Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine Wisconsin voters challenging the unconstitutional malapportionment — unequal population — of Wisconsin’s congressional map.
Back to topIn America, a core principle of our democracy is one person, one vote. That principle — which is rooted in law and which courts have upheld time and again — aims to ensure every American’s voice is heard and every vote counts equally.
However, the way some states draw their electoral districts can violate this principle and lead to unfair...
In America, a core principle of our democracy is one person, one vote. That principle, rooted in law, allows every voice to be heard — and every vote to count equally.
However, Wisconsin currently does not distribute its population equally across congressional districts, resulting in unequal electoral power among Wisconsin voters. Every voter in Wisconsin should get an equal say in who represents them in Congress, but current unfair voting maps prevent this.
In 2022, the Supreme Court of Wisconsin imposed the state’s current congressional map, following an impasse between the Legislature and governor. This map violates the equality guarantee of Article I, Section 1 of the Wisconsin Constitution because it does not equally apportion the state’s population among Wisconsin’s eight congressional districts.
The current map also splits many more counties than necessary, ignoring Wisconsin’s traditional redistricting requirements.
The map’s lack of population equality harms Wisconsin voters because it results in unequal voting power among Wisconsinites. In particular, voters in the overpopulated Congressional District 3 are harmed because the value of their vote is reduced compared to voters in other districts.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine Wisconsin voters from across the state challenging the constitutionality of the current malapportioned congressional map.
The current map is not permissible. In 2022, the majority of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin elevated a judicially-invented “least change” policy over other criteria.
This “least change” policy, which focused on keeping new districts as similar as possible to the previous districts, was prioritized over any consideration of the most basic requirement of one person, one vote, as well as other traditional redistricting principles.
However, in 2023, the Court ruled that “least change” was not a permissible consideration to drive map selection because it is an unclear concept and has no basis in the Wisconsin Constitution. As a result, this lawsuit argues “least change” cannot, and does not, justify the current map’s unequal population distribution.
The Wisconsin Constitution has a clear requirement that all Wisconsinites be treated equally, and the state cannot use a map that violates that basic guarantee. Wisconsin voters should not be forced to participate in three more election cycles under a congressional map that violates the state’s constitution.
Campaign Legal Center, on behalf of our clients, is asking the Supreme Court of Wisconsin to block use of the current congressional map for future elections and schedule a process to ensure a fair, constitutional map will be in place for the 2026 election if the Legislature and governor cannot agree on a new, constitutional map.
