Wisconsin Republicans push redistricting plan to head off adverse court ruling

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Assembly is scheduled to pass a hastily introduced redistricting plan Thursday that Republicans say is nonpartisan, providing Democrats with something they’ve been seeking for more than a decade.

Democrats, suspicious of Republican motives, summarily rejected the plan modeled on Iowa’s process, saying it’s all a ruse designed to circumvent the newly liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court from throwing out the Republican-drawn maps.

The drama is playing out amid a continued Republican threat of impeachment against the Supreme Court justice who gave liberals majority control in August if she doesn’t step down from hearing a pair of redistricting lawsuits.

The Republican redistricting bill will almost certainly not become law.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who would have to sign it to become law, called the plan “bogus” shortly after its introduction. A veto is all but certain.

Still, Democrats have supported similar redistricting plans in the past.

Evers introduced a system in 2019 for drawing maps that very closely resembles the new Republican bill. Under both plans, staff with the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau would be charged with drawing the maps. If their plans don’t pass after two tries, then the Legislature can make changes the third time through.

That’s how it works in Iowa, where legislative staffers use nonpartisan criteria to draw districts that are then subject to an up-or- down vote by the Legislature and a potential gubernatorial veto.

After the 2020 census, Iowa’s Republican-led Senate voted along party lines to reject the first maps produced by staff, sending them back for another try. The Legislature then accepted the second version, which resulted in Republicans winning all four of the state’s congressional districts in the 2022 elections. Democrats had held at least one district for the previous two decades.

There’s one key difference between what Evers and advocates in Wisconsin — including a coalition pushing for redistricting reform — have been calling for. Under their plans, on the third try it would take a three-fourths majority in the Legislature to pass a map, essentially ensuring it would require bipartisan support.

The Republican bill up for passage Thursday does not include that higher vote requirement. Instead, any changes could be approved with a simple majority.

The higher vote requirement is a critical component of any redistricting change, said Jay Heck, director of Common Cause Wisconsin.

But Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, speaking Wednesday on WisconsinEye, dismissed those concerns, noting that it has worked in Iowa for decades.

“If somehow you think we’re going to sneak through a Republican map that has some kind of favor and get Tony Evers’ signature on it, I think you’re smoking something,” Vos said. “It’s not going to happen. It’s all red herrings. Its all hypocrisy of the left.”

Democrats and those pushing for redistricting reform say it’s Vos and Republicans who are being disingenuous. The plan the Assembly is voting on was unveiled at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. There was no public hearing, and Democrats and advocates say they were not consulted in the drafting of the bill.

“It’s not serious,” Heck said. “This is an act of desperation to head off the Supreme Court from redrawing the maps. ... It just doesn’t pass the smell test on any level.”

Once passed by the Assembly, the redistricting bill would head to the Senate. If approved there, it would then go to Evers, who is expected to veto it.

There are two pending lawsuits before the Wisconsin Supreme Court seeking new maps. Vos has threatened to pursue impeachment against Justice Janet Protasiewicz if she does not recuse herself from those cases because she called the current maps “unfair” and “rigged” during her campaign.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has not said whether it will hear the redistricting challenges. Those bringing the lawsuits want the court to order new maps in time for the 2024 election. Wisconsin’s current maps, first drawn by Republicans in 2011 and then again with few changes last year, are considered among the most gerrymandered in the country.