WASHINGTON (AP) – The Supreme Court is taking up a case about political maps in Wisconsin that could affect elections across the country.
The justices are hearing arguments Tuesday in a dispute between Democratic voters and Wisconsin Republicans who drew maps that have entrenched their control of the legislature in a state that is otherwise closely divided between the parties.
The Democratic challengers are asking the court to declare for the first time that the inherently political process of redistricting can be too partisan.
Republicans contend that courts have no business in decisions that should be left to the political branches of government.
Courts have struck down districts as racially biased for decades, and other partisan districting lawsuits are moving through the courts in Maryland and North Carolina.