Legislative Republicans plan to vote on 'modified version' of Tony Evers' map submission, sources say

A Democratic source calls this a "rushed final attempt to get around (the Wisconsin Supreme Court)."

The Recombobulation Area is a ten-time Milwaukee Press Club award-winningweekly opinion column and online publication written, edited and published by longtime Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. Learn more about it here.

Screenshot of Tony Evers’ official map submission for the State Assembly, as posted on Dave’s Redistricting App.

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The Republican-controlled Wisconsin State Senate plans to vote on new maps in session today, The Recombobulation Area has learned from multiple sources. 

Sources say Senate Republicans plan to advance a bill that would use the map submitted by Gov. Tony Evers — as ordered by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in its recent ruling striking down state legislative maps as unconstitutional — as the foundation for new maps, but with several key alterations. 

“Republicans are likely to attempt passing some version of legislative maps — more likely that it’ll be a modified version of the maps the governor submitted to (the Wisconsin Supreme Court) instead of passing them in their original form,” a Democratic source tells The Recombobulation Area, adding that this “seems like a rushed final attempt to get around (the Wisconsin Supreme Court).”

The path forward to vote on these maps would mean they would be included in a bill to revamp the state’s redistricting process, passed last year in the Assembly, but stalled after an Oct. 19 public hearing in the Senate, where many fair maps advocates voiced opposition to the plan. Gov. Evers was also especially critical of the bill when it was introduced. The Senate is now scheduled to convene at 3 p.m. to take up the bill (AB415), which now could presumably include the addition of this new map. 

WisPolitics first reported on the change to today’s session, and on this new plan. 

This all is scheduled to take place just hours before Gov. Evers delivers his sixth “State of the State” speech, tonight at 7 p.m. (stream it here).