MADISON— Today, the Wisconsin State Assembly passed SB 621, the GOP-introduced rigged maps. The bill cleared the Senate on a party-line vote Monday. Although this bill was panned for nine hours in public testimony, and not a single member of the public testified in favor of these maps, it still received a party-line vote in both committees and will now inevitably be vetoed by Governor Tony Evers. Below are statements from lead members of the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition reacting to passage of SB621:
“The people of Wisconsin deserve to have issues like safe drinking water, clean air and climate change prioritized,” said Anjali Bhasin, Civic Engagement Director, WI Conservation Voters. “Instead we have had ten years of gerrymandering which has led to a legislature that has ignored the needs of Wisconsinites. Now, in an attempt to further consolidate power, they have passed maps that are even more gerrymandered. Wisconsinites deserve fair maps.”
“This is an outrageous slap in the face to the people of Wisconsin, who have been loud and clear about their demand for fair maps,” said Matt Rothschild, executive director, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. “The legislators who voted for these newly rigged maps are ignoring all of the people who testified against the bill at the hearing. They are ignoring the polls, which show strong bipartisan support for banning gerrymandering. And they are ignoring the fact that 56 out of 72 counties, by county-board resolution or county-wide referendum, have told the legislature that their citizens want an end to the partisan manipulation of the maps and an end to power-hogging.”
“It’s extremely disappointing to see the Senate pass maps based on the rigged, gerrymandered maps of 2011,” said Debra Cronmiller, executive director, League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. “After listening to more than six hours of testimony on October 28, elected officials have decided to ignore all of the suggested amendments and the will of Wisconsinites. Our legislators cannot keep ignoring their constituents and the majority of Wisconsin voters who want fair, representative maps.”
“Wisconsin Republicans had an opportunity this week to vote against rigged, hyper-partisan voting maps for state legislative and congressional districts for the next ten years,” said Jay Heck, state director of Common Cause in Wisconsin. “Unfortunately, not a single Republican legislator could muster the courage to do so. It’s unfortunate they could not muster greater independence from their party leaders and vote against these partisan, rigged maps that serve only narrow partisan political interests. The people demand non-partisan fair maps that serve the interests of the voters of Wisconsin.”
“It’s been clear since these maps were first introduced — the people of Wisconsin will not stand for rigged maps,” said Sachin Chheda, Director, Fair Elections Project. “Instead of listening to their constituents, the legislative majority chose to try and guarantee their own jobs and political futures. These maps will inevitably be vetoed, but Republicans could have avoided this time-wasting process in the first place by drawing fair maps that Governor Evers could actually sign.”.
