5/15/26 Second Judicial Circuit Court Hearing on Congressional Redistricting

In this hearing, Judge Joshua Hawkes hears arguments over whether to block the new congressional district map approved by the Legislature and signed into law on May 4th. Voting rights groups and individual voters are challenging the map, arguing that it violates the Fair District Amendment, which was passed by voters in 2010 and prohibits drawing district lines that favor a particular party. In briefs, the state argues that the amendment violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and that plaintiffs have no evidence to show that the map runs afoul of prohibitions on partisan gerrymandering.