MILWAUKEE—After a news report yesterday morning in the Wisconsin Examiner that the Republican leadership intends to try and circumvent the Governor in the next redistricting, confirmed by top Republican activist Rick Esenberg, the GOP’s ‘not being discussed’ cannot possibly be read as ‘no, we won’t do this.’
The double-talk used by the Speaker and Majority Leader is neither an effective denial nor a promise the people of Wisconsin can count on. They can put this issue to rest by answering a simple question—will they, under any circumstance, try to pass a legislative district map without the Governor’s signature?
What the people of Wisconsin want to see — large bipartisan majorities, in fact — is a public statement that the legislature intends to work with the administration in an open and transparent way to draw the maps in 2021. Putting the Hansen/Vining independent redistricting bill up for a hearing, and then on the floor for a vote to be passed into law, is the best way to assure all Wisconsin residents that the process will be fair and result in an unrigged map.
The parties came together in 1971, compromised, and drew a fair map. With goodwill, that result can be achieved again. They’ve had 10 years with a guaranteed majority, and the time has come to return Wisconsin’s legislature back to the control of the people.
More information about the lawsuit and campaign can be found at the Fair Elections Project website at fairelectionsproject.org, at Facebook.com/wifairelections, and on Twitter at@WIFairElections and @FairElections.
