Wisconsin Capitol Building at night during Chrismas. MWC file photo by Mike Leischner
MADISON, WI (WSAU) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ordered lawmakers to redraw the state’s political map boundaries just ten days before the calendar flips to 2024, a crucial election year.
Justices voted 4-3 in favor of Democrats, who filed the lawsuit this fall claiming that 54 out of 99 Assembly districts and 21 out of 33 Senate districts aren’t contiguous- meaning they contain areas that aren’t connected.
The court heard arguments in the case back in November. Republican attorneys argued that there are cases where districts are allowed to be noncontiguous.
Friday’s decision did not come with a timeframe for when the new maps should be in place. The State Election Commission has said that maps should be drawn up and approved by March 15th to be used for the November 2024 general election.
Governor Tony Evers released the following statement shortly after the decision came down:
“It’s clear to me that a Republican-controlled Legislature that has consistently gerrymandered itself into comfortable, partisan majorities for more than a decade is incapable of preparing fair, nonpartisan maps deserving of the people of this state. I agree with the Court’s determination that these maps are unconstitutional because the districts lack contiguity. Wisconsin is a purple state, and I look forward to submitting maps to the Court to consider and review that reflect and represent the makeup of our state.
“And I remain as optimistic as ever that, at long last, the gerrymandered maps Wisconsinites have endured for years might soon be history.”
Attorney General Josh Kaul called it “a great day for democracy in Wisconsin.”
Meanwhile, WisGOP Chair Brian Schimming released this statement:
“Democrats have decided to try elections in the courtroom rather than actually earn voters’ trust at the ballot box. By throwing out these maps, left-wing jurists on the Wisconsin Supreme Court have usurped both their authority and the will of the majority of Wisconsinites who favor keeping existing districts.”
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