'Vote to support fair vote maps'

'Vote to support fair vote maps'

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Published in Beloit Daily News, Letters to the Editor on April 2, 2020

'Vote to support fair vote maps'

Vote Yes on the Rock County Referendum for fair voting maps. Rock County Supervisors are giving us the opportunity to tell state legislators that we want fair voting maps. The referendum reads: “Should the Wisconsin legislature create a nonpartisan procedure for the preparation of legislative and congressional district plans and maps?” Please vote YES.

Because one party or the other would try to rig maps to maintain power, Wisconsin had to go to federal courts in 1981, 1991, and 2001 to have them draw our maps. In 2011, the assembly drew maps that have already been declared unconstitutional by one federal court. We still use these maps. Vote for a better process!

The League of Women Voters has supported fair maps since the 1970’s. We are a member of the 18-member Fair Maps Coalition, https://www.fairelectionsproject.org/fair-maps-wi/. We advocate for independent nonpartisan commissions to redraw voting maps after each US Census. For the past 35 years, Iowa has successfully had career civil servants draw district maps that guard against partisanship and favoritism. Let’s follow their example.

This is a non-partisan issue that most of us agree on. Rock County is one of 50 Wisconsin counties that have passed resolutions in favor of Fair Maps. Eight counties have passed referendums. Let’s make Rock County the ninth county to pass a referendum supporting a fair nonpartisan process for drawing maps.

Contact the League of Women Voters of Beloit: https://my.lwv.org/wisconsin/beloit for more information and to join us in this effort.

Susan Adams, Beloit

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