Supreme Court rejects GOP effort to overturn Wisconsin congressional map

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an effort by Wisconsin Republicans to overturn a court-chosen congressional map in the state.

The case sprang from the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s selection of a map put forward by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. With Republicans in control of the state legislature and a Democrat as governor, the two sides were not able to compromise on a map before the court stepped in.

The state Supreme Court approved a map that largely followed old district lines for Wisconsin’s eight congressional districts. The seat for retiring Democratic Rep. Ron Kind is the most likely to change hands this fall in the state’s delegation, where Republicans currently control five seats.

In a separate case, the U.S. Supreme court ordered the Wisconsin Supreme Court to draw new state legislative maps. There, in an unsigned opinion, the justices reversed the state court’s decision allowing an additional district where Black voters make up the majority.

The justices wrote that the state Supreme Court “committed legal error in its application of decisions of this Court regarding the relationship between the constitutional guarantee of equal protection” and the federal Voting Rights Act, which protects minority voting power.