Maps Challenges in Wisconsin and Around the Country Could be Coming

Monday, June 12th, 2023 -- 10:01 AM

(WMTV) The 2022 elections marked the first using new voting districts drawn from updated census data. Those districts typically last for a decade, but they could be short-lived in some states.

Court challenges could force lawmakers or special commissions to draw yet another set of maps before the 2024 elections for representatives in Congress and state capitols. That means voters who were just shifted into new U.S. House or state legislative districts could be grouped with different communities when they go to vote the next time. Though there is no current redistricting challenge in Wisconsin, there could be by the end of the summer.

That could open the potential for new districts before the 2024 elections. Voters in April elected a new Democrat-backed judge to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, ensuring that liberals will take over majority control when Judge Janet Protasiewicz officially joins the court in August. Protasiewicz said during the campaign that she thought the current maps were “rigged” and she wanted to revisit them.

That’s raised hopes among Democrats that the high court could be more receptive to a lawsuit alleging that the current state legislative and congressional districts provide an unfair advantage for Republicans.

Though the current districts were approved by the court, they were modeled after previous Republican-drawn districts that gave the GOP a strong edge over the past decade. Jeff Mandell, a Madison attorney, said he and others opposed to the maps plan to file a legal challenge shortly after Protasiewicz joins the court. “We think the people of Wisconsin deserve a chance for this new court to take a fresh look at this issue,” Mandell said.

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