For years, Republicans in Wisconsin have been playing games with the State's legislative district maps to maximize their power and diminish Dems' power in the state legislature by obvious gerrymandering. They've been overruled by the State Supreme Court, which recently became majority Dem by a statewide popular vote. From the Associated Press:
"At issue in battleground Wisconsin are the boundaries for state Assembly and Senate districts in a purple state where Republicans have held a firm grip on control of the Legislature even as Democrats have notched significant statewide wins.
Republicans drew the lines in 2011 and Democratic court challenges have since failed to overturn them, until now. Republican maps adopted in 2022 by the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court used the 2011 map as a template and kept largely the same lines in place.
The Democrats’ latest lawsuit alleged the lines drawn by Republicans were unconstitutional because not all of the districts were contiguous, meaning some areas were disconnected from the rest of the district. The Wisconsin Supreme Court in December agreed and ordered new maps to be drawn in time for the November election." (our emphasis)
The article goes on to show how Republicans have drawn legislative district lines to distort their majorities in the state Assembly and Senate, far out of proportion to the voting demographics in the purple state. Independent consultants hired by the Court reported that the maps drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature were clearly gerrymandered unfairly. Responses to their report are due February 8. The Republicans will fight the order to abide by new maps, since their illegitimate majorities in the state legislature will be threatened. Stay tuned.
