Non-Partisan Redistricting Reform to be Included in the Governor's Budget

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For Release: Tuesday - February 26, 2019

Gov. Evers Backs "Iowa Model"

Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers has indicated that he will be including non-partisan redistricting reform, based on the "Iowa Model" system of redistricting, in his 2019-2021 biennium budget. Common Cause in Wisconsin (CC/WI) has long supported the Iowa Model as the best process for Wisconsin to replace the current, hyper-partisan gerrymandering that produced among the most skewed, rigged legislative and congressional districts in the nation in 2011.

Since 1980, Iowa has utilized a redistricting process in which a non-partisan legislative agency draws the state legislative and congressional districts every ten years, after the decennial census, according to a strict set of criteria that requires that contiguity and compactness be prioritized and that past election results, or even the homes of incumbent legislators not be considered in the drawing of the voter maps – and that the Legislature may vote only up or down, with no amendments, for the maps drawn by the legislative agency. In Wisconsin, that entity would be the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB).

Unlike the single, one-day public hearing that was held in 2011 for the consideration of the gerrymandered voting maps, this reform measure calls for a public hearing to be held in each of Wisconsin's eight congressional districts so that the public will have ample opportunity to weigh in on the voting maps drawn by the non-partisan LRB.

CC/WI will carefully examine the redistricting reform legislation contained in the budget and seek opportunities to improve and strengthen it, if necessary.

We look forward to the participation of the citizens of Wisconsin in this process as we move towards building a stronger democracy in this state through the ending of partisan gerrymandering of state legislative and congressional districts.

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CONTACT:

Jay Heck
608/256-2686 (office)
608/512-9363 (cell)



Common Cause in Wisconsin
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Madison, WI  53703
608/256-2686

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