MADISON — Today, Governor Tony Evers announced that he will be calling a special session of the legislature to ban partisan gerrymandering. Representative Alex Joers (D-Waunakee) issued the following reaction:
“I agree that we need a constitutional ban on partisan gerrymandering.
“As a legislative staff member, I worked to write one of the first constitutional amendments to prevent gerrymandering. Legislative Republicans were not interested in addressing it then and I am wary of their ability to address it now. Let me be clear: I have advocated and fought for fair maps since I joined the public debate on this topic. If Legislative Republicans are suddenly moved to take this issue seriously, I’ll be the first one at the table.
“I stand ready to work on this issue. I hope that Republicans are finally open to finding a genuine solution, but I’ll show up at the Special Session even if they decide to gavel in and gavel out as they historically have done.”