State Republicans Ask News Supreme Court Judge to Recuse Herself From Case Regarding State's Congressional Maps

Wednesday, January 31st, 2024 -- 8:00 AM

(Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) Republican members of Congress and GOP lawmakers are asking liberal Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz to step away from deciding whether to reconsider the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2024 election.

According to Molly Beck with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a Democratic law firm is asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider the map, arguing a redistricting decision last month calls into question the battleground state’s current district lines.

Elias Law Group, chaired by Marc Elias, who has led previous voting access lawsuits in Wisconsin and across the country, filed the motion to revisit Wisconsin’s congressional district lines earlier this month.

The group aims to have a new map in place for the 2024 election, though those plans likely face a tight deadline with under 11 months to go before the November election.

On Monday, five of the six GOP members in the state's congressional delegation and Republican legislative leaders filed a motion seeking Protasiewicz's recusal from deciding whether to side with Elias because of the justice's criticism of current electoral maps during her 2023 campaign.

They argue the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires her recusal. It's unlikely Protasiewicz will agree to step away from the case.

In October, Protasiewicz rejected calls from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu to recuse herself from lawsuits before the court involving the state's legislative maps including the case during which the court ordered new legislative maps ahead of the 2024 election.

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