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Cap Times Talk: How will redistricting play out in Wisconsin?

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Redistricting is shaping up as the most pivotal battle in Wisconsin politics this year.

Every decade, the state uses new data from the U.S. Census Bureau to redraw the political boundaries for state and federal offices. Ten years ago, when Republicans had control of both the legislative and executive branches of government, they created maps that Democratic critics say gave the GOP an unfair gerrymandered advantage, ensuring large legislative majorities for the entire decade even in those years when a majority of state voters chose Democratic candidates.

Critics challenged the political maps from Wisconsin and several other states in federal court, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in 2019 that such questions are inherently political and beyond the scope of the judiciary.

This year, Republicans still control Wisconsin’s Legislature, but a Democrat, Tony Evers, is the governor, and the jockeying around the creation of new maps is heating up ahead of the Census Bureau's release of the redistricting data. How will this battle likely play out and what will it mean for the next decade of Wisconsin politics?

The Cap Times has assembled an outstanding panel of experts to discuss that question in a virtual forum from 7-8 pm on Wednesday, May 26. They will speak with Cap Times state government reporter Briana Reilly.

THE PANELISTS

• Sachin Chheda, director and co-founder of the Fair Elections Project

• Moon Duchin, a mathematics professor at Tufts University who runs the MGGG Redistricting Lab

• Rick Esenberg, president and general counsel for the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty

HOW TO WATCH

Cap Times members will be able to watch and pose questions to the panelists in the Zoom webinar (members should check their email for the event invitation), but the forum also will be available via Facebook Live on the Cap Times page. For more information about membership, visit membership.captimes.com.