- Most of the new proposed maps of Wisconsin's political boundaries maintain Republican majority control, but the advantage is declining.
- The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the current map drawn by Republicans was unconstitutional, leading to the filing of a new map.
- In Wisconsin, a purple state, Democrats have made recent strides, including winning the governor's office and controlling a majority of the state Supreme Court.
Most newly ordered maps that redraw Wisconsin's political boundaries for the state Legislature will leave Republicans with a majority, but their advantage will decline, according to an independent analysis of the plan. Dew.
7 on Friday, the deadline given by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to propose new maps after the court ruled three weeks ago that the current map drawn by Republicans was unconstitutional. A set of new state Senate and Congressional maps has been submitted.
The ruling will shake up the political landscape in Wisconsin, a battleground state in a presidential election year.
Wisconsin Supreme Court throws out Republican-drawn legislative map and orders new voting boundaries
Wisconsin is a purple state, with four of the past six presidential elections decided by less than 1 percentage point. But Democrats have made strides in recent years, winning gubernatorial elections in 2018 and 2022, controlling a majority of the state Supreme Court and setting the stage for redistricting decisions.
Wisconsin State Capitol (December 31, 2020, Madison, Wisconsin) Plan Analysis. (AP Photo/Molly Gash, File)
Under legislative maps first enacted by Republicans in 2011 and then re-enacted with minor changes in 2022, Republicans have tightened their control over the Legislature, with Gov. Tony Evers and Democratic Reps. has largely blocked major policy initiatives by the United States.
Republicans currently hold a 22-11 supermajority in the Senate and a 64-35 near-supermajority in the Assembly. A supermajority in both chambers would override Evers' veto. He has already issued more vetoes than any governor in Wisconsin history.
In ordering the new maps, the Supreme Court said the current legislative boundaries are not contiguous, resulting in districts with divided land in violation of the state constitution. The court ordered a new map to include the contiguous districts, but also said the map must not favor one party over the other.
The Dec. 22 ruling begins a mad dash to meet a March 15 deadline set by the state Board of Elections to set new boundaries for the state's August primary. Candidates must submit nomination documents signed by residents of their constituencies by June 1st.
Following Friday's map submission, two consultants hired by the Supreme Court will analyze the proposal and issue a report by Feb. 1.
Consultants can also ignore all the maps submitted last week and propose their own plans. Alternatively, you can accept the submitted map as is, with or without changes. The Supreme Court said it would enact the map unless Congress passes a plan signed by Evers, a highly unlikely scenario.
In addition to both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, the conservative Wisconsin law firm Evers, the liberal law firm that brought the redistricting lawsuit, a group of math professors, and a redistricting consultant filed the new maps on Friday.
“We are a purple state, and our maps should reflect that basic fact,” Evers said in a statement. “I have always promised to fight for fair maps, not maps that favor one party or the other, and that is what I am proud to uphold with the maps I submit.”
John D. Johnson, a research fellow at Marquette University School of Law, used statistical models to analyze maps to predict the outcome of the 2022 state elections in the newly proposed districts. did. Voter turnout is expected to be even higher this year due to various Senate seats being up for election and the presidential election.
Still, the analysis suggests that the congressional map would maintain a Republican majority ranging from just one seat to the current 29-seat margin.
The 50-49 Republican majority map was filed by Law Forward, a Madison-based law firm that represents Democratic voters who filed the lawsuit. A map that would maintain the current 64-35 split was proposed by Republican lawmakers.
Wisconsin consultant hired to redraw legal map drawn by Republicans following court ruling
Because Republicans only addressed adjacency issues in their maps, there were fewer boundary changes than other proposals.
According to Johnson's analysis, five of the seven bills introduced in the Senate would maintain a Republican majority. It would range from one seat under Evers and Roe Forward's plan to 13 seats under the Republican plan.
The map proposed by Senate Democrats and redistricting consultants who intervened in the case would give Democrats a narrow majority of three seats or one.
Republicans have indicated they plan to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, alleging due process violations, but it's unclear when that will happen.
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said in her appeal that the case should be heard by liberal judge Janet Protasiewicz, who said during her candidacy that the current maps were “rigged” and “unfair.” He indicated that he plans to argue that there was no such thing. Her vote determined the court's order to create a new map.
