Under legal pressure to address Wisconsin’s “Swiss cheese” and oddly shaped districts, the Legislature approved redrawn maps that promise to create a new dynamic in a state known for its pivotal role in national politics.
Wisconsin’s dinosaur-shaped legislative district could soon be history.
The curiously drawn district and other oddities associated with the state’s extreme gerrymandering would be erased in new voting maps passed this week by the Wisconsin Legislature.
A state Supreme Court decision finally forced Wisconsin Republicans to cede an advantage they enjoyed for more than a decade with maps that made the state one of the nation’s foremost examples of gerrymandering.
If only we could do this in Ohio…
Constitutionally they have to. That did not stop Republicans from forcing an unconstitutional map, or coursebut at least it was slightly more representative.
Speaking of that…what happened with that lawsuit? I know the Supreme Court said the map was illegal back in 2022.
Ohio’s Rs got around it by saying a map that reflected the proportions of elected offices held by each party was “proportionally representative”
It just so happened that due to previous Gerrymandering Republicans held 80% of the elected offices in the state of Ohio.
Doesn’t Ohio have a thing where people can change the constitution with just a petition and enough votes on the ballot?
It does, and a petition is collected signatures. But it still needs to dodge Republican interference (they will probably make the ballot language prejudicial), negative ads about “unelected bureaucrats”, and actually pass.
They passed constitutional abortion rights though, kinda seems like gerrymandering might actually be something that could pass
It does and we have… Multiple fucking times. They didn’t get the message (really obnoxious in the case of the most recent one where they ignored the Ohio Supreme Court because they knew they could wait one cycle and have control of it), we’re trying again soon with a “you don’t get a say in map making anymore Mr. Politician” approach soon.
Fellow ohioan here, I don’t even know what district I’m in anymore because it changes every 2 years when they rig the maps again.
And every other state.
GET ABSOLUTELY FUCKED VOS!!! After all the “we’re gonna impeach” blah blah whine cry cry cope you slimy shit stain.
If we want to end gerrymandering but we consistently need districts to be redrawn due to population changes, why not inventovise the nominees to do the work for us?
Release the population data map. Whomever can create the required amount of districts, with the appropriate population with lines of the shortest length has their map used. After Avery census, where the data is release, set a deadline for a certain time, say 1 year, for submissions to be considered.
Honestly, seeking compactness/shortest lines can create gerrymandered districts too. It can result neighborhoods or population centers being split into multiple districts and having their power diluted.
Drawing convenient/straight boarders can have lasting negative impacts. Just ask the British.
The solution is… Complicated. David Wasserman did a great piece on this many years ago for 538. It’s worth a read
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/hating-gerrymandering-is-easy-fixing-it-is-harder/
All I hear in this article is “could” and “would”
The headline is very misleading.
The new maps do NOT end GOP gerrymandering. The new maps are still very much gerrymandered in favor of the GOP. Just a bit less-so.
The sad reality with decent judges. They don’t force their ideals like the corrupt ones do.
Awesome news. Vote! This is the outcome of vote turnout for justice Janet Protasiewicz!
