What's wrong with this picture?
Cracking Milwaukee County.
Map: Wikipedia
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 district is represented by Dave Maxey (R-New Berlin), who was first elected to the Assembly in November 2022.
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.
Related reading:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8/2/2023
A lawsuit aimed at rewriting Wisconsin's legislative maps to favor Republicans less was filed Wednesday at the state Supreme Court, a day after the state's highest court flipped to liberal control for the first time in years. [emphasis added]
[snip]
The current maps tilt heavily in Republicans’ favor, with 63 of the 99 Assembly seats and 23 of the 33 Senate seats leaning toward the GOP, according to a December analysis by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Other posts in the series:
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