By Henry Redman
With just months remaining before the 2022 election cycle begins in earnest, the court battle over Wisconsin’s new political maps continued on Tuesday as voters and Republican members of Congress attempted to sway how the state Supreme Court will draw new districts.
On Tuesday, a group of 36 “concerned voters” from all 33 state Senate districts filed an amicus brief in Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission seeking to show that citizens from across the state and with differing political views want maps that are fair and allow equal representation for all Wisconsinites — conditions they say aren’t met by the current maps or the ones proposed by legislative Republicans.
“The Concerned Voters of Wisconsin further bring a unique perspective to this case — that of everyday Wisconsin voters,” the voters’ attorney, Joseph Goode, wrote in the motion to the court seeking to have the brief accepted. “They represent no political party, and indeed are from both major political parties as well as independent voters, with differing levels of political engagement. Although some are affiliated with organizations, they come before this Court as individual voters expressing their personal views. They are not in power seeking to stay in power, nor are they out of power seeking to be in power. They are not being paid for what they do. Even their lawyers are working pro bono to ensure their voice is heard. The only benefit these amici seek is the same benefit they ask for everyone living in Wisconsin: a just and representative government.”