New Wisconsin legislative maps, court rules in redistricting case

MADISON, Wis. - The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Republican-drawn legislative maps on Friday and ordered that new district boundary lines be drawn as Democrats had urged in a redistricting case they hope will weaken GOP majorities.

The ruling comes less than a year before the 2024 election in a battleground state where four of the six past presidential elections have been decided by fewer than 23,000 votes, and Republicans have built large majorities in the Legislature under maps they drew over a decade ago.

The court ruled 4-3 in favor of Democrats who argued that the legislative maps are unconstitutional because districts drawn aren't contiguous. They also argued that the Supreme Court violated the separation of powers doctrine.

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The lawsuit was filed a day after the court's majority flipped to 4-3 liberal control in August. That's when Justice Janet Protasiewicz joined the court after her April election victory.

Protasiewicz called the GOP-drawn maps "unfair" and "rigged" during her campaign, leading Republicans to threaten to impeach her before she had even heard a case. She sided with the other liberal justices in striking down the current maps.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who had threatened impeachment the loudest, backed off on Wednesday and said even if she ruled in favor of throwing out the maps, impeachment was "super unlikely."

The ruling comes one month after the court heard oral arguments in the case in November. The state elections commission has said maps must be in place by March 15 if the new districts are to be in play for the 2024 election.

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Democrats argued for having all 132 lawmakers stand for election under the new maps, including half of the members of the state Senate who are midway through their four-year terms. The Legislature argued that no new maps should be enacted any sooner than the 2026 election.

Democrats argued in Wisconsin that the majority of current legislative districts – 54 out of 99 in the Assembly and 21 out of 33 in the Senate – violate the state constitution’s contiguity requirement.

Wisconsin’s redistricting laws, backed up by state and federal court rulings over the past 50 years, have permitted districts under certain circumstances to be noncontiguous, attorneys for the Legislature argued. Even if the court decided to address the issue, it could only affect alleged areas where districts aren’t contiguous and not upend existing district lines, Republicans argued.

Democrats also argued that the Supreme Court violated the separation of powers doctrine when it adopted the Republican-drawn map that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers had previously vetoed, "improperly seizing powers for itself the Constitution assigns to other branches."

The legislative electoral maps drawn by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2011 cemented the party’s majorities, which now stand at 64-35 in the Assembly and a 22-11 supermajority in the Senate.

Since taking the majority in 2011, Republicans have enacted a wide range of conservative priorities. They have all but eliminated collective bargaining for public workers, and since 2019 they’ve been a block on Evers’ agenda, firing Evers appointees and threatening impeachment of Protasiewicz and the state’s elections leader.

Republicans are also just two seats short of a supermajority that would allow them to overturn Evers’ vetoes.

Litigation is ongoing in more than dozen states over U.S. House and state legislative districts enacted after the 2020 census.

Reaction

Gov. Tony Evers:

"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."

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester):

"I said this was going to happen earlier this week. The case was pre-decided before it was even brought. Sad day for our state when the State Supreme Court just said last year that the existing lines are constitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court will have the last word. "

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul:

"Today is a great day for democracy in Wisconsin."

"For over a decade, our state legislature has been elected in a fundamentally undemocratic manner due to partisan gerrymandering. And the consequences have been immense: policies with strong public support have been blocked by—and often haven’t even received a hearing from—the legislature."

"Today’s decision marks a sea change. It means that our state legislature will once again be truly democratically elected. The power to determine what direction our legislature takes will again reside where it belongs—with Wisconsin voters. This is a landmark ruling for democracy in Wisconsin."

State Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison):

"We as elected officials must protect our democracy and uphold the will of the people. Voters should choose their elected officials, not the other way around. I am glad to see the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling in favor of the people – that the current gerrymandered maps are unconstitutional and should be overturned. 

"The Legislature does not reflect the values and voices of Wisconsinites. I applaud the state Supreme Court’s decision and look forward to an election cycle where all Wisconsinites can rightly choose their representatives in the State Capitol."

State Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee):

"After years of craven partisanship in our state’s highest court, today is the start of restoring balance, order, and the rule of law. I appreciate their preference for the legislature to work together on remedial maps. I stand ready to work with legislative Republicans on the drafting of maps that are constitutional and fair.

"We don’t yet know what the final maps will look like, but one thing is clear - the days of unchecked one-party rule in a 50-50 state like Wisconsin are about to be over, and that is truly something to celebrate."

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder:

"It is way past time to end illegitimate minority rule in Wisconsin, and this decision is a powerful step toward fair representation.

"For more than a decade, Wisconsinites have been forced to live under unpopular policies enacted by artificial Republican legislative majorities, despite the fact that Democrats saw increasing—and sometimes majority—statewide support. Yet, Wisconsinites never gave up. They organized. They voted. They demonstrated that in order to protect democracy, we must DO democracy.

"And that tenacity is forging a new chapter for the state, moving out from the shadow of Scott Walker’s and Robin Vos’ anti-democratic legacy of voter suppression and onto the path toward a truly representative democracy. Make no mistake: We’ve got a long way to go. But Wisconsin proves that when the people participate, over time, states that may seem unreachable in the fight for fairness today, could indeed become beacons of justice in the years to come. Wisconsin is now on that path."

A Better Wisconsin Together Executive Director Chris Walloch:

"This ruling affirms that the current gerrymandered legislative maps do not meet the constitutional standards required to guarantee an accurate and representative reflection of the diverse voices across Wisconsin.

"Voters should pick our leaders, not the other way around. Wisconsin’s current maps do not reflect that, and were drawn up by right-wing politicians in a way that only benefits their own political agenda. This means that Wisconsin’s partisan gerrymander is causing real and tangible harm to our communities.

"These unconstitutional maps reflect a long history of partisan map drawing that enables right-wing politicians to rig the rules for their own benefit, while the issues Wisconsin voters care about have gone unaddressed. We are appreciative of the court majority’s willingness to give fair maps a fair shot in Wisconsin."

WisGOP Chairman Brian Schimming:

"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."

Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty President Rick Esenberg:

"Petitioners used a trojan horse – municipal islands that have existed for decades, affect very few voters and could not be the cause of any alleged partisan bias, to upend maps that the Court approved in 2022. We now face a truncated process in which the parties must submit new maps and comment on those submitted by others and address an undefined standard called 'partisan fairness.' This is an unusual episode but WILL will strive to ensure that whatever emerges from the process will both comport with the law and Wisconsin’s political geography, as the Constitution requires, rather than a gerrymander for a partisan outcome."