In 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 representation and unequal voting power among residents.
In Wisconsin, for example, the population is not fairly distributed across the state’s congressional districts. The result is some Wisconsinites have more of a say than others on who represents them in Congress and the issues they care about.
Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a lawsuit on behalf of nine Wisconsin voters to ensure fair congressional districts are drawn. The lawsuit argues that the current congressional map violates the state constitution’s requirement that all Wisconsinites must be treated equally.
Voters in Congressional District 3 are particularly harmed because there are more people in that district than the other districts in the state. As a result, District 3’s electoral power is split among more people, giving each voter less of a say compared to voters in all other districts.
Learn more about our legal argument.
The Wisconsin Constitution is clear: All Wisconsinites must be treated equally. The state cannot use a map that violates this basic guarantee.
Because congressional maps are usually only drawn once a decade after the census, Wisconsin voters may be forced to participate in three more election cycles under a congressional map that violates the state’s constitution if the court does not step in.
That’s why Campaign Legal Center has asked the Supreme Court of Wisconsin to order this map to be redrawn, so all voters have an equal opportunity to make their voices heard.
The fight for fair maps is a fight for a more representative democracy, and it’s at the heart of our redistricting work. Support Campaign Legal Center’s efforts to ensure that voters in Wisconsin — and across the United States — have equal power at the ballot box.
