A three-judge panel in Wisconsin on Tuesday dismissed a legal challenge from Democratic voters who had asked the court to void the state's congressional district map. The panel concluded that it lacked the authority to decide whether the congressional districts must be redrawn and said that such a determination belongs to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
In a written ruling the panel emphasized its limited role, stating: "This panel is not endorsing the current congressional map. Rather, we as circuit court judges, do not have the authority to read into a Wisconsin Supreme Court case an analysis that it does not contain." The judges declined to substitute their interpretation for that of the state's highest court.
The dismissal does not end the matter. The decision may be appealed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, but the panel noted that it is unclear whether the supreme court would resolve the issue soon enough to influence the U.S. midterm elections later this year.
The case in Wisconsin is unfolding against a backdrop of intensified national disputes over redistricting. The current debate was amplified by U.S. President Donald Trump, who urged Republican-led states to redraw their congressional maps to improve the party's chances of retaining control of Congress in the November midterm elections. That directive has sparked a wave of map changes and legal contests in multiple states.
The redistricting push escalated last July when Republicans in Texas, the most populous Republican-led state, moved to approve an uncommon mid-decade revision of its congressional map aimed at turning five Democratic-held U.S. House seats to Republican control. California, led by Democrats and the largest Democratic state, responded with its own redistricting initiative targeting five Republican incumbents. Other states, governed by both parties, have pursued similar efforts.
Under Wisconsin's existing congressional lines, Republicans hold six of the state's eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Election analysts classify two of those districts as competitive. Nationally, Republicans currently maintain narrow majorities in both the U.S. House and the Senate.
What this means
- The circuit court panel declined to strike down the map and directed the dispute to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
- The timing of any state supreme court decision is uncertain, leaving open whether a ruling could affect the upcoming midterm elections.
- The Wisconsin case is one element of a larger, nationwide contest over mid-decade redistricting initiated after calls from President Trump for map changes in Republican-led states.