Contact: Melanie Conklin, melaniec@wisdems.org, 608-260-2409
Gill v. Whiford could change discriminatory, partisan maps all across the country
MADISON — Today, the United States Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments in Gill v. Whitford, the Wisconsin redistricting case that could reshape American politics in every state for years to come to make elections more fair and balanced.
A federal three-judge panel ruled that Wisconsin’s 2011 maps are so bad and hyper-partisan that as long as they are in place, it would be nearly impossible for Republicans to lose their majority in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
The following is a statement from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin on the court case and voters’ right to fair representation:
“The rigged Republican maps in Wisconsin do not just dilute Democratic votes, they silence Democratic voices at the ballot box,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Martha Laning. “Wisconsin’s electoral maps have been labeled unjust and undemocratic, even by prominent Republicans.
“For American democracy to be truly representative, voters must be allowed to choose their elected leaders.The opposite happened here in Wisconsin. Politicians picked their voters in order to rig democracy and avoid the will of the people.
“Wisconsin Republicans have rejected federal health-care funding, given millions to private schools while public school children suffered massive education cuts and our roads crumbled to among the worst in the nation. It’s time Republicans stop dodging accountability by spending taxpayer money on high-priced private lawyers and signing secrecy oaths in a desperate attempt to hide that they have rigged elections to avoid responsibility for their unpopular actions.”
