The Supreme Court will hear a case on partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin. | Getty Supreme Court to hear partisan gerrymandering case State wins stay from justices on 5-4 vote

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case from Wisconsin that could clarify whether redistricting plans can be unconstitutional because they’re too partisan.

Last November, a three-judge panel of a federal district court ruled 2-1 that the Republican-drawn maps for Wisconsin’s State Assembly were impermissibly biased against Democrats.


The high court also signaled Monday that it may well split along partisan lines. The justices voted 5-4 to stay a requirement that the state file a new redistricting plan by Nov. 1. All four justices nominated by Democratic presidents dissented.

The state of Wisconsin had asked the Supreme Court to summarily overturn the lower-court decision, or to put it on hold.

The Supreme Court wrestled with the legality of partisan gerrymandering in cases in 1986 and 2004 but issued muddled rulings that offered no clear guidance on the issue.

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Wisconsin's Republican-controlled legislature adopted the redistricting plan in 2011 and used it in state elections from 2012 through 2016.