Gerrymandering???

Gerrymandering is defined as a process used to manipulate the boundaries of an electoral constituency so as to favor one party.

Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn. District lines are redrawn every 10 years after the United States census is completed. The federal government requires that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity. In Wisconsin, the Legislature is responsible to set the district maps. These maps have been a point of contention between Democrats and Republicans for over 50 years as each party has used the courts to protest the party in power’s redrawing of district boundary lines.

Now we hear the impassioned cries of the left: “Gerrymandering is wrong.” “Gerrymandering is not fair.” “Gerrymandering is not the will of the people.” “Gerrymandering is used by the Republicans to cram Democrats into smaller, more disbursed districts that isolated them into smaller voting blocs.” These complaints, are not just simply a false narrative, they are inherently self-serving. In Wisconsin, we do not have the benefit of an electoral college for our statewide elected offices. In Wisconsin, the voting populace chooses the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General and Treasurer by popular vote. Our most populated regions can drive that narrative, as they have sufficient voting power to impose their will upon the entire state to elect those offices. Wisconsin elects its representatives in the State Assembly and Senate in a different manner. District lines are drawn to properly represent different geographic regions, by population, throughout the state. Wisconsinites living in rural districts have needs and concerns that may not be on the agenda of the more heavily urban areas. The State Assembly and Senate are elected as a check and balance to the power of the office of Governor and to represent those citizens and issues that affect those communities.

So, what would we need to do to create more fair and balanced voting districts in the State of Wisconsin cited as necessary by the left? How do we create a system that is fair and equitable and accurately represents the will of the people by equalizing the voting power of the left and the right? Almost one third of our population resides in two counties, Milwaukee and Dane, in an area less than 1/26th of the State. Continuing to organize as geographic districts is no longer plausible in order to achieve the effect advocated for by the left. Milwaukee and Madison would need to have portions of their populations carved out and placed into other districts throughout the State, to “equalize” the voting power. Even though the left declares otherwise, Democrats have not been forced by Republicans to “cram themselves into smaller geographic areas that isolated them into smaller voting blocs”. Many Democrats have simply chosen to live in predominately urban areas that have concentrated populations. The left’s “fairer” allocation of voting blocs would give urban areas the unrestrained ability to elect those with similar views and values, especially if those districts were drawn to encompass a greater population of those urban regions. The issues that are important to your geographic community may become an afterthought to those who control the vote, since they will not be personally affected by those decisions.

Historic changes to district lines are subtle to the naked eye and the basic design has changed little as each party in power has chosen to redrawn them. While there are a few districts that have boundaries that tend to favor one party over another, making district boundaries that will make it “fair” enough for the left are not physically possible. The left is not advocating for the elimination of gerrymandering, they are simply attempting to tilt the scales in their favor. In actuality, the left is attempting to impose their own form of gerrymandering. If the left gets their way and eliminates geographic districting, everyone else in the State will be marginalized and Milwaukee and Madison will be able to effectively control the narrative, enact the policies they want, and leave the rest of us behind. The system in place allows everyone to have a proper voice in how our State government is run. Don’t fall for the left’s design to create a Wisconsin in their own image.