MADISON — In a 4-3 ruling, Wisconsin Supreme Court justices ruled the current legislative maps as unconstitutional, and are requiring new maps for 2024 election. The decision was made in the afternoon hours on Friday, Dec. 22.
“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,” Justice Jill Karofksy wrote for the majority.
The liberal-controlled Court ruled the maps are unconstitutional because they are not contiguous, and ordered that new maps must be drawn for the 2024 elections — likely within the next two months. The Court declined to issue a writ quo warranto requiring that State Senators elected in 2022 — including Mark Spreitzer in the 15th Senate District — run for office in 2024 in a special election.
Unless the Republican-controlled Legislature can pass maps that Evers will sign, the Court said it would proceed with adopting remedial maps in time for the 2024 election. Evers vetoed the current maps.
The maps are due by Jan. 12, with supporting arguments due Jan. 22. Reports from the consultants are due by Feb. 1, with responses a week later — meaning the court will likely release new maps sometime between late February or early March.
“I agree with the Court’s determination that these maps are unconstitutional because the districts lack contiguity,” said Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat.
He said it has been clear to him that the Republican-controlled Legislature has consistently gerrymandered itself into comfortable, partisan majorities for more than a decade. He also said the Legislature is incapable of preparing fair, nonpartisan maps deserving of the people of this state.
“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. And I remain as optimistic as ever that, at long last, the gerrymandered maps Wisconsinites have endured for years might soon be history,” Evers said.
Gov. Evers called the state purple, instead of red or blue, because four of the six past presidential elections have been decided by fewer than 23,000 votes. However, Republicans have built large majorities in the Legislature under maps they drew over a decade ago, leading to complete year-to-year control of both the state assembly and senate chambers.
Gov. Evers, represented by Attorney General Kaul, previously filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit before the Wisconsin Supreme Court challenging the state’s current legislative maps. The lawsuit was filed just one day after Justice Janet Protasiewicz took her oath to join the court in August, flipping the court to a 4-3 liberal majority. She had been overwhelmingly elected by voters in April.
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.”
Kaul called the decision “a great day for democracy in Wisconsin,” and said the consequences of the gerrymandered maps have been “immense.”
“For over a decade, our state legislature has been elected in a fundamentally undemocratic manner due to partisan gerrymandering. And the consequences have been immense: policies with strong public support have been blocked by — and often haven’t even received a hearing from — the legislature,” Kaul said. “Today’s decision marks a sea change. It means that our state legislature will once again be truly democratically elected. The power to determine what direction our legislature takes will again reside where it belongs — with Wisconsin voters. This is a landmark ruling for democracy in Wisconsin.”
Spreitzer, D-Beloit, also cheered the decision.
“While I would have welcomed the opportunity to run two years early on a fair map in 2024, the Court declined to order that. I will continue to work hard to represent the 15th Senate District until the next election in 2026,” Spreitzer said.
On the flip side of the decision, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos called the decision “a sad day for our state” and suggested the decision would be appealed, meaning the U.S. Supreme Court would make the final decision.