The November 2023 election and swearing-in of Justice Janet Protasiewicz established a 4-3 Liberal majority in the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years. One day later, a case was filed with the potential to crucially impact Wisconsin politics for the foreseeable future.
The lawsuit, filed by the Law Forward law firm, labels the current Wisconsin district map as unconstitutional– a violation of the rules of the separation of powers. The petition claims that “Fifty-five of the state’s 99 Assembly districts and 21 of 33 in the Senate contain “disconnected pieces of territory.”
Outlined in purple, a map of Wisconsin’s 47th Assembly District
The legislative maps currently in place are the handiwork of Republican legislative members, yet vetoed by Democratic Governor Tony Evers. The lawsuit argues that by enforcing a map only agreed upon by Republican lawmakers, the state is breaching the balance of powers usually distributed constitutionally among the three branches.
Law Forward is a progressive, left-leaning firm based out of Madison that defines their mission as “exist[ing] to protect democracy.” Their lawyers brought the case directly to the State Supreme Court, bypassing all other courts and demanding a redrawing of the state’s legislative maps.
As a “swing state,” Wisconsin has strong leverage in determining nationwide election results. Districts favoring Republicans create an unequal advantage for right wing candidates in elections at both the state and federal level. The Law Forward lawyers argue that the Wisconsin legislative map is heavily gerrymandered to favor the Republican party.
Gerrymandering in any state causes the disenfranchisement of voters, preventing citizens’ rights to equal and fair elections. Although many have grown cynical of politics and the unmet promises of elected officials, voting remains a vital part of exercising one’s rights as an American citizen. Maps that disproportionately benefit any political party are a threat to democracy.
Three hours of oral arguments are heard on December 22, 2023, with much focus on the definition of the word “contiguous” and other minute details found in the Wisconsin state constitution regarding legislative maps.
The result: the Supreme Court voted in a 4-3 decision to order a compromised redistricting from the Republican-controlled state legislature. If a consensus is not reached with Governor Evers by March 15, 2024, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will replace the maps themselves.
According to Hope Karnopp of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Republican lawmakers are likely to appeal the case to the United States Supreme Court” in hopes that the state supreme court’s decision might be reconsidered.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos claimed in a statement that Republican assembly members will “pursue all federal issues arising out of the redistricting litigation at the U.S. Supreme Court.”
On Tuesday, January 30th, Governor Evers once again vetoed the Republican legislature’s redistricting proposal, solidifying the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s authority in this case. The Supreme Court will now likely review submitted map proposals created by unbiased consultants to ensure the maps are equal for both parties.
“This report plainly affirms for Wisconsinites what we’ve said all along: the maps Republicans submitted to the Wisconsin Supreme Court are nothing more than a partisan gerrymander,” Governor Evers asserted in a statement released Tuesday. “The days of Wisconsinites living under some of the most gerrymandered maps in the country are numbered.”
