LETTER: Rally showed voters will not give up in fight for fair maps

To Ozaukee Press:

On Friday, Jan. 21, over 1,000 Wisconsinites turned out to rally at 18 locations in support of fair voting maps and an end to partisan gerrymandering. The rallies were organized by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition.

Despite frigid temperatures, 75 energetic supporters turned out for the Ozaukee County noon rally at the old Courthouse on Main Street in Port Washington. The rallies were promoted by the League of Women Voters and other organizations that support voter rights. The rallies coincided with the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s deliberations on new legislative maps that will define Wisconsin’s voting districts for the next decade.

The issue is before the court because Gov. Tony Evers vetoed maps passed by the Republican majority Legislature. The Supreme Court took original jurisdiction, and ruled that the next round of maps must follow a “least change” approach, meaning no matter what maps the court chooses, the new maps will probably look much like our existing voting maps, which federal courts have declared extremely unfair because of partisan gerrymandering.

Wisconsin’s voters refuse to give up the fight for fair maps. Speakers at the rally emphasized that they did not want any political party to have an unfair advantage at the polls based solely on partisan line drawing. Gerrymandering leads to unresponsive elected officials, too many non-competitive voting districts and government gridlock. Voters should select their representatives rather than the other way around.

Redrawing of voting district maps, must occur in every state every 10 years, following the U.S. Census. The voting maps must be in place by March 1, in time for the April elections.
                                         

Louis Mollinger
Port Washington