Wisconsin Supreme Court rules GOP-drawn legislative map unconstitutional in big win for Dems
by Julia Johnson, Politics Reporter
December 22, 2023 05:38 PM
Wisconsin's Supreme Court decided Friday that the Republican-submitted legislative maps must be redrawn as they don't consist of contiguous territory.
After the 4-3 decision, Justice Jill J. Karofsky wrote on behalf of the majority, detailing that “Because the current state legislative districts contain separate, detached territory and therefore violate the constitution’s contiguity requirements, we enjoin the Wisconsin Elections Commission from using the current legislative maps in future elections."
The court's decision to reject the maps in the pivotal swing state comes after Democrats scored a win in the state supreme court's off-year election to determine its majority. In April, liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz defeated conservative former state Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, ensuring a liberal majority for the first time in 15 years.
The petition over the maps, which was brought on the behalf of 19 Wisconsin voters requested new versions of the maps to be drawn by March, including those for Assembly and Senate seats. It also asked that elections for each of the state legislature seats to take place in 2024.
Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) applauded the decision, saying the Republican-controlled state legislature has "consistently gerrymandered" to ensure "comfortable" majorities. "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," he said.
more
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/wisconsin-supreme-court-republican-map-unconstitutional
