There has been a lot of talk about Wisconsin’s congressional district maps over the past several months. This memorandum briefly seeks to add context to that conversation by providing a summary of the legal history of how our current maps were adopted, and a brief analysis of any potential renewed attempt to redraw Wisconsin’s congressional district maps.
Background
Every ten years, following the United States Census, states are required to reapportion their legislative and congressional districts. Wisconsin’s congressional district boundaries are set in state statute, requiring the legislature to adopt new district maps, and the governor to sign those into law every ten years.
Current Maps
When the legislature and governor cannot agree on new maps, the task of reapportioning falls to the courts. This happened after the 2020 Census, when Governor Evers vetoed the legislature’s adopted maps. On behalf of a group of Wisconsin voters, WILL filed an original action in the Wisconsin Supreme Court alleging that the 2020 census revealed that the existing maps had become malapportioned and seeking judicial reapportionment. Additional parties joined that litigation.
