Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts Legislative Maps

On Friday, April 15th 2022, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court adopted the legislative maps developed by the GOP. This comes after the selection of Governor Evers' suggested legislative maps on March 3rd. The maps contained the addition of a seventh majority-black district that Evers argued was needed to comply with the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965. The GOP argued this was in violation of the Equal Protections Cause (EPC) of the 14th Amendment. In unprecedented action, the GOP challenged the controversial maps and subsequently elevated the case to the US Supreme Court. On March 23rd, the US Supreme Court rejected the maps; "We cannot say for certain this record that seven majority-Black assembly districts are required by the VRA." They did, however, rule the maps to be in compliance with the EPC of the 14th Amendment. The case was then sent back to the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Justice Brian Hagedorn swung his vote in favor of the GOP drawn maps. Assembly seats are held by 63 Republicans and 36 Democrats. Senate seats are held by 23 Republicans and 10 Democrats. There is still uncertainty that the Democrats may challenge this ruling for elections held in 2024.