MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers on Jan. 12 submitted fair maps to the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the Court to consider in ongoing redistricting litigation. The governor’s proposed maps for the districts of the Wisconsin State Legislature submitted are responsive to the will of the people, avoid partisan bias, and increase the number of competitive legislative seats. Additional details on the governor’s submitted maps are available below. 

“Wisconsinites don’t want Republican or Democrat maps because Wisconsin isn’t a red or blue state — we’re a purple state, and our maps should reflect that basic fact. I’ve always promised I’d fight for fair maps — not maps that favor one political party or another — and that’s a promise I’m proud to keep with the maps I’m submitting today,” said Gov. Evers. 

Gov. Evers, represented by Attorney General Josh Kaul, previously filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit before the Wisconsin Supreme Court challenging the state’s current legislative maps. Gov. Evers and Attorney General Kaul later filed a brief in the same lawsuit asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to declare Wisconsin’s legislative maps unconstitutional and institute new maps that avoid the partisan bias that has “infected” Wisconsin’s legislative maps “to the detriment of Wisconsin’s democracy.”

In a December ruling in Clarke v. WEC, the Wisconsin Supreme Court held Wisconsin’s state legislative maps were unconstitutionally noncontiguous. In so doing, the Court laid out a process for litigation parties to propose maps and indicated it will consider several criteria in reviewing and evaluating submitted remedial maps, including:

●  Whether the maps comply with population equality requirements; 

●  Whether districts conform to Article IV of the Wisconsin Constitution, which requires districts to be compact and contiguous; 

●  Whether the maps comply with federal law; 

●  The degree of municipal splits and how maps preserve communities of interest; and 

●  Whether maps have a partisan bias so the Court can avoid “selecting remedial maps designed to advantage one political party over another.” 

Gov. Evers submitted remedial maps under the process set out by the Court that not only meet the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s requirements but also perform impressively under the Court’s metrics, his office said.