Governor Evers Files Motion With State Supreme Court Regarding Legislative District Boundary Map

Friday, April 1st, 2022 -- 11:00 AM

(AP) Gov. Tony Evers has filed a motion with the state Supreme Court urging the justices to affirm his legislative district boundary map that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected.

The state Supreme Court adopted Evers’ map in March, choosing his plan over Republican lawmakers’ proposal. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected Evers’ map on March 23 after the GOP complained it increased the number of Assembly districts with a majority of Black and Hispanic voters from six to seven in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.

The high court kicked the case back to the state justices. The Supreme Court says the state’s high court failed to consider whether a “race-neutral alternative that did not add a seventh majority-black district would deny black voters equal political opportunity.” Evers argued in his motion Thursday that seven minority districts are justified because six would dilute their votes.

The court previously concurred with his argument that the additional Black-majority district is justified because the U.S. Census found the Black population grew by 4.8% statewide while the white population fell 3.4%.

The Legislature’s map reduced the number of Black-majority districts to five. While the U.S. justices threw out voting maps the Wisconsin Supreme Court had selected for the State Assembly and Senate, they left in place the state congressional map.

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