Wisconsin Supreme Court Adopts Criteria for Redistricting in WILL Lawsuit
Court will adopt maps without considering partisanship, will seek “least changes”
The News: The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an opinion in Johnson v. WEC, a Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) redistricting case, that adopts criteria for the redistricting process. The decision from the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts WILL’s proposal that the Court not consider political partisanship when approving new legislative districts, and will seek to make the “least changes” from the current maps.
The Quote: WILL Deputy Counsel, Anthony LoCoco, said, “Today’s decision recognizes the proper role of the judiciary in the redistricting process. As the United States Supreme Court has recognized, there is no legal standard by which a court could determine what projected political outcome is “fair.” We are pleased that the Court agreed with our arguments that political partisanship is not an appropriate factor to consider when redrawing district maps and that it should follow a least-changes approach in accomplishing its task.”
In November, the legislature voted to approve maps and sent them to Governor Evers. But Evers, unsurprisingly, quickly vetoed the maps. This moved the process to the Wisconsin Supreme Court where the court had to establish criteria for adopting new maps.
WILL made arguments that the Court should not consider political partisanship and should make the “least changes” when adopting new maps. In the split decision issued Tuesday, a majority on the Court agreed with WILL.
What Happens Next? The parties will provide proposed maps for the Court to consider. The Court has stated it may schedule a hearing for January 2022.
Read More:
- Supreme Court Decision, November 30, 2021
- Wisconsin Supreme Court Order Granting Original Action, September 22, 2021
- Petition for Original Action, August 23, 2021
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- Redistricting Update - Wisconsin Elections Commission - Apr 18th, 2022
- Gov. Evers Releases Statement Reacting to Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision Regarding Redistricting - Gov. Tony Evers - Apr 15th, 2022
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- Data Wonk: State’s Gerrymander Could Last Forever - Bruce Thompson - Mar 30th, 2022
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- Redistricting Case Returns to State Supreme Court - Shawn Johnson - Mar 25th, 2022
- Gov. Evers Releases Statement on U.S. Supreme Court Decision Regarding Redistricting - Gov. Tony Evers - Mar 23rd, 2022
Read more about Gerrymandering of Legislative Districts here
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