Lawsuit against legislative maps filed at Wisconsin Supreme Court
One day after control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to a liberal-leaning majority, voting rights groups filed a lawsuit seeking to have the state’s legislative maps declared unconstitutional for favoring Republicans.
The lawsuit, filed by the Wisconsin progressive law firm Law Forward, the Election Law Clinic at Harvard Law School, the Campaign Legal Center and two Madison-based law firms on behalf of 19 Wisconsin voters, argues that the legislative maps have skewed Wisconsin’s elections toward Republicans since 2012 by dividing communities and cramming Democratic voters into as few districts as possible. The suit does not challenge the state’s congressional maps.
“The extreme partisan gerrymander that has changed everything in Wisconsin for more than 10 years now, it’s an affront against democracy and a violation of our state constitution,” Law Forward board president Jeff Mandell said at a Wednesday media briefing. “Every day that it continues is a violation of the most fundamental rights of every Wisconsinite. It must be ended.”
Wisconsin’s legislative maps are considered one of the worst partisan gerrymanders in the country, allowing Republicans to hold near-super majorities in both legislative houses despite the state’s 50-50 political divide.
“Since 2012, even when Democrats have won as much as 53% of the statewide vote, they have held no more than 39 of the 99 Assembly seats,” the lawsuit states. “In the same period, even when Republicans have won as little as 44.8% of the statewide vote, they have held no fewer than 60 of the 99 Assembly seats. As intended by the 2011 partisan gerrymander, voting for state legislative districts has no effect on political party control of the state legislature and, therefore, constrains the ability of the people of the State of Wisconsin to effect legislative outcomes by electing representatives of their choice who reflect their preferred policies.”
https://wisconsinexaminer.com/2023/08/02/lawsuit-against-legislative-maps-filed-at-wisconsin-supreme-court/
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