ONLINE: Redistricting in 2021-22 and Ending Partisan Gerrymandering in Wisconsin

media release: Common Cause Wisconsin will host a statewide webinar on the state’s redistricting process on Tuesday, August 17 at 6:00 p.m. CT. A panel of democracy reform leaders and elected officials, including State Senator Jeff Smith (D-Eau-Claire), State Representative Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay), will discuss the introduction of their redistricting reform bills this session that put people before politicians and the history of partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin (SB 389 / AB 395) [1,2].  

Additionally, Law Forward attorney Melody Barnes will present legal perspectives on the current happenings with regard to the battle for nonpartisan, transparent maps for Wisconsin, and former State Representative Penny Bernard Schaber (D-Appleton) will share the progress and challenges of the grassroots efforts in Wisconsin to make redistricting reform a reality.

Redistricting happens once a decade. It is the process the state legislature uses to draw new congressional and state legislative districts that reflect the changing population data from the previous year’s U.S. Census count. The process is meant to ensure that even as our communities grow and change, every citizen will have equal representation in government.  

In 2011, the last redistricting cycle, state legislators engaged in partisan gerrymandering, giving their party an unfair electoral advantage. A recent study found that Wisconsin is the most gerrymandered state in the nation in the last 42 years [3].