What's wrong with this picture?
GOP cracking of Middleton and Madison and packing of Sun Prairie.
Maps: Wikipedia (boxes added)
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. [emphasis added]
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.
There is so much that is wrong with this map. As drawn by GOP gerrymanderers, the 79th Assembly District sprawls from City of Middleton (orange box) to the edge of City of Sun Prairie. Most of the City of Middleton north of Century Avenue (green box) is excluded, and once again DeForest and Windsor (purple box) are in separate district. And what is a small piece of Madison (black box) doing here?
Alex Joers (D-Middleton) has represented the 79th District since January 2023. He defeated his Democratic opponent by 48 percentage points. In other words, there's nothing to gerrymander here, so why bother?
Here's a suggestion, one that is more compact, follows township and municipal boundaries, and add up to enough resident to fill an Assembly District.
Related reading:
Wisconsin State Journal, 11/4/2022
What should be the top priority for Democrats if the Legislature continues to be controlled by Republicans?
Joers: Our democracy is under attack by conspiracy theorists and radical politicians that don’t want to listen to the voters that elected them. Our top priority is retaking the majority, because Democrats are ready to govern and make progress on the issues that Wisconsinites care about. The gerrymandered Republican Legislature will not release their grip on power without a fight. This means we need to have effective messengers representing the will of the people. Wisconsinites want to take back our federal dollars to expand BadgerCare, provide commonsense gun safety solutions, restore reproductive rights in our state, address the climate crisis, and pass a plan for fair maps. [emphasis added]
We have this white male menagerie to thank for the state's current maps..
Meet the defenders of fair elections.
Other posts in the series:
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