Wisconsin GOP to pursue nonpartisan redistricting to avoid having state justices toss maps

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin Republican lawmakers on Tuesday proposed a nonpartisan redistricting plan they want to enact ahead of the 2024 election to preempt the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court from tossing the current GOP-drawn maps.

The move comes as Wisconsin justices are considering two Democratic-backed lawsuits seeking to toss the Republican maps, first enacted in 2011, that are among the most gerrymandered in the country and have helped Republicans increase their majority.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who unveiled the plan to be voted on Thursday, said it offered a way to avoid a possible impeachment fight. He and other Republicans have floated the possibility of impeachment if newly elected Justice Janet Protasiewicz doesn’t recuse from the redistricting cases.

Protasiewicz’s win in April flipped majority control of the court from conservative to liberal for the first time in 15 years.

The Republican redistricting plan is modeled after the one in place in Iowa, Vos said. If passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature, it would have to be signed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers before taking effect.

Evers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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