Gotta Communicate—Fair Maps This Time
Gotta Communicate—Fair Maps This Time
by Janine Edwards
All votes cast must count. So what is most important for Wisconsin voters? The election of state representatives and senators who will support the drawing of fair maps. We do this by creating a good working relationship with local officials during this period of extreme partisanship.
Iowa has cows and nonpartisan voting districts. Wisconsin has cows. We need nonpartisan voting districts.
Photo credit: Meg Gordon, Steel Cow Mural, Winneshiek County, Iowa
According to a Pew Research Center report, individuals who are more tightly aligned with partisan ideology tend to participate more in the political processes. This means uncompromising voices may be what elected officials hear most often. However, most Americans do not adhere to uniformly partisan views, be they conservative or liberal. Instead, we identify with a mix of concerns that cross partisan divides. Neither party is viewed as a threat to the nation (though that may well have changes of late) and most would like our government representatives to employ wisdom and skill to forge compromises in contentious disputes.
Unfortunately, once a reliable partisan gerrymandered district is drawn, elected officials are secure in their position. They no longer need to listen to voters and their loyalty shifts to their party and moneyed donors.
During 2021, the United States Census Bureau will deliver each state’s data and municipalities, counties, and the Legislature will begin (ostensibly) the process of drawing district lines for voters throughout the state. Word on the street is some legislators have already begun the process of drawing district lines to keep themselves in power.
If this is so (and there is some evidence to substantiate the rumor), municipal and county officials need to stand up on their hind legs and demand that the population data they have been inputting into the WISE-Decade database is used as the basis for the legislative maps. That is the legitimate process.
What is WISE-Decade (you might be asking)? It is an electronic database developed by the nonpartisan Legislative Technology Services Bureau (LTSB) after the 2011 gerrymandering debacle to avoid such gerrymandering in the current redistricting process.
WISE-Decade is designed to make it easy for local government officials to draw their ward and supervisory districts. The site may also be used for any geographic boundaries where population matters, such as school districts, special tax districts, aldermanic districts or others. The system is designed to allow easy collaboration, data sharing, and data file creation. The legislative maps should be based upon the local district maps.
Voters can help to ensure the legitimate process is used (instead of a gerrymandering process as occurred during the 2011 redistricting) by letting their local officials know that they are watching and expecting fair play for their city, town, and county—Go! Talk with them!
The bases are loaded, and each voter is up to bat. Speak out and swing for the fences!
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