Wisconsin’s liberal-majority Supreme Court on Friday ordered state lawmakers to redraw the legislative map that has allowed Republicans to control the Legislature in the Midwestern swing state since 2011.
In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that legislative districts in the Badger State must consist of “contiguous territories” and said that if the GOP-controlled Legislature could not come up with a new map that Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers would sign into law, the restoration map would drawn by the parties to the lawsuit and evaluated by the consultant appointed by the court will be adopted.
The court found that “at least 50 of the 99 assembly districts and at least 20 of the 33 Senate districts” contained separate, separate territories in violation of Wisconsin’s constitutional requirement for legislative districts.
“We therefore enjoin the Wisconsin Elections Commission from using the current map in all future elections, therefore, 51 reformed maps must be adopted before the 2024 election,” the court wrote.
Wisconsin state capitol, in Madison. AP County map for the State of Wisconsin. AP
Evers praised the court’s decision and accused the GOP-controlled state legislature of being “incapable” of drawing a new nonpartisan map.
“It is clear to me that a Republican-controlled Legislature that has consistently established itself as a comfortable partisan majority for over a decade is incapable of providing a fair and impartial map to the people of this state,” Evers said in a statement.
“Wisconsin is a purple state, and I look forward to submitting a map to the Court to consider and review that reflects and represents the makeup of our state. And I remain as optimistic as ever that, finally, the map that the people of Wisconsin have walked by for so many years may soon be history,” he added.
The court found that “at least 50 of the 99 assembly districts and at least 20 of the 33 Senate districts” contained separate, separate territories in violation of Wisconsin’s constitutional requirement for legislative districts. Reuters
Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos suggested that the case would be appealed to the US Supreme Court, calling Friday’s decision a “sad day” for Wisconsin.
“I said this would happen early this week. The case was decided before it was brought,” Vos tweeted. “It’s a sad day for Wisconsin when the state supreme court just said last year that the existing lines are constitutional.”
“Fortunately, the US Supreme Court will have the last word,” he added.
Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis., on Wednesday, Dec. 20, 2023. AP
The lawsuit was brought to court a day after liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz was elected to the court in April, ending 15 years of conservative control.
Protasiewicz has signaled on the campaign trail that he would favor redrawing the current maps, calling them “rigged” and “unfair” — statements that Republicans pounced on before the case went to trial, arguing that he should recuse himself and threatening impeachment.
Protasiewicz sided with the majority Friday.
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz hears arguments during a redistricting hearing at the Wisconsin State Capitol Building in Madison, Wis., on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. AP
The new map from the parties involved in the lawsuit will be submitted to the court by January 12, and the assessment by the consultant must be submitted by February 1, which means the final version could be adopted by the end of February or the beginning of March if The Legislature and Evers couldn’t reach an agreement before then.
The state election commission said the map must be ready by March 15 if the new districts are to be used for the 2024 election, according to the Associated Press.
Four of the past six presidential elections have been decided by fewer than 23,000 votes in Wisconsin.
The state narrowly went to Joe Biden in 2020 – by a margin of 0.6 percentage points – and Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin by a margin of 0.7 percentage points in 2016.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
