The Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Republican-drawn legislative maps in a 4-3 ruling Friday less than a year out from the 2024 election.
The court ruled in favor of liberal-leaning firm Law Forward, which argued the legislative maps are unconstitutional because districts are not contiguous, meaning all parts of a voting district have to physically be in contact.
Liberal justices Jill Karofsky, Janet Protasiewicz, Ann Walsh Bradley and Rebbeca Dallet ruled in favor of redistricting, while conservative justices Annette Ziegler, Rebecca Bradley and Brian Hagedorn dissented.
Several law firms, including Law Forward, the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, Campaign Legal Center and Arnold & Porter, filed the lawsuit a day after the court’s majority flipped to liberal control when Protasiewciz won in August.
The court ruled new maps must be redrawn by August 2024 and senate seats in odd years will remain in place until 2026. The court said it would step in to adopt new maps if the Republican-controlled state Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers did not pass them.
During her campaign, Protasiewciz called the GOP-drawn maps “rigged " and "unfair " and also received $10 million from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Republican lawmakers have made impeachment threats against Protasiewicz and argued she should recuse herself from judging redistricting cases.
But Protasiewicz declined to recuse herself from two redistricting lawsuits in October, asserting there was no precedent for a Wisconsin judge to recuse themselves solely because a political party contributed to their campaign.
Protasiewicz has promised to recuse herself from cases brought forth by the Democratic Party.
“I tell you what my values are because I think the Supreme Court candidates should share with the community and the electorate what their values are,” Protasiewicz said in her statement.
Neither lawsuit challenging the maps were introduced by the Democratic Party.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who initially made impeachment threats, has since steered away from them. Vos told the Associated Press impeachment was “super unlikely” in an interview Wednesday.
The Republican-controlled Legislature has held power over legislative electoral maps since 2011. Currently, Republicans are two seats short of a supermajority that would allow them to overturn Evers’ vetoes.
This is a developing story.
Ava Menkes is the managing editor at The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as the state news editor. She has covered multiple stories about the upcoming election, healthcare and campus, and written in-depth about rural issues, legislative maps and youth voter turnout. She will be an incoming intern with Wisconsin Watch. Follow her on Twitter at @AvaMenkes.
