Lawsuit Filed to Overturn Wisconsin's Legislative Maps

Thursday, August 3rd, 2023 -- 11:01 AM

(By Shawn Johnson, Wisconsin Public Radio) A coalition led by progressive law firms and Democratic voters has filed a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn the state's Republican-drawn legislative maps, a move that comes one day after liberals took control of the court for the first time in 15 years.

According to Shawn Johnson with the Wisconsin Public Radio, the lawsuit argues the state's current legislative district lines, drawn originally by Republicans in 2011 and updated in 2021, violate the Wisconsin Constitution.

It asks the court to declare them invalid and eventually decide on new maps. Should plaintiffs succeed, every state senator would have to run for election under new districts in 2024, effectively resetting a chamber where Republicans currently hold a veto-proof two-thirds majority that gives them the power to impose their legislative will on Democrats.

Attorney Jeff Mandell, a partner at the law firm Stafford Rosenbaum and president of the board for the liberal group Law Forward, said the current legislative map has distorted the state for more than a decade, calling it an affront to democracy.

"Every day that it continues is a violation of the most fundamental rights of every Wisconsinite," Mandell said. "It must be ended as soon as possible." A challenge to Wisconsin's legislative maps was widely expected after Justice Janet Protasiewicz won her race in April.

During her campaign for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, Protasiewicz repeatedly called the legislative maps "rigged," saying she hoped the court would get a chance to reconsider the maps.

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