Wisconsin’s Democratic governor signs his new legislative maps into law after Republicans pass them

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s Democratic Governor Tony Evers on Monday signed into law new legislative district maps that he proposed and that Republicans who control the Legislature adopted to prevent the liberal-controlled Supreme Court from drawing the boundaries.

Democrats hailed the signing as a major political victory in the swing state, where the Legislature has been firmly under Republican control for more than a decade, even though Democrats have won 14 of the past 17 statewide elections.

“When I promised that I wanted fair maps — not maps that are better for one side or the other, including my own — I damn well meant it,” Evers said before signing the maps at the Capitol. . “Wisconsin is not a red state or a blue state – we are a purple state, and I believe our maps should reflect that basic fact.

Democrats are almost certain to gain seats in the state Assembly and Senate under the new maps that will be in place for the November elections. Republicans have operated since 2011 on maps they drew that were recognized as among the most gerrymandered in the country.

Democrats tried unsuccessfully for more than a decade to overturn the maps drawn up by Republicans. But it wasn’t until control of the Supreme Court fell in August following the election of liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz that Democrats found a winning formula.

They filed a lawsuit the day after Protasiewicz joined the court. Republicans argued that Protasiewicz should not hear the lawsuit because she said during her campaign that the maps drawn up by the Republican Party were “rigged” and “unfair.” But she didn’t pull herself back.

Protasiewicz ultimately provided the decisive fourth vote in a December ruling that declared the current maps unconstitutional because not all districts were contiguous, meaning some areas were geographically separated from the rest of the district. The court said it would draw the lines if the Legislature could not approve the maps Evers would sign.

The court accepted maps from the governor, Democratic and Republican lawmakers, as well as three other parties to the redistricting case. Consultants hired by the court determined that the maps submitted by the Legislature and a conservative law firm were “partisan gerrymanders,” leaving the court with four Democratic-drawn maps to choose from.

Facing a mid-March deadline from the state elections commission to post new maps, the Legislature passed the Evers maps on Tuesday. Republicans said they had no better option, while skeptical Democrats voted against the governor’s plans, saying they feared being misled by Republicans.

“Wisconsin will no longer be among the most gerrymandered states in the country,” Assembly Democratic Leader Greta Neubauer said in a statement Monday. Neubauer, who voted against the maps, added that “this is the beginning of a new era in Wisconsin – where the will of the people will once again be the law of the land.”

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said just before the bill passed that “it pains me to say it, but Governor Evers is getting a huge victory today,” and that under the new maps “the legislature for will be up for grabs. .â€

Other Republicans were even grimmer.

“Republicans were not left between a rock and a hard place,” Republican Senator Van Wanggaard said in a statement. ‘It was a matter of choosing whether to be stabbed, shot, poisoned or led to the guillotine. We chose to be stabbed so that we could fight another day.â€

Democrats also expressed concern that the maps would not take effect immediately under the bill. That raises a legal question for special or recall elections that take place before November, as the state Supreme Court has already ruled that the old maps are unconstitutional.

Evers said Monday that “these maps will go into effect immediately upon publication and will be ready for the fall elections.” He also asked the Supreme Court to clarify that the maps will be in effect for any special election ahead of the November election. election.

Under the new maps, there would be 15 incumbents in the General Assembly who would be forced to run against another incumbent, and six such pairs in the Senate. Only one of the Assembly combinations would pit one Democratic incumbent against the other. In the Senate, the only Democratic duo consists of a sitting president who has already decided not to run for office this fall.

Litigation continues in more than a dozen states over U.S. House of Representatives and state legislative districts enacted after the 2020 census.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has also been asked by Democrats to challenge congressional district boundaries. The lawsuit argues that the court’s decision to order new state legislative maps opens the door to challenges to the congressional map. Republicans hold six of the state’s eight congressional seats.