High court ruling likely ends Wisconsin redistricting case

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that federal courts have no place in policing political district boundaries means a challenge to Republican-drawn legislative boundaries in Wisconsin is likely over.

Democratic voters filed a federal lawsuit in Madison in 2015 alleging boundaries Republicans drew in 2011 unfairly diluted Democrats’ voting power.

A trial is set for July. But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that partisan gerrymandering claims don’t belong in federal court. The decision came as the court rejected challenges to Republican-drawn congressional districts in North Carolina and a Democratic district in Maryland.

Sachin Chheda, director of the Fair Elections Project, says it’s likely that Wisconsin’s maps will now have to be addressed via the Legislature.