by Benjamin Yount
Wisconsin’s Supreme Court has decided on a new political map, and it’s raising questions about race and judicial activism.
The court ruled 4-3 Thursday to adopt the maps drawn by Gov. Tony Evers.
Those maps give Democrats a bit more of an advantage in a few statehouse seats but give Democrats a much better advantage in two of Wisconsin’s congressional districts.
Swing Justice Brian Hagedorn tipped the case and wrote the opinion with the court’s liberal justices.
“The Governor’s proposed senate and assembly maps produce less overall change,” Hagedorn wrote.
The Evers maps shift about 324,000 voters into new congressional districts in the state. The map from Republican lawmakers would have moved nearly 380,000.
But Wisconsin’s conservative justices said Hagedorn’s reasoning doesn’t add up, and Evers’ maps are unconstitutional.
“The majority opinion demonstrates a complete lack of regard for the Wisconsin Constitution and the Equal Protection Clause,” Justice Anne Ziegler wrote in her dissent. “Short on legal analysis, the majority opinion amounts to nothing more than an imposition of judicial will.”
Ziegler wrote that Evers focused on race, shifting voters to create more African American-majority districts.
“The majority disrespects the Voting Rights Act and instead cabins voters for purportedly ‘good reasons’ in districts based solely on race, which is nothing short of a violation of the Equal Protection Clause,” Ziegler added.
Justice Paige Roggensack went further in her dissent.
“It is my hope that the United States Supreme Court will be asked to review Wisconsin’s unwarranted racial gerrymander, which clearly does not survive strict scrutiny,” Roggensack added.
Gov. Evers, on the other hand, called the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision a victory.
“Today’s ruling isn’t a victory for me or any political party, but for the people of our state who for too long have demanded better, fairer maps and for too long went ignored –today’s victory is for them,” Evers said in his statement.
There are options for an appeal, both to the U.S. Supreme Court and to the federal court in Madison which is also looking at different versions of Wisconsin’s new political map.
There’s no word when a decision will be made on an appeal.
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Benjamin Yount is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Paige Roggensack” by Wisconsin Court System. Photo “Anne Ziegler” by Wisconsin Court System. Photo “Brian Hagedorn” by Judge Brian Hagedorn. Background Photo “Wisconsin State Capitol” by Carol M. Highsmith.
