The judges said in the order issued late Tuesday that the recent election of Democrat Josh Kaul as Wisconsin attorney general “introduced potential uncertainty” into the defense strategy. Kaul said before the election that he would defend the maps, but allowing the Assembly to intervene in the case gives it the chance to speak for itself.
Republicans drew the maps in 2011. Democratic voters brought a lawsuit in 2015 arguing that the state Assembly and Senate district maps were gerrymandered to give Republicans an unfair advantage.
The U.S. Supreme Court this summer sent the case back to federal court in the state, saying the plaintiffs didn’t have legal standing to bring it.
A second trial is scheduled for April.
