The Wisconsin Supreme Court Strikes A 4-3 Blow For Democracy

Republicans Are Freaking Out

Before we get into Friday’s Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling, let’s look at the most recent statewide elections:

• 2020 presidential election

Democrat Joe Biden- 1,630,866 (49.45)

Republican Donald Trump- 1,610,184 (48.82%)

• 2022 Senate election:

Republican Ron Johnson- 1,337,185 (50.41%)

Democrat Mandela Barnes- 1,310,467 (49.41%)

• 2022 gubernatorial election:

Democrat Tony Evers- 1,358,774 (51.2%)

Republican Tim Michels- 1,268,535 (47.8%)

• 2023 Supreme Court election:

progressive Janet Protasiewicz- 1,021,822 (55.4%)

reactionary Daniel Kelly- 818,391 (44.4%)

Now contrast that with the make-up of the intricately gerrymandered state legislature:

• Senate-

22 Republicans (66.67%)

11 Democrats (33.33%)

• Assembly-

64 Republicans (64.65%)

35 Democrats (35.35%)

The congressional map is also extremely gerrymandered. There are 8 seats. You would expect a 50-50 state like Wisconsin would have 4 Democrats and 4 Republicans. Instead, there are 2 Democrats and 6 Republicans. That still needs to be dealt with. Friday’s ruling was just about the state legislature.

Writing for the Milwaukee Journel Sentinel, Molly Beck and Jessie Opoien reported that the court “ordered the Republican-controlled state Legislature to draw new legislative boundaries ahead of the 2024 election, arguing their GOP advantage is unconstitutional— delivering a long-sought win for Democrats who have stayed deep in the Legislature's minority for more than a decade.” It was a 4-3 decision that also made clear that if the legislature and the governor don’t agree on a new map, the court will have it done for them. Republicans will appeal the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Wisconsin is a purple state, and I look forward to submitting maps to the Court to consider and review that reflect and represent the makeup of our state," Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement. Law Forward, a Madison-based liberal-leaning law firm focused on voting issues, brought the legal challenge straight to the Supreme Court in August— bypassing lower courts in an expedited effort to put new maps in place before the fall.

The court ruled 4-3 along ideological lines in favor of Democratic petitioners who argued the legislative maps must be thrown out because some districts' boundaries are not contiguous.

"We conclude that the current legislative maps contain districts that are not composed of 'contiguous territory' and therefore violate the Wisconsin Constitution," Supreme Court Justice Jill Karofsky, of the court's liberal wing, wrote for the majority.

The court's newest justice, Janet Protasiewicz, who is a liberal, joined her colleagues in the majority— a move made after Vos had threatened to initiate impeachment proceedings if Protasiewicz took that route. Vos recently backed off such threats, however.

“This deal was sealed on election night,” Chief Justice Annette Ziegler wrote in a dissenting opinion, referring to Protasiewicz's election in April, which flipped the court's ideological majority to liberal. She accused the court’s liberal majority of imposing “their will on the entire Assembly and half the Senate.”

Protasiewicz rejected calls from GOP legislative leaders to recuse herself from the lawsuit after referring to the state's electoral maps on the campaign trail as “rigged.” Protasiewicz was elected in April with an 11-point margin.

…If the GOP-controlled state Legislature and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers fail to pass new legislative boundaries, the court ruled it will consider the partisan makeup of the new map if they are forced to step in.

“We do not have free license to enact maps that privilege one political party over another,” Karofsky wrote in the majority opinion.

Dan Lenz, an attorney for petitioners, said the ruling “is a victory for a representative democracy in the state of Wisconsin.”

In a statement, Sen Chris Larson noted that “Christmas came early for our Wisconsin Democracy. Today’s decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court is a win for every disenfranchised voter who for too long has had to suffer the policies of an illegitimate far-right majority in our legislature. After years of craven partisanship in our state’s highest court, today is the start of restoring balance, order, and the rule of law. I appreciate their preference for the legislature to work together on remedial maps. I stand ready to work with legislative Republicans on the drafting of maps that are constitutional and fair. We don’t yet know what the final maps will look like, but one thing is clear— the days of unchecked one-party rule in a 50-50 state like Wisconsin are about to be over, and that is truly something to celebrate.”