IV,5Senators, how chosen. Section 5. [As amended Nov. 1881 and Nov. 1982] The senators shall be elected by single districts of convenient contiguous territory, at the same time and in the same manner as members of the assembly are required to be chosen; and no assembly district shall be divided in the formation of a senate district. The senate districts shall be numbered in the regular series, and the senators shall be chosen alternately from the odd and even-numbered districts for the term of 4 years. [1880 J.R. 9S, 1881 J.R. 7A, 1881 c. 262, vote Nov. 1881; 1979 J.R. 36, 1981 J.R. 29, vote Nov. 1982] Contiguity is a constitutional imperative for all districts. Contiguous territory is territory that is touching or in actual contact. In other words, a district must be physically intact such that a person could travel from one point in the district to any other point in the district without crossing district lines. The contiguity requirements are not satisfied when a district includes detached territory that is a “municipal island,” a portion of a municipality separated from the main body of the municipality that is created via annexation, even if the main body of the municipality is located in the district. Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2023 WI 79, 410 Wis. 2d 1, 998 N.W.2d 370, 23-1399. Touch-point contiguity occurs when territory is contiguous only because it is joined at a single point. Since territory that touches at a single point is indeed touching, touch-point contiguity alone does not violate the contiguity requirement. Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, 2023 WI 79, 410 Wis. 2d 1, 998 N.W.2d 370, 23-1399.
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wisconsinconstitution
/constitution/wi/000232/000006
wisconsinconstitution/IV,5
wisconsinconstitution/IV,5
section
