You would see Democrats gain seats in nearly every scenario presented to the Wisconsin Supreme Court after seven groups turned in their preferred versions of the state’s legislative boundaries.
The redrawing of the maps was prompted by a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision last month that said the current maps were unconstitutional. The heart of the matter is the legislative “islands” outlined in the Republican-drawn and Governor Tony Evers-drawn maps. That breaks up the contiguous nature of the maps, potentially breaking up municipalities and county boundaries. At the time, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said he would ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in, but whether the nation’s high court will weigh in has yet to be seen.
In the meantime, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will review seven different proposals. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, only the option submitted by Republican legislative leaders would not result in seeing their majorities shrink. Maps drawn by Governor Tony Evers, Senate Democrats, Law Forward, Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, Petering (FastMap), and the Wright Petitioners would see the majorities in both chambers shrink. Marquette University Law School Lubar Center research fellow John Johnson analyzed the proposals based on population deviation, majority-minority districts, contiguity, geographic splits, compactness, and partisan balance.
The proposed maps align with what Rep. Joel Kitchens said after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled on them last month, saying it was primarily a political decision.
Heck hoped that by redrawing the maps, many of the issues that exist with the current ones are resolved.
Now that the proposals are submitted, two consultants hired by the Wisconsin Supreme Court are expected to review them and give a report on their thoughts by February 1st.