Democrats in Wisconsin are making significant progress in their efforts to overturn Republican-drawn legislative maps that have allowed the GOP to maintain control of the state’s Legislature for the past 13 years. The boundaries of state Assembly and Senate districts have been a point of contention in Wisconsin, a purple state where Republicans have held a firm grip on power despite Democrats winning statewide races. The lines were initially drawn by Republicans in 2011 and have faced legal challenges from Democrats ever since. However, a recent ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court has ordered new maps to be drawn for the upcoming November election.
The latest lawsuit filed by Democrats argued that the Republican-drawn lines were unconstitutional because they did not ensure contiguity, meaning that some areas were disconnected from the rest of the district. The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed with this argument in December, leading to the decision to redraw the maps.
The stakes are high in this battle over redistricting. When Republicans took control of the Legislature in 2010, they held a 19-14 majority in the Senate and a 57-38 majority in the Assembly. After the 2022 election, their majorities increased to 22-11 in the Senate and a supermajority of 65-34 in the Assembly. The outcome of the redistricting process will have a significant impact on which party holds power in Wisconsin.
The politics surrounding this issue are also crucial. Democrats filed their latest lawsuit immediately after the Wisconsin Supreme Court shifted to a majority liberal control in August following Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s election win. Her vote played a crucial role in the 4-3 December ruling that invalidated the Republican-drawn maps.
Republicans are running out of options to stop the redrawing of the lines. They argued that Justice Protasiewicz should not hear the lawsuit due to her previous comments criticizing the GOP-drawn maps. However, she did not recuse herself from the case. Republicans are now considering appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging due process violations.
The question of what the new maps will look like remains uncertain. Consultants hired by the Wisconsin Supreme Court have determined that maps submitted by the Republican Legislature and a conservative law firm were gerrymandered. They did not express concerns about the four other Democratic-drawn maps but left the decision of their constitutionality to the Supreme Court. The consultants have suggested that tweaks could be made to improve the maps in terms of contiguity, political balance, and preservation of communities of interest.
The deadline for responses to the consultants’ report is February 8th. Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Democratic attorneys have praised the findings, stating that Wisconsin is closer than ever to ending Republican gerrymandering. On the other hand, Republicans have criticized the report as bogus and a “fog of faux sophistication.”
The court has the option to ask the consultants for revisions or adopt one of the four proposals already submitted. It is expected that the new maps will be released between February 9th and March 15th, which is the deadline set by the Wisconsin Elections Commission for the new lines to be in place before the fall election. This deadline ensures that candidates are aware of the district lines when they file for nomination.
This battle over redistricting is not unique to Wisconsin. Litigation is ongoing in more than a dozen states over U.S. House and state legislative districts that were enacted after the 2020 census. Democrats have also asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to consider a challenge to the state’s congressional district lines, arguing that the decision to order new state legislative maps opens the door to challenging the congressional map. Currently, Republicans hold five of the state’s eight congressional seats.
As the fight over redistricting continues in Wisconsin and across the country, the outcome of these battles will shape the political landscape for years to come.
