MADISON – With a stroke of Governor Evers’ pen, Wisconsin has new legislative maps. While they are far from making every lawmaker happy, these new maps end district lines that had been called gerrymandered for over a decade.
The maps were proposed by Governor Evers after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled the legislative maps that had been in place since 2011 were unconstitutional. Both houses of the Republican-led legislature passed the bill, despite being proposed by the leader of the opposing party. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R – Burlington) told the Associated Press that Governor Evers “got a huge win” with the passage of the maps.
State Representative Bob Donovan (R – Greenfield) said he and many of his colleagues voted for the maps out of fear of what the Wisconsin Supreme Court would create if they did not. “There was fear of the unknown because of what the courts might come up with,” said Rep. Donovan on Wisconsin’s Afternoon News.
Like several other members of the state legislature, Rep. Donovan will run against another Republican during the upcoming election. Knowing this was a possibility, he said he still felt confident supporting the maps.
State Senator Chris Larson (D – Milwaukee) voted against the maps, saying he felt the matter should have been left to the courts to resolve. “I don’t see it (voting against the maps) as an indictment against the Governor, I see it as an indictment against Speaker Vos,” Sen. Larson told WTMJ. “I can’t think of a time where he has put forward anything on legislation that has been for the best.”
Outside of the Capitol Building in Madison, analysts feel optimistic about what the maps will bring to Wisconsin. Jeff Mayers is the President of WisPolitics, and told Wisconsin’s Afternoon News that the state needs a healthy amount of compromise: “If one party feels they are not involved and then the Governor is acting like a hockey goalie vetoing this and that, it’s more stalemate than it is cooperation.”
Sen. Larson said he hopes the maps make elected officials more accessible to their constituents. “For a lot of people who have tried to contact their legislator on issues like marijuana legalization, education, ending gun violence… where the phone was never answered, I think that phone might get picked up.”
A letter has been submitted to the Wisconsin Supreme Court requesting clarification on whether the new maps will apply to special elections before the 2024 General Election.
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