The Recombobulation Area is an award-winning weekly opinion column by veteran Milwaukee journalist Dan Shafer. Learn more about it here.
One of the biggest stories in Wisconsin right now is the battle over redistricting. Maps that will be in place for the next decade are now being discussed and debated in the Wisconsin state legislature.
In my most recent column, I wrote about the new maps being proposed by state Republicans, which takes one of the worst gerrymanders in the country and pushes it even further to the extreme. Those maps were the topic of discussion at a public hearing at the state capitol last week, where not one member of the public stepped forward to speak and voice support for those maps. Not one person.
But many people showed up to testify against those maps over the course of a nine-hour hearing. One of those people is Sachin Chheda, director of the Fair Elections Project. He joins us at The Recombobulation Area to discuss the public hearing, what’s next for the redistricting process, the coming court fight over new maps, the People’s Maps Commission, how these maps impact every piece of public policy in Wisconsin, and how to get involved.
There’s a lot of wild news stories going on in Wisconsin right now, and while those stories might last a news cycle, these maps will last 10 years. It’s really important that people not let this get lost in the shuffle.
“If you at all are affected by what your government does, you’re going to want to care about gerrymandering and stopping these rigged maps that are proposed by Republicans,” said Chheda.
Committee votes are coming this week and floor votes are coming next week on these maps, so go to fairmapswi.com or fairelectionsproject.org to find ways to get involved in this work and the fight for a fair playing field in Wisconsin.
Dan Shafer is a journalist from Milwaukee who writes and publishes the award-winning column, The Recombobulation Area. He previously worked at Seattle Magazine, Seattle Business Magazine, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, and BizTimes Milwaukee. He’s also written for The Daily Beast, WisPolitics, and Milwaukee Record. He’s on Twitter at @DanRShafer.
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PODCAST: What's Next For Redistricting in Wisconsin?