Case Name:
JOHNSON V. WEC
Case Status:
Concluded Case
Case Background
Case Name: Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
Type of Case: Constitutional Government
Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court
Case Number:
Filed On: August 23, 2021
Current Status: The U.S. Supreme Court reversed the Wisconsin Supreme Court on March 23, 2022. The Wisconsin Supreme Court selected maps produced by the Legislature on April 15, 2022.
WILL filed an original action with the Wisconsin Supreme Court urging the Court to declare the current legislative districts unconstitutional and establish a judicial plan of apportionment.
Background
The Wisconsin Constitution guarantees equal representation under the principle of one person, one vote. Following the 2020 Census, population shifts rendered the existing legislative maps unconstitutional, with some voters experiencing diluted voting power based on their districts’ demographic changes.
The Legislature and the Governor were tasked with approving new maps. Given divided government, judicial intervention became necessary. WILL filed an original action representing four Wisconsin voters in districts where population increases had diluted their votes.
Status
- November 30, 2021 — The Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted redistricting criteria, embracing WILL’s proposal to avoid partisan considerations and apply a least-changes approach.
- March 3, 2022 — The Wisconsin Supreme Court selected Governor Evers’s maps in a divided decision.
- March 8, 2022 — WILL joined the Legislature’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing the selected maps constituted racial gerrymandering violating equal protection guarantees.
- March 23, 2022 — The U.S. Supreme Court issued a 7-2 decision reversing the Wisconsin court, finding legal error in the application of equal protection precedent.
- April 15, 2022 — The Wisconsin Supreme Court selected the Legislature’s race-neutral maps in a 4-3 decision.
Lawyers
Rick Esenberg, President and General Counsel; Anthony LoCoco, Deputy Counsel; Lucas Vebber, Deputy Counsel
CASE DOCUMENTS
- Petition to the Supreme Court of Wisconsin to Take Jurisdiction of an Original Action, August 23, 2021
- Memorandum in Support of Petition for Original Action, August 23, 2021
- Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision, November 30, 2021
- Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision, March 3, 2022
- Emergency Application for Stay and Injunctive Relief, March 7, 2022
- Appendix for Emergency Application to Stay, Vol. 1, March 7, 2022
- Appendix for Emergency Application to Stay, Vol. 2, March 7, 2022
- Certificate of Service, March 7, 2022
- U.S. Supreme Court Decision, March 23, 2022
- Wisconsin Supreme Court Decision, April 15, 2022
