Legislature Passes Maps

Article IV, Section 3 of the Wisconsin Constitution says:  "At its first session after each enumeration made by the authority of the United States, the legislature shall apportion and district anew the members of the senate and assembly, according to the number of inhabitants."

This week, the Wisconsin Legislature fulfilled its constitutional duty by approving new legislative and congressional district maps that reflect population changes as reported by the 2020 US Census.  The Senate voted on November 8, and the Assembly concurred on November 11.  The maps were drawn in accordance with redistricting principles the Legislature adopted in September, including compactness, respecting communities of interest, avoiding municipal splits, and retaining the core of existing districts to minimize disenfranchisement.  The legislative and congressional maps will now go to Governor Evers.

I have heard from several people who suggested that the Legislature simply rubber-stamp the results of the Governor's "People's Maps Commission".  However, to do so would ignore the Wisconsin Constitution's mandate to the Legislature - not the Governor or any commission he puts together - to draw the lines.  What's more, it was interesting to see that when the Senate met on Monday, Senate Democrats disregarded the Commission's recommendations and introduced two alternatives of their own (neither of which was made public in advance).  Assembly Democrats also did not put forward the Commission's recommendations during Thursday's floor debate - in fact, they didn't introduce any maps at all.

The 75th Assembly District currently includes portions of six counties.  Under the maps the Legislature approved this week, the 75th District would include only three counties:  Barron, Washburn, and Polk (Turtle Lake only).  The Washburn County portion of the district would expand to include Spooner and Springbrook, and the entire district would be within the 7th Congressional District.

Election Update

This past week saw a number of developments in the ongoing investigations into the 2020 election.  In the wake of the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau's long-awaited report on elections administration, the Senate passed a resolution "castigating" the Wisconsin Elections Commission for the many shortcomings the LAB uncovered.  The Senate subsequently issued a subpoena to the Madison City Clerk for records she withheld from the LAB in the course its investigation.  The Legislature's Joint Audit Committee held a public hearing about the LAB report on November 9. 

On November 10, the Assembly elections committee, chaired by Rep. Janel Brandtjen, held a lengthy two-part hearing.  The first half focused on the shocking allegations the Racine County Sheriff's Office made several weeks ago about voting violations in a Racine-area nursing home.  The second half included an update from former Justice Michael Gableman on the status of his investigation into election irregularities; Justice Gableman has released an interim report as he continues his investigation.

Legislative Website

If you are interested in learning more about bills that I have authored, co-sponsored, or voted on, please click here.  This link will take you directly to my Wisconsin State Legislative page.  Also, if you are interested in viewing my office website, click here.