The state of Wisconsin’s electoral maps will have to be “un-gerrymandered” by this November, according to the latest federal court ruling.
A lawyer for the plaintiffs said Illinois’ Democrats should be paying close attention.
Republicans that control Wisconsin’s district-drawing process now have to create a new map by November 1. That’s in order to both give the state’s elections time to adjust and give the Supreme Court time to rule on the case, as the law states that it’s automatically sent to the state’s high court.
Ruth Greenwood with the Campaign Legal Center said Whitford v. Gill is significant because it establishes a clear-cut way to determine if a state’s maps are gerrymandered. She said the fact that Wisconsin’s maps were drawn in a way to unfairly benefit the party was enough for the three-judge panel to call it unconstitutional.
“There are obviously different ways to do it, but the point of the case was to be able to say they could have done it differently, but they chose not to,” she said.
Greenwood said that should the Supreme Court ruling go the Democrats’ way, Illinois’ Democrats should expect a case saying that their legislative map drawing fits the criteria for gerrymandering.
More at: Illinois News Network
