Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed Executive Order #285 on Tuesday, calling the Republican-controlled state Legislature into a special session on April 14 to take up a constitutional amendment banning partisan gerrymandering.
The Democratic governor said the proposed amendment would prohibit partisan map-drawing but would not prescribe a specific redistricting process or commission.
Evers signed new legislative maps into law in February 2024 with bipartisan support from the Republican-controlled Legislature, to replace maps he said were widely considered among the most gerrymandered in the country.
“Two years ago, I delivered on my promise and signed fair maps for Wisconsin into law, ending a decade of Wisconsinites living under some of the most gerrymandered legislative maps in America,” he wrote in a news release. “But here’s the rub: new maps are redrawn every 10 years, and while Wisconsin has fair maps today, we have no guarantee we’ll continue to have fair maps in the future. If the Legislature doesn’t act now, our maps could go right back to being rigged, and Wisconsinites could go right back to living under undemocratic maps—we cannot let that happen.
Evers said the push is a response to what he called escalating partisan redistricting fights nationally.
“While lots of people have lots of different ideas about what a nonpartisan redistricting process or commission should look like, there’s one thing all of us should be able to agree on, which is that politics should stay out of redistricting from start to finish,” Evers said.
Constitutional amendments in Wisconsin must pass both chambers of the Legislature in two consecutive sessions before going to voters for approval. Evers said he wants the ban enacted before the next round of redistricting.
In an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R) said Republicans are open to the idea but want more detail.
“This one-sentence constitutional amendment provides no details as to how this would actually work,” Vos said. “But we’re supportive of the governor’s concept and we would be more than happy to negotiate with him to develop a plan to be voted on by the entire Assembly.”
After Evers first announced the plan during his Feb. 17 State of the State address, Vos told reporters he was skeptical of the proposal and said Republicans had previously tried to negotiate a nonpartisan redistricting commission.
“We actually were ready to pass one, but only under the scenario that he has where it was gerrymandered for Democrats,” Vos said. “I guess I’m open to listening to what his proposal is, but if it’s what it was before, where it’s a gerrymander under a different title, and frankly, all the Democrats across the country are rushing to gerrymander—I hope he’s sincere in saying he doesn’t want that, but call me skeptical.”
The Epoch Times reached out to Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu’s office for comment on Tuesday’s executive order but did not receive an immediate response.
Republicans have frequently ignored Evers’s special session calls, often gaveling in and immediately adjourning without debate. Evers said he would call lawmakers back later this fall if the Legislature does not act.
Under the 2024 maps, Democrats picked up 14 legislative seats in that year’s election, breaking the Republicans’ Senate supermajority. Republicans now hold an 18-15 Senate majority and a 54-45 lead in the Assembly, according to the legislature’s website.
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