Judges reject challenge to Wisconsin congressional maps

MADISON – A second three-judge panel on Tuesday dismissed a challenge to Wisconsin’s congressional maps, ruling it has no authority to act on the claims without further input from the state Supreme Court.

“Until the [state] Supreme Court says otherwise,” the lawsuit’s claims are “non-justiciable and non-cognizable under Wisconsin law,” the judges wrote.

The law firm that brought the suit said it would immediately appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.

The decision is one of two cases that have been under consideration by separate panels composed of three judges from different counties appointed by the liberal-led state Supreme Court. The lawsuits, filed in July 2025, followed multiple failed attempts to redraw the maps, which are currently represented by six Republicans and two Democrats.

This case, brought by Law Forward representing the group Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy, contends the current maps amount to an anti-competitive gerrymander.

Republican members of the state’s congressional delegation and others sought to dismiss it.

“The three-judge panel got it right,” said Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty deputy counsel Lucas Vebber, an intervenor in the case. “This is a victory for the rule of law in our state.”

The state’s high court issued orders Nov. 25 concluding the two legal challenges constituted “an action to challenge the apportionment of any congressional or state legislative district” under a 2011 state law that requires such challenges to be heard by a panel appointed by the Supreme Court.

It was the first time the 2011 law had been invoked in a redistricting case.

The three-judge panel, led by Dane County Circuit Judge David Conway, wrote in its April 28 order that while plaintiffs presented a “detailed theory to support their claims,” the state Supreme Court already held in 2022 that the “partisan composition of electoral districts raises a non-justiciable political question.”

The panel, “as an inferior court, is obligated to obey them,” the judges wrote.

“The Supreme Court is the ultimate interpreter of our state constitution. When the Court speaks, its words are final unless and until it says otherwise. Because this panel is bound by the Court’s interpretations, it must alternatively dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims for failure to state a cognizable constitutional cause of action,” the panel wrote.

A separate three-judge panel last month rejected a parallel case on similar grounds.

“This is the first anti-competitive gerrymandering case ever filed in Wisconsin courts, and it deserves to be heard,” Law Forward director of litigation Doug Poland said in a statement. “

Under the 2011 law that required these challenges to be heard by panels of circuit court judges, the order may only be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

“We will therefore appeal the case to our state supreme court and look forward to the opportunity to prove that the state’s congressional maps must be redrawn to ensure that Wisconsin voters are given a real choice in voting for congressional district candidates and that the legislature does not dictate which political party’s candidate will prevail by skewing the composition of districts to protect incumbents and political parties,” Poland said.

Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, one of several Democrats vying to be the party’s gubernatorial candidate, posted on X in response to the ruling that “a 50-50 state with a 6-2 delegation isn’t a fair map” and said as governor he would use every option available to me to protect our democracy.”

A campaign spokesman said Barnes would “work with the Legislature to pass fair maps next session.”

President Donald Trump last year pushed Republican-leaning states to redraw their congressional maps to add GOP-held seats in the U.S. House. The effort prompted some Democratic-leaning states to embark on their own efforts to add blue seats.

Gov. Tony Evers seeks a nonpartisan redistricting process

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is not seeking a third term, has said it would be a mistake for Wisconsin to engage in the partisan arms race to draw new electoral maps.

“I don’t think we’re in a position to do that. We could draw them as crazy as possible, but … we couldn’t pick up enough seats to make a difference. I just think it would be bad politics for the Democrats to try to do that, and I just don’t think there’s a way to do it,” Evers told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last fall.

Evers has said implementing a permanent nonpartisan process to create new electoral maps is a priority before he leaves office.

The governor signed an executive order last month calling the Legislature to open a special legislative session to pass a constitutional amendment barring the use of partisan gerrymandering in the state’s redistricting process.

Republicans who control the Legislature have left the special session open rather than immediately gaveling out of it as they have done more than a dozen times when Evers has made similar calls. In doing so, they said they were leaving the door open to “continue meaningful dialogue” on the issue – but Evers said there’s nothing to negotiate.

“Lawmakers either want to ban partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin or they don’t. It’s that simple,” Evers countered. “If lawmakers fail to take a public vote on this basic question, then Wisconsinites have no choice but to assume their lawmaker’s position on this issue.”

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.

(This story was updated to add new information.)