MADISON, WI (MetroSource-WSAU) - A group suing over the fairness of legislative maps says the midterm election results strengthen their case. The Fair Elections Project organized and launched a lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s election map as unconstitutional gerrymandering.
They say the maps are rigged to create a Republican majority in the legislature. Republicans will continue to have majorities in both the assembly and state senate when Tony Evers becomes governor in January.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos disagreed, saying that it is a made up issue. Vos notes that Evers is governor because he received overwhelming support in Milwaukee and Madison, while Scott Walker was favored by voters in almost all other parts of the state.
The gerrymandering lawsuit centers on a new and untested issue of ‘surplus voters’ or ‘voter inefficiencies’ -- arguing the minorities and democrats are packed into districts in urban areas, where their candidates are likely to win by large majorities. The lawsuit claims that allows for the creation of Republican-friendly districts in other parts of the state.
The case was dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that the voters who brought the lawsuit lacked standing to challenge districts that they don’t live in. A new lawsuit has been filed, where voters from each of the districts are listed as plaintiffs.
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