Democratic state legislators announced Wednesday a new bill that would shift redistricting authority away from the state legislature to a non-partisan group.
The bill, if passed, would change the current redistricting process in which the majority party in the legislature and state Senate members redraw district borders every 10 years.
State Rep. Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, who co-sponsored the bill, said it is important to make redistricting a non-partisan issue.
“The really bad part about [current law] is that the politicians have chosen their districts instead of the people,” Hesselbein said. “[This bill would] take redistricting powers out of the hands of any party.”
Voces de la Frontera, a Wisconsin immigrants’ rights group, filed a successful lawsuit in 2011 saying the Republican-led redistricting plan disenfranchised Latino voters in two of Milwaukee’s voting districts.
Another issue Democrats, including Hesselbein, addressed after releasing the bill was taxpayer spending that normally goes to legal fees when organizations challenge redistricting decisions. Hesselbein said the money could instead be applied to education around the state, including the UW System, if redistricting became a non-partisan process.
State Sen. Bob Wirch, D-Somers, who also supports the bill, said a non-partisan redistricting process would fairly balance state elections.
“By taking the politics out of the process we can potentially save taxpayers millions of dollars,” Wirch said in a statement. “I believe we owe it to our constituents to save them money and make the process fair.”
Despite the Democrats’ support, the bill is unlikely to make any headway in the Republican-controlled state legislature.
Republicans were unavailable for comment on the bill.
