Freshmen legislators push new legislation to correct flawed partisan redistricting process
Freshmen Democratic legislators from the State Assembly today announced new legislation that would remove the redistricting authority from politicians and assigns it to a non-partisan body.
MADISON – Freshmen Democratic legislators from the State Assembly today announced new legislation that would remove the redistricting authority from politicians and assigns it to a non-partisan body.
“We need to remove partisan politics from the redistricting process and this bill is a common sense fix to a problem that has plagued our state for decades,” said Rep. Mandy Wright (D-Wausau). “The residents of Wisconsin should choose their elected representatives – not the other way around.”
Currently, state law mandates that members of the majority political party in the Assembly and Senate must re-draw district borders every 10 years. This bill re-assigns that authority to the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau and a to-be-created Redistricting Advisory Commission.
All 14 freshmen Democratic representatives have co-authored this bill, which has also garnered much support from other representatives and senators and voters across the state.
“Wisconsin cannot afford the almost $2 million we faced in the last redistricting debacle,” said Rep. Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton). “We are seven years away from the next remapping effort. Now’s the time to make the change before leadership becomes too entrenched to make a move.”
This bill is modeled after the redistricting process that has been in place in Iowa for more than 30 years.
“Time and again it’s proven to be an effective way to draw competitive districts, eliminate gerrymandering and ensure that all voters have an equal say in determining the makeup of their representation,” said Rep. Eric Genrich (D-Green Bay) of the Iowa process. “The time has come to set aside petty, short-term partisan interests and put the people of Wisconsin first. The time has come to enact, non-partisan redistricting reform legislation.”
Contact:
Rep. Mandy Wright, 608.266.0654
Rep. Dianne Hesselbein, 608.266.5340
Rep. Eric Genrich, 608.266.0616
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.
More about the Gerrymandering of Legislative Districts
- Without Gerrymander, Democrats Flip 14 Legislative Seats - Jack Kelly, Hallie Claflin and Matthew DeFour - Nov 8th, 2024
- Op Ed: Democrats Optimistic About New Voting Maps - Ruth Conniff - Feb 27th, 2024
- The State of Politics: Parties Seek New Candidates in New Districts - Steven Walters - Feb 26th, 2024
- Rep. Myers Issues Statement Regarding Fair Legislative Maps - State Rep. LaKeshia Myers - Feb 19th, 2024
- Statement on Legislative Maps Being Signed into Law - Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos - Feb 19th, 2024
- Pocan Reacts to Newly Signed Wisconsin Legislative Maps - U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan - Feb 19th, 2024
- Evers Signs Legislative Maps Into Law, Ending Court Fight - Rich Kremer - Feb 19th, 2024
- Senator Hesselbein Statement: After More than a Decade of Political Gerrymanders, Fair Maps are Signed into Law in Wisconsin - Dianne Hesselbein - Feb 19th, 2024
- Wisconsin Democrats on Enactment of New Legislative Maps - Democratic Party of Wisconsin - Feb 19th, 2024
- Governor Evers Signs New Legislative Maps to Replace Unconstitutional GOP Maps - A Better Wisconsin Together - Feb 19th, 2024
Read more about Gerrymandering of Legislative Districts here
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