FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, January 13, 2022
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Amanda Pustz, RepresentUs Wisconsin Organizing Manager, 608-556-0372, apustz@represent.us
Ross Sherman, RepresentUs PR Strategist, 207-749-2660, rsherman@represent.us
MADISON, Wisc. -- As the Wisconsin Supreme Court prepares to make a final ruling on the state’s new redistricting maps as soon as next week, more than 125 Wisconsin educators are calling on decision makers to make the maps fairer.
The original congressional, state senate, and state assembly maps, passed by the Wisconsin Legislature and vetoed by Gov. Tony Evers, all received “F” grades overall from the Redistricting Report Card and have a “significant” Republican advantage. The congressional map is particularly egregious, receiving an “F” for competitiveness with just one competitive seat.
“The current maps manipulate election districts for unfair partisan gain, entrenching political power rather than allowing voters a choice in representation,” the coalition of teachers wrote in a letter, published Thursday. “If our state politics were a classroom, it seems it would be an out of control kindergarten class where compromise and collaboration are out of the question.”
The educators emphasized that Wisconsinites of all political stripes oppose the corrupt practice of letting partisans draw their own voting maps. According to a RepresentUs poll, 87 percent of Wisconsin voters oppose gerrymandering, including 81 percent of respondents who voted for former President Donald Trump and 93 percent of those who voted for President Joe Biden.
“Gerrymandering isn’t a red or blue issue. It’s a political-parties-in-power issue,” said RepresentUs Organizing Manager Amanda Pustz. “As I’ve gone across our state hosting events, handing out anti-gerrymandering yard signs, and talking to my neighbors, one thing is clear: the vast majority of us want fair, nonpartisan maps.”
The Wisconsin Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on proposed redistricting maps January 19. RepresentUs has been mobilizing grassroots support for fairer maps, including organizing the teacher’s letter, distributing lawn signs, and running a paid media campaign. Ahead of the court hearing, RepresentUs and partners in the Fair Maps Coalition will be holding rallies in 16 cities calling on the courts to do the right thing and strengthen democracy.
“We are watching, and our youth are watching – the young minds of the future of Wisconsin,” the teachers conclude. “Let’s do right by them and make them proud.”
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RepresentUs is the nation’s largest grassroots anti-corruption organization, bringing together conservatives, progressives, and everyone in between to pass anti-corruption laws in cities and states to stop political bribery, end secret money, and fix our broken elections.