MADISON, Wis. — A new lawsuit seeking to redraw Wisconsin's congressional district boundary lines was filed on Tuesday, less than two weeks after the state Supreme Court declined to hear a pair of other lawsuits that asked for redistricting before the 2026 election.
The latest lawsuit brought by a bipartisan coalition of business leaders was filed in Dane County circuit court, rather than directly with the state Supreme Court as the rejected cases were. The justices did not give any reason for declining to hear those cases, but typically lawsuits start in a lower court and work their way up.
This new lawsuit's more lengthy journey through the courts might not be resolved in time to order new maps before the 2026 midterms.
The Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy argue in the new lawsuit that Wisconsin's congressional maps are unconstitutional because they are an anti-competitive gerrymander. The lawsuit notes that the median margin of victory for candidates in the eight districts since the maps were enacted is close to 30 percentage points.
''Anti‐competitive gerrymanders are every bit as antithetical to democracy, and to law, as partisan gerrymanders and racial gerrymanders,'' the lawsuit argues. ''This is because electoral competition is as vital to democracy as partisan fairness.''
The lawsuit alleges that an anti-competitive gerrymander violates the state constitution's guarantees of equal protection to all citizens, the promise to maintain a free government and the right to vote.
The lawsuit was filed against the state's bipartisan elections commission, which administers elections. Commission spokesperson Emilee Miklas declined to comment.
The Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy had attempted to intervene in one of the redistricting cases brought by Democrats with the state Supreme Court, but the justices dismissed the case without considering their arguments.