MADISON — MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Senate has approved a Republican bill that would delay local governments' redistricting efforts by a year or more.
Wisconsin law requires counties to adopt redistricting plans by July 1 and municipalities to adopt theirs within the following 60 days. The new districts would be based on 2020 census data that federal officials were required to deliver to states by March.
But the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed the data until fall. Under the bill, local governments would have until spring 2022 to adopt new maps. Democrats contend that keeping current districts in place for local elections could be unconstitutional. The Senate passed the bill Wednesday on an 18-12 vote. No Democrats voted for it.
