Compiled by MCJ Editorial Staff
Two Black Wisconsin state lawmakers expressed caution regarding the new legislative district maps as it related to them being fair and possibly violating the U.S. voting rights act of 1965.
The new map was signed into law last week by Governor Tony Evers, and could substantially shift the balance of political power in Wisconsin.
“The maps (that were) signed are still not truly ‘fair’,” said Democratic state Rep. Lakeshia Myers. She made the statement on the WisconsinEye public affairs network program “Newsmakers.”
Myers appeared with two other Black state lawmakers: state Sen. LaTonya Johnson and Legislative Black Caucus Chair Rep. Dora Drake.
Though they were appearing on the show to discuss the past, present, and future of Black Wisconsinites, the conversation turned to the newly approved maps and the impact they would have on Black voters and the state as a whole.
Myers added there are concerns about the map as it relates to the Voting Rights Act and how “communities of like-interest (Black and other communities of color)” would be impacted, especially in senate district four, which is predominately Black.
“It is my hope that the court would still take these issues into consideration to arrive at a contiguous metric of electoral equity,” said Myers, who recently announced she plans to run for the senate seat once held by former senator now Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge, Lena Taylor. “Anything else would be a disservice to the African American voters.”
Noting the new map was a “step in the right direction” to fight against the Republican gerrymander, Drake also expressed concerns about the maps possibly violating the voting rights act.
“We will be seeding additional experts and input to confirm if this map upholds the Voting Rights Act and move accordingly.”
There are approximately five legislative districts that are majority Black and two majority Latino districts.
For the first time in more than 50 years, the state Legislature and governor reached a bipartisan agreement on new legislative maps that were drawn by Evers and passed by Republican lawmakers, who said they’d have a better shot at maintaining their majorities with the governor’s district lines than under other options that were being considered by the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority.
Reportedly, redistricting experts hired by the court said Evers’ maps are slightly “tilted toward the Republicans” but competitive enough that “the party that wins the most votes will win the most seats” in the Legislature.
Since 2011, that hasn’t been the case in Wisconsin. Under Republican maps drawn that year, and refined in 2021, the GOP majority in the Wisconsin Assembly has swelled to 64-35, a near-supermajority.
Using data from Wisconsin’s 2022 elections, Marquette University Law School Research Fellow John Johnson utilized computer modeling to measure the number of Assembly seats leaning in Republicans’ or Democrats’ favors under the new maps.
His data shows 42 assembly districts favoring Democrats by more than 10 percentage points and another four seats favoring Democrats by single digits. It also shows 46 Assembly seats favoring Republicans by more than 10 percentage points, with seven additional seats favoring Republicans by single digits.
In order to win an Assembly majority this November, Johnson said, Democrats would have to winall seats leaning in their favor under the new mapsalong with seven seats with a slight Republican lean.The most likely targets, he said, include the 61st Assembly District in Milwaukee’ssuburbs, the 88th and 89th Districts in the Green Bay Area, the85th District in Wausau or the30th District in Hudson.
Republicans currently hold 22out of 33 state Senate seats, a two-thirds supermajority. And whileGOP lawmakers could lose someseats in 2024, their majority islikely very safe.
Unlike representatives, who areelected every two years, senatorsserve four-year terms, and theirelections are staggered.
That means even-numbered districts will be up for election inNovember and odd-numbereddistricts will be on the ballot in2026.
Predominately Black districts inthe state (most notably in Milwaukee) most likely won’t be impacted by the new maps sincethey are and have been for yearsstaunchly Democratic.
With the maps now signed intolaw, all eyes are on the Novemberelection to see how new district lines affect who thevoters of Wisconsin send to Madison to representthem.
Gov. Evers has submitted a motion to the state Supreme Court asking justices to keep the redistrictingcase open because of unsettled questions about whatmaps should apply for “at least one special election”to fill a 4th District Senate Seat.
The seat was held by Taylor, who resigned fromthe senate office after she was appointed to the circuit court by Evers.
Sources for the article: Wisconsin Public Radio),WisEye Newsmakers, Marquette University