Gov. Tony Evers has signed new legislative maps into law, potentially loosening the GOP grip on power in Wisconsin state government for the first time in well over a decade.

Evers’ signature effectively ends a years-long fight by Democrats to rebalance the political playing field in Wisconsin, where Republican-drawn maps have cemented lopsided GOP majorities in a state that otherwise has a penchant for close elections.

It also likely ends the months-long redistricting lawsuit before the Wisconsin Supreme Court that teed up these maps. The court’s 4-3 liberal majority struck down the current district lines in December and was laying the groundwork to draw new maps if Evers and the Legislature couldn’t do it first.

Surprisingly, they did. The new maps passed by the Legislature and signed by Evers are identical to those the governor submitted to the court as one of six options to replace the Republican-drawn districts. Redistricting experts hired by the court’s liberal majority say the governor’s maps have a slight Republican tilt but are competitive enough that “the party that wins the most votes will win the most seats” in the state Legislature. 

Read the rest of the story here. 

Watch the video of Gov. Evers signing the bill here.

Note: This is one reason why we worked so hard to elect Janet Protasiewicz to the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2023!