Cases & Actions
Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy et al. vs. Wisconsin Elections Commission et al.
On July 8, 2025, ELC, along with Law Forward and Stafford Rosenbaum LLP, filed a lawsuit representing Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy and eight Wisconsin voters challenging Wisconsin’s Congressional map. The current map, adopted by the Wisconsin Supreme Court as a remedial plan in 2021, made minimal changes to the state’s 2011 Congressional map, which was intentionally designed to protect incumbents. The map violates Wisconsin’s anti-competitive gerrymandering mandate and undermines essential democratic values, including accountability and responsive governance.
UPDATED: August 4, 2025
BACKGROUND
Following the release of each decennial census, all states must adopt new congressional districts to ensure equal apportionment. After the 2020 Census, the Wisconsin Legislature passed a bill drawing new congressional districts, which the Governor then vetoed. In a series of cases — Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commision, 2021 (Johnson I), Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2022, and Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2022 (Johnson III)—the Wisconsin Supreme Court imposed new Wisconsin congressional districts after a continued impasse between the Legislature and Governor.
When adopting the remedial map, the Court relied primarily on a “least change” criterion, which it has since rejected. This approach ensured that the current map closely resembles the congressional map from the prior decade, known as “Act 44”. However, Act 44 was challenged at the time of its adoption for unconstitutional partisan gerrymandering. Additionally, Act 44 deliberately imposed uncompetitive districts that were designed to protect the incumbent members of Wisconsin’s delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives, reducing competition and decreasing government accountability.
Over the decade-long life span of Act 44 and forty individual district races, not one district changed parties, and no incumbents lost. The median margin of victory was more than twenty-five percentage points. As a result of the “least change” criterion, the current Wisconsin map reflects the defects of the original Act 44 map, with the median margin of victory in the elections held under the current map exceeding 30 points.
Anti-competitive gerrymandering erodes democratic accountability and responsibility, and it violates the Wisconsin Constitution's guarantees of equal protection to all citizens, the promise to maintain a free government, and the right to vote.