Fair maps group calls for Wisconsin to establish an independent redistricting commission

APPLETON, Wis. (WBAY) - The fight over political boundaries in Wisconsin is expected to intensify heading into the upcoming 2030 census.

This is why there’s an effort right now to raise awareness, with calls for an independent redistricting commission that would give neither political party a clear advantage in elections.

The issue will be at the center of a rally in Appleton next week.

While the next US Census is now less than four years away, a number of Wisconsin groups, including the Fair Maps Coalition and League of Women Voters, are preparing for the count and its impact on state legislative and congressional maps.

This includes Penny Bernard Schaber, who previously served as an Appleton lawmaker.

“We’re working on a proposal for an independent redistricting commission that would be separate from the legislature. It would be a position held by citizens, and there would be built-in stopgap measures that prevented the legislature from doing any kind of gerrymandering, building in a partisan advantage for either party,” says Schaber.

Previously, Governor Evers signed into law new state legislative maps that voters saw in 2024, impacting the entire assembly and half the senate because state senators have four-year terms.

The other half of the Senate, under the new maps, will be up for election this November.

However, there’s also concern over the state’s congressional maps that include eight seats, with Republicans holding six and Democrats two, in a state considered to be purple.

“I think people are frustrated. I think the legislative people are frustrated because they can’t seem to get anything done, so they figure if they draw themselves a bigger majority, they will be able to make things happen, but it doesn’t work like that. Government isn’t meant to go fast. It’s not meant to ignore both sides. It’s meant for people to work together,” says Penny Bernard Schaber, a member of the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition.

The goal of the event coming up is to educate the public on why an independent redistricting commission is needed and to lobby state lawmakers to support it.

Eventually, the group intends to seek a constitutional amendment so it has a permanent place in Wisconsin law.

The rally in Appleton next week is one of several taking place across the state on June 4th. It’s scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at Houdini Plaza.