There are rumors that the Republicans are going to try to shove through redistricting in a special session this week.
All 3 levels?
I'm not sure, but I don't see how they could do Congressional redistricting without the new ward data (since they would need to have zero deviation, while state legislative districts get a 5% leeway). Besides, they just need to do the state legislature right now to screw up the recalls.
Why is ward data even relevant? The census block level data has been available for months. That's what most states use to draw their maps, anyway. Wards can be drawn from blocks, too.
If I remember what I read a while ago, the Wisconsin is than the counties draw the wards during the summer and the Legislature draw the map the Fall after that, basing it on the new wards.
Well, if that's just the current law, it can be changed. A past legislature can't bind the current one.
The problem with changing the current law is that it would increase costs on local governments by hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars. Precints are set at the local level. If the state passes a bill that currently divides a precint, then local governments will have to scramble to draw new precinct boundaries. This will cost them money, both in the hours worked to draw the new maps, but in the voter education material that would have to be redesigned, printed and mailed. Unless the borders are based on existing municipal lines, I don't see how the GOP could pull this off without pissing off every local elected clear and board.
Not that this group seems interested in playing with others.
