3 years, 7 months ago

Wisconsin remains a priority state for redistricting

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin remains a priority state for a Democratic group focused on redistricting that is backed by former President Barack Obama, even though Republicans can’t draw and enact whatever maps they want like they did 10 years ago. Eric Holder, Obama’s former attorney general who has run the National Democratic Redistricting Committee since it was created in 2017, said in an interview Wednesday that he was “cautiously optimistic” that fair maps could be drawn in Wisconsin this year. Mark Jefferson, executive director of the Wisconsin Republican Party, said third party groups like the one Holder leads have a long history of doing “dirty work for the Democrats” on redistricting in the state. Holder, who supports nonpartisan redistricting commissions and testified at the first meeting of the one in Wisconsin, said Wednesday that he supports following whatever the commission recommends in New York.

Democratic Texas Wisconsin Democrats State Redistricting Legislature Republicans Evers Maps Holder Fair Maps democrats republicans remains wisconsin priority holder redistricting maps lawsuits evers legislature state

History of this topic

2 weeks, 1 day ago

Wisconsin Republicans sue to resolve conflict of when Electoral College votes must be cast for Trump

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans have filed a lawsuit seeking a court order to resolve a discrepancy between state and federal law about what date the state’s presidential electors must meet to cast Wisconsin’s 10 Electoral College votes for President-elect Donald Trump. The Wisconsin Republican Party asked in the lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court seeking an order that …

1 month, 2 weeks ago

New maps help Wisconsin Democrats make legislative gains and set up a push for majorities in 2026

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Democrats came out of Tuesday’s elections with substantial gains in the Wisconsin Legislature under new district boundaries, setting them up for a run for a majority in two years. Democrats failed to take control of the Assembly, but unofficial results Wednesday showed they had flipped 10 Republican seats, narrowing the GOP’s edge from 64-35 last session to …

6 months ago

Wisconsin taxpayers to pay half the cost of redistricting consultants hired by Supreme Court

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin taxpayers will pay half of the $128,000 bill submitted by redistricting consultants hired by the state’s Supreme Court for the work they did reviewing proposed legislative maps, the liberal majority of the court ordered Monday. They called the court’s order a “brazen imposition of judicial will.” The court hired a pair of redistricting consultants to review …

6 months, 2 weeks ago

Liberal Judge Susan Crawford enters race for Wisconsin Supreme Court with majority at stake

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — A liberal judge who previously represented Planned Parenthood in a case related to abortion access entered the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday, with majority control of the battleground state’s highest court on the line. AP AUDIO: Liberal Judge Susan Crawford enters race for Wisconsin Supreme Court with majority at stake Wisconsin’s Supreme Court is once …

8 months, 2 weeks ago

Control of Wisconsin Supreme Court will be up for grabs after liberal justice's surprise retirement

Salon

One year after a closely-watched election tipped the Wisconsin Supreme Court towards a 4-3 liberal majority, the impending retirement of a liberal justice, Ann Walsh Bradley, is teeing off another battle for control of the state's highest court. Conservatives long held the reins of legislative and judicial power in Wisconsin until the most expensive state Supreme Court campaign in U.S. …

8 months, 2 weeks ago

The swing state of Wisconsin votes; Trump pays up

Hindustan Times

Sign up here to receive “The US in brief” as a newsletter, each weekday, in your inbox. Former US President and 2024 presidential hopeful Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Hyatt Regency in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on April 2, 2024. Shares in Mr Trump’s social-media company fell by 21% on Monday, after the firm disclosed losses of …

8 months, 3 weeks ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court refuses to clarify district boundaries for potential recall election

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to offer clarity on what legislative district boundary lines should be in play for a potential recall election sought by supporters of former President Donald Trump targeting the Republican Assembly speaker. But the Wisconsin Elections Commission had asked the Supreme Court to clarify what maps should be used for any …

8 months, 3 weeks ago

Democrats hope Biden could get a boost from down-ballot races under Wisconsin’s new legislative map

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s presidential primary Tuesday clears the way for a general election campaign that Democrats see as an opportunity unlike any in recent state history. “It’s why, I think, there are consequences far beyond the state Legislature of having the new state legislative maps drawn.” It’s too early to test Wikler’s idea. “Everybody who goes to vote is …

9 months, 3 weeks ago

Trump winning Wisconsin could hinge on an insidious voting practice

Raw Story

Democrats are understandably excited by the upcoming death of the Republican gerrymander in Wisconsin. Democrats will have a chance to retake the state Assembly in 2024 and the state Senate in 2026 — if the new maps aren’t overturned in federal court. Nationally, the implications could be even greater: Republicans likely won’t be able to impose any new voter suppression …

10 months ago

Republican DA asks Wisconsin Supreme Court to decide abortion lawsuit without lower court ruling

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — A Republican prosecutor asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday to decide whether a 174-year-old state law bans abortion in the state without waiting for a ruling from a lower appellate court. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion, reactivated an 1849 law that conservatives have interpreted …

10 months ago

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor signs his new legislative maps into law after Republicans pass them

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed new legislative district maps into law on Monday that he proposed and that the Republicans who control the Legislature passed to avoid having the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court draw the lines. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler said the new maps will have a “reverse coattails” effect benefitting Democrats in the …

10 months, 1 week ago

GOP-led Wisconsin Legislature passes Democratic governor’s legislative maps

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s GOP-controlled Legislature on Tuesday passed legislative maps that were proposed by Democratic Gov. Evers gets a huge win today,” Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos said, adding that under the new maps, “the Legislature will be up for grabs.” The Assembly and Senate passed the bill in quick succession Tuesday, sending it to Evers. Republicans said that …

10 months, 2 weeks ago

Wisconsin Republicans urge state Supreme Court to reject redistricting report’s findings

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans urged the state Supreme Court on Thursday to ignore a report from redistricting consultants that determined GOP-proposed legislative maps were unconstitutional partisan gerrymanders. While Republicans argue that the consultants’ findings are unsound, Democrats asked the court on Thursday to adopt one of their maps that the consultants found were “nearly indistinguishable.” The stakes are huge …

10 months, 3 weeks ago

Wisconsin Democrats inch closer to overturning Republican-drawn legislative maps

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Democrats are inching closer to overturning Republican-drawn legislative maps that the GOP has used over the past 13 years to grow their majorities and advance their agenda. Republican maps adopted in 2022 by the conservative-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court used the 2011 map as a template and kept largely the same lines in place. Democrats filed their …

10 months, 3 weeks ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court agrees to hear governor’s lawsuit against GOP-controlled Legislature

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear Democratic Gov. Rebecca Bradley, in her dissent, accused the majority of “needlessly engulfing this court in the morass of politics.” “By accepting only one of the issues raised by the Governor and holding the other two issues in abeyance, the majority refashions this court as the Governor’s avenue …

10 months, 3 weeks ago

Wisconsin redistricting experts tell Supreme Court Republican map proposals are gerrymanders

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Consultants hired by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to examine maps redrawing state legislative districts said Thursday that plans submitted by the Republican Legislature and a conservative law firm are partisan gerrymanders, but they stopped short of declaring the other four maps constitutional. “While this is just one step in this process, today is an important day for …

10 months, 3 weeks ago

Wisconsin Republicans seek to curtail governor’s veto power

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans proposed a constitutional amendment Wednesday that would curtail the governor’s veto powers by prohibiting a veto to increase any tax or fee. Tony Evers used his partial veto in July to increase school funding for public schools for the next 400 years. Republicans proposed a similar amendment in 2019 after Evers used his partial veto …

10 months, 3 weeks ago

Democrats’ challenge to Wisconsin absentee ballot rules is a step closer to state Supreme Court

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Democrats are appealing a judge’s dismissal of their lawsuit as they once again seek to allow Wisconsin voters to return absentee ballots in drop boxes, bringing the challenge one step closer to the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court. Absentee ballot drop boxes were barred in Wisconsin in 2022 following criticism by former President Donald Trump. In July 2022, …

10 months, 3 weeks ago

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor vetoes Republican map as another redistricting court fight looms

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Democratic Gov. The veto came a day after five of Wisconsin’s Republican members of Congress, along with the GOP-controlled Legislature, asked the newest liberal member of the state Supreme Court not to hear a lawsuit that seeks to redraw congressional district maps ahead of the November election. Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos accused Evers of trusting …

11 months, 1 week ago

Democrats ask Wisconsin Supreme Court to order new congressional maps for fall election

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — A Washington law firm that tries to help Democrats win elections around the country has asked the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out the battleground state’s congressional maps, arguing that the court’s decision last month ordering new state legislative maps opens the door to the latest challenge. He said the lawsuit aims to “make our congressional …

11 months, 1 week ago

Wisconsin Republican leader slams Democrats’ proposed election maps as ‘political gerrymander’

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s powerful Republican Assembly leader said Tuesday that he hopes the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court adopts new constitutional legislative boundary maps, even as he slammed proposals from Democrats as “a political gerrymander” and threatened an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The map submitted by Republicans would maintain the current 64-35 GOP majority, while other maps would …

11 months, 1 week ago

Wisconsin Republicans’ large majorities expected to shrink under new legislative maps

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Most of the newly ordered maps redrawing Wisconsin’s political boundaries for the state Legislature would keep Republicans in majority control, but their dominance would be reduced, according to an independent analysis of the plans. Seven sets of new state Senate and Assembly maps were submitted on Friday, the deadline given by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to propose …

11 months, 2 weeks ago

Wisconsin redistricting consultants to be paid up to $100,000 each

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Two consultants hired to analyze new legislative boundary lines in Wisconsin after the state’s Supreme Court tossed out the current Republican-drawn maps will be paid up to $100,000 each under terms of their contracts made public Thursday. Court challenges could result in new U.S. House and state legislative maps before the November election. Jonathan Cervas, of Carnegie …

11 months, 3 weeks ago

GOP lawmakers ask Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider redistricting ruling, schedule for new maps

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Republican lawmakers have asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to stay and reconsider its finding that the state’s legislative district boundaries are unconstitutional. Attorneys representing a host of Republican state Senators filed a motion with the court Thursday saying they can’t meet the court’s Jan. 12 deadline for new maps. The court ordered the Legislature and other parties …

1 year ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case brought by Democrats

LA Times

The Wisconsin Supreme Court listens to arguments from Wisconsin Assistant Atty. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has overturned Republican-drawn legislative maps and ordered that new district boundary lines be drawn as Democrats had urged in a state with large Republican legislative majorities. “Because the current state legislative districts contain separate, detached territory and therefore violate the constitution’s contiguity requirements, we enjoin …

1 year ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court orders new legislative maps in redistricting case brought by Democrats

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — The liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned Republican-drawn legislative maps on Friday and ordered that new district boundary lines be drawn as Democrats had urged in a redistricting case they hope will weaken GOP majorities. “Because the current state legislative districts contain separate, detached territory and therefore violate the constitution’s contiguity requirements, we enjoin the Wisconsin Elections Commission …

1 year ago

Wisconsin leader pivots, says impeachment of state Supreme Court justice over redistricting unlikely

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — The Republican leader of Wisconsin’s Assembly who had threatened possible impeachment of a new liberal state Supreme Court justice over her views on redistricting now says such a move is “super unlikely.” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos originally threatened to impeach Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she did not recuse herself from the redistricting challenge, which is backed by …

1 year ago

Wisconsin prosecutor appeals ruling that cleared way for abortions to resume in state

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — A Republican district attorney has appealed a court ruling that determined that an 1849 Wisconsin law does not ban abortions, a decision that cleared the way for abortions to resume in the state. Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski on Tuesday appealed the ruling from a Dane County judge that said there is no state ban on …

1 year ago

How much gerrymandering is too much? In New York, the answer could make or break Dems’ House hopes

Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s highest court last week gave Democrats a chance to redraw the state’s congressional districts, a major victory as the party tries to win control of the U.S. House next year. “There’s no hard and fast definition or bright line to define partisan gerrymandering,” said New York Law School professor Jeffrey Wice, who focuses on redistricting. …

1 year, 1 month ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court Hearing Arguments On Redistricting That Could Result In New Maps For 2024

Huff Post

FILE - A man walks by the Wisconsin Capitol, Oct. 10, 2012, in Madison, Wis. Supporters of Wisconsin's taxpayer-funded school choice and independent charter school programs urged the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is located inside the state Capitol, on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, to reject a lawsuit seeking to declare the programs unconstitutional, saying such a move would create chaos …

1 year, 1 month ago

Democrats urge Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn Republican-drawn legislative maps

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Democrats urged the Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn Republican-drawn legislative maps Tuesday, with conservative justices questioning the timing of the redistricting challenge, while liberals focused on the constitutionality of the current maps and what the process should be for adopting new ones. Conservative Justice Rebecca Bradley most aggressively questioned the motives of Democrats and repeatedly referenced newly …

1 year, 1 month ago

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor sues Republican Legislature over blocking basic functions

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Evers said it was “a bridge too far” and “just bull s---” that Republican state lawmakers were telling 35,000 University of Wisconsin employees who were expecting pay raises to “stick it.” “You can’t do that,” Evers told reporters at a news conference. “That’s why we’re suing and that’s why we’re going to win.” Evers …

1 year, 2 months ago

Wisconsin Republicans reject eight Evers appointees, including majority of environmental board

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Republicans who control the Wisconsin Senate voted Tuesday to fire eight state board appointees from Democratic Gov. In a series of votes that fell mostly along party lines, the Senate rejected confirmation for four members of the Natural Resources Board, as well as a Democratic elections commissioner who tried earlier this year to prevent the Senate from …

1 year, 2 months ago

Wisconsin Republicans admit vote to fire elections chief had no legal effect

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Republican Wisconsin lawmakers working to oust the state’s nonpartisan top elections official have admitted that a state Senate vote to fire her last month has no legal effect. In a change of course from recent calls to impeach Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe, leaders of the GOP-controlled Legislature said in court documents filed Friday that the …

1 year, 2 months ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court asked to draw new legislative boundaries over Republican objections

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Democratic voters in Wisconsin hoping to undo Republican-drawn legislative district maps told the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court on Monday that it should create new maps by March — forcing every lawmaker to stand for election under redrawn lines in 2024. New maps favoring Democrats would weaken Republicans’ grip on legislative power, which they have also used in …

1 year, 2 months ago

Wisconsin Republican leader won’t back down from impeachment threat against Supreme Court justice

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — The Republican leader of Wisconsin’s Assembly refused to back down Thursday from possibly impeaching a newly elected liberal state Supreme Court justice over her refusal to step aside in a redistricting case, even after two former conservative justices advised him against the unprecedented move. Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said Vos’s comments are a signal that …

1 year, 2 months ago

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice advises Republican leader against impeachment

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — There should be no effort to impeach a liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice based on what is known now, a former justice advised the Republican legislative leader who asked him to review the issue. “Impeachment is so serious, severe, and rare that it should not be considered unless the subject has committed a crime, or the subject …

1 year, 2 months ago

Liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice rejects GOP call to recuse on redistricting cases

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court, in a 4-3 vote along partisan lines Friday, agreed to hear a challenge to Republican-drawn legislative maps after a newly elected liberal justice declined to recuse herself. Republicans had asked that Protasiewicz recuse from both redistricting cases, arguing in their motion that “Justice Protasiewicz’s campaign statements reveal that her thumb is very much …

1 year, 2 months ago

Top Wisconsin Senate Republican calls on Assembly to impeach state’s top elections official

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — The Republican president of the Wisconsin Senate on Wednesday called on the Assembly to impeach the presidential battleground state’s nonpartisan top elections official, who has remained in office while Democrats fight in court against a Senate vote to fire her. Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe’s actions “could rise to the level of corrupt conduct in office,” …

1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin redistricting fight focuses on the recusal of a key justice as impeachment threat lingers

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Republicans fighting to preserve Wisconsin legislative electoral maps they drew argue in new legal filings that a key liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court justice must recuse from the case despite the dismissal of complaints against her related to comments she made about redistricting. Democratic allies asking the Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out the Republican maps counter in …

1 year, 3 months ago

A Supreme Court redistricting ruling gave hope to Black voters. They’re still waiting for new maps

Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s decision siding with Black voters in an Alabama redistricting case gave Democrats and voting rights activists a surprising opportunity before the 2024 elections. Shawn Donahue of the State University of New York at Buffalo, an expert on voting rights and redistricting, said the Supreme Court could put a quick end to the delays and “summarily …

1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin Assembly Republicans pass sweeping redistricting reform, but likely veto awaits

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Assembly passed a sweeping redistricting reform plan Thursday that takes the power of drawing maps out of the hands of lawmakers and gives it to nonpartisan staff. Democrats, suspicious of Republican motives, urged opposition to the proposal, saying it’s all a ruse designed to circumvent the newly liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court from throwing out the …

1 year, 3 months ago

GOP-led Wisconsin Senate votes to fire nonpartisan official targeted by 2020 election skeptics

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — The Republican-controlled Wisconsin Senate voted Thursday to fire the battleground state’s nonpartisan top elections official, prompting a legal challenge from Democrats who say the vote was illegitimate. Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul said in a lawsuit that Senate Republicans don’t have the authority to oust Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe and accused them of attacking the …

1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor rejects GOP’s surprise redistricting plan

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers shot down as “bogus” a surprise plan Republicans floated Tuesday that would have the Legislature approve new maps drawn by nonpartisan staff, preempting the state Supreme Court from tossing the current GOP-drawn boundaries. “Republicans are making a last-ditch effort to retain legislative control by having someone Legislature-picked and Legislature-approved draw Wisconsin’s maps,” …

1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates often speak out on hot topics. Only one faces impeachment threat

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who Republicans are threatening to impeach over comments she made on the campaign trail about abortion and redistricting isn’t the first member of the court to offer public opinions about major issues of the day. “Where was their outrage and their demands for recusal when conservatives in the past have weighed in …

1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidates often speak out on hot topics. Only one faces impeachment threat

The Independent

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Wisconsin Supreme Court justice who Republicans are threatening to …

1 year, 3 months ago

GOP threat to impeach a Wisconsin Supreme Court justice is driven by fear of losing legislative edge

Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Republicans have enjoyed outsize control of the Legislature in one of the most closely divided states for a dozen years. “It’s a desperate gambit to avoid accountability to voters who choose their state representatives, their state senators and their Supreme Court justices.” Altering the makeup of the Wisconsin Supreme Court also holds the potential to affect …

1 year, 3 months ago

'Breathtaking contempt': GOP blasted for working to silence Wisconsin opposition

Raw Story

The extent to which Wisconsin Republicans have used gerrymandering to solidify their grip on power shows “breathtaking contempt’ for residents, New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie wrote Friday. Bouie notes that Republicans in 2012 captured 60 percent of the state’s Assembly seats despite garnering a minority of the statewide vote that year. And Bouie contends that Wisconsin Republicans are moving …

1 year, 3 months ago

Wisconsin GOP's impeachment plan: Another MAGA coup against democracy

Salon

MAGA Republicans in Wisconsin are gearing up to impeach newly elected state Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz, just five weeks after she took her seat on the court and before she has cast her first vote. Protasiewicz's resounding victory last April tells us that a large statewide majority in Wisconsin — typically a "purple" state where votes are evenly divided …

1 year, 3 months ago

GOP tries to impeach liberal Wisconsin judge before she's even heard a case: report

Raw Story

Wisconsin Republicans are considering impeaching a liberal State Supreme Court justice who threatens their hold on the state, The New York Times reported. Justice Janet Protasiewicz hasn't heard a single case yet, but the Republican uproar over her seat "could raise new questions about democracy and the legitimacy of elections in a state where GOP lawmakers and their allies spent …

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1 week ago

Trailing North Carolina Supreme Court candidate asks that court to get involved in his race

Politico

But Griffin went to the Supreme Court instead and asked the justices to rule by this coming Monday on his request to prevent a certificate from being issued to Riggs and to suspend the 10-day deadline to file an appeal in Wake County court. Five Republicans are on the seven-member Supreme Court, which has been a partisan flash point in …

Supreme Court Court Democratic North Carolina Republican Republicans Griffin

1 week, 5 days ago