No public input. Party line vote. Nothing fair about Wisconsin GOP redistricting bill.

Redistricting happens once every ten years and is of critical importance to our communities. More than just electoral maps, these districts determine the allocation of funding for schools, hospitals, public transport, clean water, child care and other essential services.

A fair districting process is necessary to guarantee that communities in Wisconsin receive the resources they need in a just and equitable manner. Every community issue can be negatively impacted by how our state’s maps are drawn and can affect our lives for an entire decade.Lawmakers should not be allowed to rig, or gerrymander, the process in their own favor, carving up our communities, dividing our neighborhoods, or silencing certain voices for their own political gain, but they do. In fact, Wisconsin is widely-known as the most gerrymandered state in our country.When we have gerrymandered maps, Legislators in the majority party draw themselves into power. This means Wisconsin legislators are picking their voters. We know it should be the other way around.

Wisconsin GOP first gerrymandered districts in 2011

In 2011, the maps drawn in Wisconsin were not only gerrymandered by a handful of politicians that controlled the Legislature, but they were also drawn in secret. Because legislators keep drawing themselves into winning districts, they don’t have to listen to voters or address issues that the majority of Wisconsinites support. And to make matters worse, Wisconsin’s state legislators recently pushed a redistricting bill through the assembly along party lines without public input to address gerrymandering. How could that ever result in fair maps?

The proposed redistricting bill (the Assembly passed last month) fails to provide transparency in the map-drawing process. It doesn’t prohibit lobbyists, high-level donors, and those hired by legislative leaders from working on the redistricting process. And, startlingly, it doesn’t have the processes in place to ensure it is fully nonpartisan.

More perspectives:Tony Evers and Democrats said they wanted Iowa style redistricting. Then they rejected it.

In fact, with this current bill, the majority of the Legislature would be able to reject the maps twice, and then create their own gerrymandered maps in accordance with their goals and party, which could result in more of the same extremely gerrymandered Legislative maps that we have now. Government is intended to be for the people and by the people, and Wisconsinites deserve a nonpartisan map-drawing process that fits our state’s needs. We need a bill built on cooperation, transparency, nonpartisanship, and public input. This bill fully disregards those values.

One of the core principles of democracy is fair representation, where each voter's voice carries roughly equal weight. To preserve a fair and open democracy, we must ensure that every voter and every community is given an equal voice. That means holding our elected officials accountable, building awareness on the issue, making our voices heard by participating in upcoming elections, electing the right leaders, supporting legal challenges to gerrymandered maps and even advocating for independent redistricting commissions who work together to create more balanced and equitable districts.

Voting rights an issue that draws people to polls

At the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, we know that fair maps and voting rights are the same fight. Over the past 10 years, the word ‘gerrymandering’ has gone from political jargon to a well-known issue that mobilizes voters. I’ve seen ‘End Gerrymandering’ signs pop up on more and more lawns throughout the state. Grassroots activists passed local referendums in their communities and the work won’t stop until we have a permanent, long term solution to ensure fair maps for generations to come.

The League and its grassroots volunteers have been part of a years-long effort to educate the public about gerrymandering and demand a permanent solution to ensure fair maps for generations to come. The League has been a champion of nonpartisan district maps for a very long time including the Whitford v. Gill case in the federal courts, the only court to date that has ruled on the unconstitutionality of the maps drawn after the 2010 Census. Today, our maps are back in the State Supreme Court seeking the same relief – fairly drawn maps that will allow for representative government in Wisconsin. Wisconsinites have been fighting long and hard for fair maps. We deserve a strong solution.

More perspectives on redistricting battle in Wisconsin:

Letters to the Editor:Voters have spoken on Wisconsin Supreme Court. GOP should stop impeach Protasiewicz talk.

Op-ed:Wisconsin impeachment threat has no merit in law. That won't stop Robin Vos from trying.

For too long, a handful of politicians have divided us into districts serving their political interests instead of our communities’ needs. To ensure fair districting and prevent partisan gerrymandering, we must elect leaders who govern in our interests and make the promise of our democracy real for us all. Check your voter status, register to vote, make your voice heard and encourage friends and family to do the same. Working together, we can empower all voters so that our democracy is powerful.

Debra Cronmiller is the Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for informed and active participation in government.