The Wisconsin Supreme Court has shifted course after announcing Tuesday that they will move forward the attempt to redraw the Republican-leaning congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
Invoking a 2011 law passed by a GOP-controlled legislature and signed by then Republican Governor Scott Walker, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has appointed judicial panels to hear two lawsuits concerning the state’s congressional districts.
The move follows the court’s 2024 decision to reject a redrawing of the state’s congressional maps. At the time, Chief Justice Annette Ziegler and Justice Rebecca Bradley responded to the decision saying, “It likely won’t be long until the new majority flexes its political power again to advance a partisan agenda despite the damage inflicted on the independence and integrity of the court.”
Tuesday’s orders which established separate three-judge panels to hear the cases will be the first time this process has been utilized since its creation in 2011. The court’s 4-3 liberal majority, wrote that they are required to appoint this three-judge panel which will consist of judges from multiple counties.
Two of the court’s conservatives, Ziegler and Bradley—who in 2024 warned of the new majority inflicting partisan damage to the integrity of the court—dissented from the majority’s opinion accusing their colleagues of partisan politics. (RELATED: Underfunded and Under Fire: Council Overrides Johnson’s MFD Cuts)
“Today, my colleagues—disregarding the United States Constitution, the Wisconsin Constitution, and fundamental legal principles—approve a collateral attack of our court’s decision by a panel of circuit court judges, unsupported in the law,” wrote Ziegler.
Conservative Justice Brian Hagedorn concurred with part of the order but objected to the method of how the panel was chosen. “I am not suggesting the judicial panel will fail to do its job with integrity and impartiality,” Hagedorn wrote. “But this approach is an odd choice in the face of a statute so clearly designed to deter litigants from selecting their preferred venue and judge.”
The decision arrived the same day the Utah legislature announced plans to appeal the state’s new court-ordered congressional map to the state Supreme Court. The proposed Utah map offers a safe Democratic seat centered around the Salt Lake City area.
Additionally, the Indiana House Speaker reversed course announcing Tuesday that they will reconvene to consider a redistricting plan that could add two additional Republican congressional seats. (RELATED: ‘I Can’t Keep Everybody in Jail’: Judge’s Decision Ends in CTA Train Fire Attack)
The Trump campaign has been vocal about its desire to see Republican-controlled states fortify their maps, causing Democrat-controlled states like California to react.