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Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin took the first steps on Monday to intervene in a Democrat-led trial over state voting cards, sparking a potential clash between courts supporting the once-in-a-decade redistribution process.
The GOP plan, if approved by a legislative panel, would allow the state’s two main Republican lawmakers to hire lawyers at taxpayer expense and seek permission to intervene in the federal lawsuit, according to the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal.
The move comes in response to a lawsuit filed Friday by six Democratic voters who allege Wisconsin’s current map is misallocated, meaning it violates the constitutional principle of “one person, one vote.”
Wisconsin has also been subjected to some of the country’s most extreme gerrymandering supporters, according to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.
The 10-year redistribution process began last week with the release of Census Bureau data, which could spark an unprecedented rush to manipulate voting cards for partisan purposes.
In their complaint, the Democratic challengers told a federal court that the Wisconsin legislature and Democratic governor are unlikely to agree on how to draw new legislative and congressional districts in time for elections. of 2022. The group demanded that the court oversee the reshuffle of the state’s electoral map if a consensus does not emerge.
“Given the high likelihood of a stalemate, this Court should prepare to intervene to protect the constitutional rights of plaintiffs and voters in this state. While there is still time for the legislature and the governor to adopt new plans, this Court should assume its jurisdiction now and establish a timetable which will enable it to adopt its own plans in the almost certain event that the political branches fail. would not do so in a timely manner. ”, We read in the complaint of Friday.
The litigants are represented by senior Democratic lawyer Marc Elias of the law firm Perkins Coie.
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