Dem
51
GOP
49
Yesterday, the Republican-controlled state legislature sent Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) new state district maps. They were forced to do so because the state Supreme Court ruled that the ones they drew earlier are unconstitutional. Evers has already said he will veto the new maps.
After Evers executes his veto, the liberal-controlled Wisconsin Supreme Court will take over. It is likely to hire a special master to draw new maps. The instructions it gives the special master are extremely important. It could tell the special master to ignore all the existing maps, start from scratch, and draw fair maps that have as many competitive, yet compact, districts as possible. In a state as evenly balanced as Wisconsin, that could be many or even most of them. On the other hand, the special master could be instructed to keep existing districts intact where possible.
Currently, the Republicans hold a 22-11 supermajority in the Wisconsin state Senate, but only a 64-35 ordinary majority in the Assembly. This means they can't override Evers' veto and the Wisconsin Supreme Court will have to figure out what to do. The Court wants the new maps in place for the November elections, so it is likely to move quickly. In November, every seat in the Assembly is up as well as half the seats in the Senate. If the Senate map is redrawn from scratch, the Court will have to figure out which ones are up this year and which ones are not. A separate case regarding Wisconsin's federal district maps is currently winding its way through the courts.(V)