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The Supreme Court could unleash a torrent of litigation when it rules on two gerrymandering cases, one of them from Wisconsin.

What went largely unnoticed when the April 7 election results were released this week was just how many Wisconsin voters want an end to partisan gerrymandering, the political trickery epitomized by Wisconsin itself.

Another nine counties held non-binding referendums asking voters if they want independent, nonpartisan redistricting. All voted overwhelmingly "yes." The closest votes were in Marquette and Wood Counties, where "just" 72% were in favor.

Those results mean that the people in 51 of the state's 72 counties have now made it clear they want the current system that allows the political party that happens to be in power when the once-every-10-year congressional and legislative redistricting takes place ended once and for all.

Fourteen Wisconsin municipalities also weighed in, each one passing advisory referendums in favor of nonpartisan redistricting by lopsided margins 80% in Boulder Junction, 85% in Eagle River, 89% in Rhinelander, for instance.

Yes, the referendums are mainly symbolic, but they are solid evidence that the people of the state roughly four out of five want redistricting reform and want it now.

Still, the Wisconsin Legislature headed by Republican leaders Scott Fitzgerald and Robin Vos, refuses to even give bills that would create a nonpartisan body to draw new political boundaries the benefit of a public hearing. They like it just the way it is, even if it effectively disenfranchises thousands of voters who are gerrymandered into "safe" districts for their party. The control of political power is worth more to them than the fairness of an election.

See original here:
Plain Talk: How long can Republicans ignore the people's voice on redistricting? - Madison.com