The conservative majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court voted to accept new state legislative maps drawn by Republicans who control the legislature, overturning its previous decision that favored maps drawn by the state’s Democratic governor .
The court, acting after the US Supreme Court overturned its previous ruling last month, said in a controversial ruling that the state judiciary had not examined whether the map drawn by Democrats was consistent with federal voting rights law.
The newly passed maps — partisan gerrymanders secretly drawn in 2011 after the GOP seized control from Democrats in both houses of the legislature — essentially secure an overwhelming Republican majority in the Assembly and Senate for the next decade.
The Supreme Court decision is the latest development in a months-long legal battle that began in November when Governor Tony Evers vetoed Republican-drawn legislative districts.