The Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted a redistricting proposal offered by Governor Tony Evers, a move less favorable to Republicans.
The ruling was issued on a razor-thin margin, as swing Justice Brian Hagedorn wrote the opinion in the 4 to 3 decision. According to the decision, the justices selected the map by Evers because it proposed “the map with the least change.”
“No maps from any other party perform nearly as well as the Governor’s on core retention,” Hagedorn explained.
Governor Evers celebrated the decision:
“The maps I submitted to the Court that were selected today are a vast improvement from the gerrymandered maps Wisconsin has had for the last decade and the even more gerrymandered Republican maps that I vetoed last year. We still have a long way to go, and I will never stop fighting for nonpartisan redistricting as long as I’m the governor of this great state.”
However, many Republicans argued the move was not fair, as attorneys for the Republicans explained that they plan to appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Late last year, in response to litigation brought by WILL, the Court committed to a ‘least changes’ approach to redistricting and rejected activist arguments that would redraw Wisconsin’s maps based on partisan considerations, such as attempting to compensate for the geographic concentration of Democratic voters. Neither the Governor’s proposed maps nor those submitted by any other party were allowed to be drawn in order to maximize a party’s electoral prospects. While we have concerns with the Court’s treatment of the Voting Rights Act, we’ll leave it to partisans to score the political advantages and disadvantages of the court-selected maps,” said Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty President and General Counsel, Rick Esenberg
– – –
Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Wisconsin Daily Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Tony Evers” by Governor Tony Evers. Background Photo “Wisconsin State Capitol” by Library of Congress.
