Some question the timing…
The Wisconsin Supreme Court, with a liberal majority for the first time in years, is hearing oral arguments in a case with huge implications for millions in 2024’s elections.
At 8:45 a.m. this morning, arguments challenging the validity of the state’s exisiting legislative maps began before the seven justices.
Early in the proceedings, the chief justice interrupted the petitioner’s attorney, asking why they waited years to bring their claim to court.
Rick Esenberg, an expert on the Wisconsin Constitution representing the other side, argues that the court cannot easily impose fairness when drawing district lines and that doing so would undermine the legislature’s role.
Bloomberg Law has more:
The power to change election laws in America’s tightest swing state is on the line Tuesday as lawyers clash over whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court has the legal authority to unskew legislative lines designed to favor Republicans.
The GOP is fighting to preserve a potent gerrymander that locked down advantages in about two-thirds of the districts in a state that’s generally divided 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans.
Democrats want those district lines to be thrown out and new districts drawn before next year’s elections. Republicans are within striking distance of a veto-crushing supermajority and want to keep the districts as-is.
The liberal petitioners argue that the Wisconsin GOP have created two classes of voters, with one subordinate “to the abusive fiat of the other.” Their brief claims that “Wisconsinites have long endured unconstitutional legislative districts, which have eroded the very core of this State’s democracy. It is time to end this injustice.”
Part of the Democrats’ argument is that the maps violate the state constitution by creating numerous patchwork seats where some residents live outside the boundaries of the rest of their voting districts. State law requires contiguous—geographically connected—districts.
Both supporters and opponents agree Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission is one of the most consequential political cases in Wisconsin’s history.
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