MADISON-On Friday, January 27, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ordered the Legislature and Governor to approve new legislative district maps by November 1, 2017. These new maps would be applied to the November 2018 election. Rep. Dana Wachs (D-Eau Claire), ranking Democrat on the Assembly Committee on Judiciary, issued the following statement after the order was announced:
“This is a significant and historic day for Wisconsin. The partisan gerrymandering of the past few years has created a divisive and unbalanced political environment in our state. Today’s decision proves that gerrymandering isn’t fair to the citizens of Wisconsin and shouldn’t be tolerated.
We still have a long way to go, not only in this process but in restoring Wisconsin’s status as a leader in open and honest government. This is a good start. I welcome the process to redraw fair maps that represent the people of Wisconsin and not one political party.”