The Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition wants the state to have an Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw legislative and congressional district maps every 10 years.
The maps would be drawn by citizens that apply for the commission who meet certain criteria. That criteria might be things like being registered voters and have donated less than $2,000 to any particular candidate per year in the last five years.
Nicole Gabrail is the volunteer and relational organizer for the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition, which is made up of dozens of organizations and thousands of volunteers across Wisconsin.
“It takes that power to draw the voting maps away from the politicians and puts it into the hands of an independent citizen led commission so that they are not able to manipulate voting maps to entrench their own political power and secure seats for themselves,” said Gabrail.
Gabrail says the exact details and requirements of the commission are still being worked out.
The coalition is holding a hearing tonight in Rhinelander for people to learn more about the proposal and give feedback.
“We've held over 20 community hearings at this point,” said Gabrail. “All of these feedback that we get from community members during those hearings, we discuss, and we actually use that to edit our draft proposal and make it better.”
The commission is modeled after states like Michigan and Arizona that have a similar process for drawing maps.
One key difference is that state lawmakers will still have to vote on the maps drawn by the commission as required by the Wisconsin constitution.
Something Gabrail hopes will also change in the future.
“The bills are the first step, just because those can be implemented faster to address the issue of gerrymandering quickly before our maps are redrawn after the 2030 census,” said Gabrail. “Ultimately, we are going to need that constitutional amendment to secure permanent fair maps for the state.”
Gabrail hopes the bill to create the commission will be introduced this fall.
The Fair Maps community hearing Thursday, October 23 in Rhinelander is from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at ArtStart.
