Here & Now

A Republican Redistricting Plan Goes to the Governor

Frederica Freyberg:

Also this week, the Legislature passed the Republican version of new voting maps, which have to be redrawn every ten years with the census.

Maps proposed by an independent Evers commission were shot down, with Republicans deriding the process.

Robin Vos:

They have a process that the governor utilized that they won’t even stand behind. They have a process that is clearly partisan.

Gordon Hintz:

They moved 2.4 million people in the districts to make it impossible for their members to lose, whether it’s a good year or a bad year. That is not democracy.

Frederica Freyberg:

Democrats were not unified over the governor’s maps, however. Some criticized the maps for deluding minority groups’ political voice across multiple districts.

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez:

At least the Republican map goal was not to decimate the voices of the black and brown communities of Wisconsin. Governor Tony Evers, Mr. Speaker, or the people’s maps are also not fair to everyone in our state.

Frederica Freyberg:

17 Democrats voted against the governor’s maps in the Assembly as well as one Democrat in the Senate. The GOP maps face a certain veto from the governor and will land in the courts.