.

A Nominating Committee identified candidates to run in the election.

State Bar members can also run for president-elect by filing a petition signed by 100 active State Bar of Wisconsin members. The deadline to submit a petition is Aug. 17, 2024.

For more information and to receive a petition, contact Kim Jansen via email, or at (608) 250-6106 or (800) 444-9404, ext. 6106.

Vote in October: Look for Your Email Ballot

The special election will be held via an electronic ballot, starting Oct. 10. Members will have 15 days to vote, with the election closing at noon Oct. 25, 2024. Results will be announced Oct. 28, 2024.

To ensure you receive your State Bar election ballot, add noreply@directvote.net​ as an approved sender in your inbox before Oct. 10. This prevents the ballot from being identified as spam.

Please note: If you have placed any holds on emails from the State Bar, you may not receive an electronic ballot. Contact Customer Service at (800) 444-9404 to verify that your account is set up to receive your email ballot.

State Bar members with no email address on file will receive paper ballots. Paper ballots will be mailed Oct. 9, 2024, with instructions.