Wisconsin Assembly Speaker releases redistricting contract; $840K cost could rise

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A contract released by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos shows that taxpayers are paying $840,000 to defend Republican lawmakers in a redistricting lawsuit, and the figure could go higher.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Vos released the contract Tuesday after initially citing attorney-client privilege last month.

A panel of federal judges ruled in 2016 that the state’s Republican-drawn redistricting map was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and ordered new districts drawn for the 2018 election. But the U.S. Supreme Court put the order on hold in June after finding Democratic voters who were plaintiffs in the case lacked standing to sue.

The court sent the case back to lower court for further proceedings.

Democrats challenging the maps are opposing a request by the GOP-controlled Assembly to delay an April trial.