Wirch Co-Sponsors Independent Redistricting Plan

Plan Would Take Partisan Games Out of Redistricting

Madison-Senator Bob Wirch (D-Somers) announced today that he will again co-sponsor legislation to revise the methods of legislative and congressional redistricting in the State of Wisconsin.

“Redistricting should be fair and in the best interest of the people of Wisconsin, not in the best interest of the politicians. We must change the way we do business in this state. We must make redistricting about the voters and population shifts, and not political gain,” Wirch said.

States must redraw legislative and congressional boundaries every 10 years to reflect population shifts found during the census. The legislation, a proposed constitutional amendment, would help ensure that the legislative districts are drawn fairly. The bill would take the responsibility for drawing the new districts out of the hands of politicians and transfer the duty to the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau. It would also create a five-member Redistricting Advisory Commission, which would be required to hold at least three public hearings on the new maps after they are drafted by the LRB.

“We must remove politicians from the process. It was ridiculous that both parties spent more than $2 million of taxpayers’ money fighting over this process in 2000, and the price tag is already at $1.9 million from the most recent round. Turning the process over to LRB and an independent commission will take politics out of the process,” asserted Wirch.

New legislative maps drawn in 2011 resulted in a federal lawsuit, which has cost the state $1.9 million to date. After the 2000 census, Wisconsin spent over $2 million in taxpayer funds for lawyer fees as a result of redistricting. In 1980, as the result of a long legal battle over redistricting following the 1970 census, Iowa adopted a process using an independent commission to redistrict the state. For the past three decades, Iowa has conducted its redistricting without a court challenge or additional cost to the taxpayers. In recent years, movements have grown in numerous states, including Florida, New York, and California, in support of redistricting reform.

“Our plan reflects that of Iowa and several other states. By taking the politics out of the process we can potentially save taxpayers millions of dollars. I believe we owe it to our constituents to save them money and make the process fair,” stated Wirch.