Thread by @benwikler

Wisconsin’s Republicans gerrymandered the living hell out of Wisconsin after they won trifecta control in 2010. The fair maps movement rose up in response, passing pro-fair maps advisory referenda in counties representing the vast majority of WI’s population. Read on for more: 1/

https://twitter.com/benwikler/status/1515134770849751040

Pro-democracy voters defeated Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch in 2018 and elected Governor Evers. He vowed to fight for fair maps. And fight he did. He vetoed the GOP gerrymander and proposed better maps instead.

With our Democratic Governor and GOP-run state legislature on opposite sides, maps decisions went to the court. Our GOP-run state Supreme Court reversed past precedent and decided to take over from federal court, and then announced it wanted the least possible changes from 2010.

At that point, Governor Evers proposed new maps that did, indeed, make the least possible changes. His maps would nonetheless have increased the number of competitive legislative districts—bringing a measure of democracy to our state legislature.

The GOP legislature also proposed a “least-changes” map, but they made a lot more changes than Governor Evers’, in order to lock in GOP power. One Republican justice, Brian Hagedorn, stuck with his announced principle and chose Evers’ map. But then SCOTUS intervened.

On Wednesday, March 23, the U.S. Supreme Court—in an unsigned shadow-docket opinion—struck down Wisconsin’s state legislative maps (leaving our Congressional maps intact) based on a bizarre attack on the Voting Rights Act.

From 2010 to 2020, Black Wisconsinites had grown as a share of the WI population while white Wisconsinites had shrunk. Gov Evers’ maps increased the number of majority-Black districts from 6 to 7. SCOTUS said that without more evidence this could not stand.slate.com/news-and-polit…

The GOP-run Wisconsin State Supreme Court then had a choice. It could have invited additional evidence for why the maps it had chosen were in fact warranted by the Voting Rights Act. Governor Evers asked them to do this.
wispolitics.com/2022/evers-ask…

But they refused. The GOP majority of the state Supreme Court didn’t want to see the evidence that backed up the Constitutionality of the maps that they had just adopted.
madison.com/news/local/gov…

Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court’s “swing voter” swung back to the party that put him in power. He joined the other three Republicans by tossing the maps that in fact made the least changes to the 2010 maps—and chose the GOP’s gerrymandered maps.

The GOP’s maps, instead of increasing majority-Black districts to seven, *reduces* them to five. They also decrease the number of tossup legislative districts.

But Democrats are united and more motivated than ever to win tough legislative races and re-elect Governor Evers.

In fact, this decision raises the stakes in the Governor’s race even further. Governor Evers has shown at every step that he stands with voters. We are going to go all out to ensure his reelection. #AllinForTony

This decision fuels the determination of Democrats, and all friends of democracy, to re-elect Governor Evers, to recommit to the battle for voter freedoms and representation—and to ramp up their fight against authoritarianism in the land of the free.

When courts make terrible decisions we have a choice: to fall into despair or deepen our resolve. Only one of those options gives us a chance for progress. If you—like me—are determined to use the fury of this moment as fuel for the fight, support our work:wisdems.org/PlanB

Meanwhile, although Republicans grabbed control of the state legislative maps, they didn’t manage to undo the Congressional maps in Wisconsin. The number of competitive Congressional seats here has risen from one to two.

https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1515094553090576388

And Governor Evers still has his veto pen. Recently, he vetoed eight different GOP attacks on our democracy. In his second term, he will be absolutely unwavering in defense of voter freedoms—just as he has been in his first term.
usnews.com/news/politics/…

AND… Wisconsin has a state Supreme Court race in 2023 that will determine majority control of that body. A Republican justice is up. If allies of democracy win the majority in Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, prospects improve dramatically.

There are no permanent losses and there are no permanent victories in politics. The fight continues. Let’s turn our outrage into organizing, and keep sprinting towards November.