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.”
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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.
My statement regarding the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision in Clarke v. WEC. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ewSSLe6yAW
— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) December 22, 2023
Democratic Legislative Campaign Comittee President Heather Williams issued her own statement on the win, calling Wisconsin “one of the worst gerrymandered states in the country” and adding that she applauds “the Wisconsin Supreme Court for finding these maps unconstitutional and urge that the next set of maps fairly reflect communities across the state.”
“Make no mistake: this decision is a game-changer,” she said.
According to Williams, “Wisconsin remains a top priority for the DLCC in 2024, and we’re already hard at work building the campaigns that will break Republicans’ supermajority and win back power for Democrats next fall.”
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The state’s congressional delegation is split, with 7 Republicans and 3 Democrats, while the governor is a member of the Democratic Party. At the same time, Republicans control both chambers of the state legislature, painting the picture of a truly purple state that either party can make gains in.
Wisconsin is also expected to be one of the handful of states that decide the 2024 presidential election.
