MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Latest on a Democratic bill to revamp Wisconsin’s legislative redistricting process (all times local):
11:25 a.m.
Democrats are trying to generate momentum for a bill that would allow civil servants rather than lawmakers draw legislative boundaries.
Sen. Dave Hansen and Rep. Robyn Vining held a news conference Tuesday to promote the bill. The proposal would require the Legislative Reference Bureau to draw the boundaries.
Right now legislators redraw the lines after every census. Republicans drew the current boundaries in 2011 to consolidate supporters, a move that has helped them maintain control of both houses for the last eight years.
Democratic voters challenged the lines in federal court but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that federal judges have no role in gerrymandering cases.
Hansen and Vining introduced their bill about a week before the ruling. They said Tuesday that three Republican lawmakers have signed on as co-sponsors and people demand a hearing on the measure. Regardless, Republican leadership will almost certainly not allow the bill to become law.
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8:55 a.m.
Democratic lawmakers are planning to tout a new bill that would dramatically rework how Wisconsin draws its legislative district boundaries.
Republicans redrew the lines in 2011 to consolidate supporters, helping them maintain control of both houses since then.
Democratic voters filed a federal lawsuit in 2015 alleging the boundaries were unconstitutional but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that gerrymandering claims don’t belong in federal court.
Sen. Dave Hansen and Rep. Robyn Vining introduced a bill a week before the ruling that would require the Legislative Reference Bureau to draw boundaries with legislative oversight.
The bill has three Republican co-sponsors but the measure has almost no chance of becoming law. Regardless, Democrats planned a Tuesday news conference to promote the proposal.
Author: News Desk
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