A ruling by the US Supreme Court means that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court will have to take another look at state legislative maps.
In a 7 to 2 decision on Wednesday, the US Justices rules that State Justices didn’t properly address the requirements of the Voting Rights Act when picking legislative maps drawn by Governor Tony Evers. UW-Madison Law School professor Robert Yoblon says that’s because maps from Evers created a new majority-black voting district in Milwaukee.
“In order for that law to kick in, certain preconditions have to be met. And what the US Supreme Court said today is that the Wisconsin Supreme Court hadn’t done enough to confirm that it really was necessary to apply the Voting Rights Act.”
Yoblon says that likely means a new round of hearings. “It’s likely that the court will ask for further guidance from the parties about what they think should happen next. And then the court might issue a plan going forward? There are a few different options that the court has.”
However, the court left in place federal congressional maps drawn by Governor Evers. That will affect the placement of districts for members of the House.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will need to hurry in order to make a decision ahead of the fall elections.