CONLEY COMMENTARY (WSAU) – Something extraordinary and disturbing happened at a judicial forum earlier this month. Everett Mitchell and Janet Protasiewicz, both liberal candidates running for a seat on the supreme court, offered the opinion that Wisconsin’s political maps are gerrymandered, and that the courts have a role to play in correcting that.
Judicial candidates generally do not comment on cases that may come before them. And these candidates have both revealed themselves as judicial super-activists, willing to change the law and usurp powers from other branches of government for themselves in the judiciary.
One more liberal on the state’s highest court could undo an excellent and correct ruling from last year. The state supreme court said the only redistricting issue they would look at is whether each district has the same number of voters in it. Why? Because that’s the only thing the state constitution says. The actual drawing of the boundaries is up to the legislature, not the courts.
And, as a starting point, gerrymandered Wisconsin is a lie. Wisconsin has two large cities, Milwaukee and Madison, that are overwhelmingly liberal. Outside their boundaries, Wisconsin is majority conservative. The wealthier suburbs around Milwaukee are conservative. Some other areas are more evenly divided, like the western part of the state closest to Minneapolis.
Since political districts are geographical, it’s impossible to spread all the liberals in two large cities to other parts of the state. If you don’t believe me, look at the redistricting maps the Governor Tony Evers proposed. His own boundaries would have flipped the majorities in only two voting districts… not nearly enough to make a difference in Wisconsin’s congressional or state voting. Republicans hold 64 of the 99 seats in the state legislature and 22 of the 33 seats in the state senate. Do Democrats get more overall votes in state elections? Yes. Because Democrats win races in Milwaukee and Madison with huge majorities of 80 and 90 percent. But Republicans win the other races around the state 60-40 or 55-45. Until people start living in different places, those types of disparities are not going away.
Chris Conley
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