However, in a separate ruling, SCOTUS denied a request from the GOP member of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to overturn the state’s congressional maps that were also adopted by the state Supreme Court. In that 4-3 ruling, the state Supreme Court picked the Governor’s map for Wisconsin’s congressional boundaries, finding it most closely followed the core retention principle the justices used to evaluate the proposals that had been submitted.
Yesterday’s motion to reconsider seeks the chance to submit a new map that Republicans argue would follow the core retention principle more closely than Evers’ proposal did. The court denied the application for stay that was presented to Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Justice Barrett had previously referred the case to the court and requested responses from relevant parties. The court did not provide comment as to why a stay was not granted. As a result, the congressional maps will remain intact even though the maps for the Wisconsin State Legislature must change.
Despite this following the ruling, Wisconsin’s GOP congressional delegation asked state justices to give them the chance to propose a new map. The House Republicans argued in their filing that it would take “just an hour” to draw a new map that better followed the core retention principle better than the Governor’s proposal. Evers’ proposal includes two solidly Democrat seats, four heavily Republican seats, and two swing seats— the 1st CD and 3rd CD. Republicans produced a map that would give them a 6-2 advantage, with the 3rd CD having a slight GOP lean.
