Friday, August 11, 2023

Cheating to win elections: Wisconsin GOP attempts to defend the indefensible use of cracking and packing in drawing legislative districts


The GOP takes a bite out of Milwaukee County.  West Allis, to be specific, which typically votes Democratic.  The rest of the district is located in Waukesha County, which historically votes Republican.

The 15th Assembly District is represented by Dave Maxey (R-New Berlin), who was first elected to the Assembly in November 2022.

Headline:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/11/2023
Map:  Wisconsin State Legislature (box added)

Somehow, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter Tyler Katzenberger can write an article about legislative district without mentioning 'gerrymandering', 'packing', and 'cracking'.  

It's called journalistic malpractice.

The UW Applied Population Lab defines 'cracking' as 
drawing districts in such a way as to divide a concentration of specific types of voters across several districts such that they are a minority in each one, with practically no hope of achieving representation in any of the districts. This practice also helps make districts less competitive.
The UW Applied Population Lab defines 'packing' as 
the practice of drawing particular districts in such a way as to ensure that another party's candidate wins that seat by a tremendous margin. Although the opposing party is all but guaranteed the seat, packing makes surrounding districts less competitive, and thus tips the balance of power in the legislative body overall toward the ruling party.


Meet the leaders of the packing and cracking brigade!


Wouldn't you rather have this diverse group in the majority?
 

Other posts in the series:

See also:  Spotlight on Wisconsin gerrymandering

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