By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON, March 31 (Reuters) – A three-judge panel in Wisconsin on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit from Democratic voters that had challenged the state’s congressional map.
The panel said in its ruling that only the Wisconsin Supreme Court can determine whether the state’s congressional maps need to be redrawn.
“This panel is not endorsing the current congressional map. Rather, we as circuit court judges, do not have the authority to read into a Wisconsin Supreme Court case an analysis that it does not contain,” the panel said.
While the decision can be appealed to the state Supreme Court, it is not clear if the court would rule in time to impact the U.S. midterm elections later this year.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s demand that Republican-led states redraw their congressional maps to help his party retain control of Congress in November’s midterm elections has triggered a national battle over redistricting.
The fight began last July when Republicans in Texas, the most populous Republican-led state, heeded Trump’s call to approve a rare mid-decade change to its congressional map aimed at flipping five Democratic-held seats in the House of Representatives.
California, the biggest Democratic-led state, responded with its own redistricting effort targeting five Republican incumbents.
Other states, led both by Republicans and Democrats, have followed suit.
Under Wisconsin’s current congressional district lines, Republicans control six of the state’s eight U.S. House seats. Two of the districts are considered competitive by election analysts.
Trump’s Republicans currently hold a narrow majority in the U.S. House and Senate.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese)
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