Wisconsin Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is asking the state Supreme Court to take up a motion to reconsider Wisconsin’s congressional maps after the state’s legislative boundaries were changed to weaken Republicans’ grip on the state Legislature.
Evers asked the court to reconsider the congressional lines the same day he signed into law new maps that give Democrats a chance at competing for control of both chambers of the state Legislature for the first time in more than a decade.
The high-powered Democratic law firm Elias Law Group filed a motion with the Wisconsin Supreme Court last month asking the court to reconsider the congressional lines ahead of the 2024 election. The group argued new lines were warranted after the high court, when considering the legislative map challenge late last year, said it would no longer favor maps that minimize changes to existing boundary lines — a theory known as the “least-change” approach.
“Given that the maps the Governor submitted in Johnson were grounded in that ‘least change’ approach, the Governor urges the Court to review its decision and stands ready to participate in any future proceedings the Court may order,” Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Anthony D. Russomanno wrote in a letter to the state Supreme Court clerk on Monday.
Evers’ request is the latest development in the congressional map inquiry as Democrats face a tight deadline to put new maps in place with under nine months until the November election. The court has not publicly indicated it will review the motion, and the Wisconsin Elections Commission has said that any new maps must be in place by March 15 to take effect for 2024.