Common Cause Wisconsin: Sheboygan “Town Hall Meeting” on new, fairer state legislative district voting maps & redistricting reform

Wednesday July 31st, 6:00 PM at Mead Library – 710 N. 8th St. Sheboygan

In this pivotal election year in the nation and in Wisconsin, voters are being called upon to make important decisions about who to elect as President, U.S. Senator, to the U.S. House of Representatives and for the Wisconsin Legislature. What is evident yet once again is that Wisconsin is one of the most closely and evenly divided, competitive states in the nation at the national level and now, for the first time in 14 years, at the state legislative level.

As a result of a momentous decision issued by the Wisconsin Supreme Court last December and legislation passed by the Wisconsin Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers in February, Wisconsin finally has much fairer and much more competitive state legislative voting map districts that much more accurately reflect the nearly even partisan political divide that has long characterized our state for decades.

How did all of this come to be and why does it matter for Sheboygan and for Wisconsin? What do the new state Assembly and State Senate District maps in Sheboygan and surrounding counties look like and how much fairer and more competitive are they? And what can be done to ensure that fair voting maps become the norm for Wisconsin and that we not return to the unfair hyper partisan gerrymandering that polarized and divided Sheboygan and Wisconsin beginning in 2011 and hopefully ended in February?

These and other issues related to fair voting maps and why they are essential to elevate the voices of all voters will be explored by a panel of experts and by you on Wednesday, July 31st from 6:00 to 7:15 PM in the Rocca Room of the Mead Library, 710 N. 8th Street in Sheboygan.

Common Cause Wisconsin is organizing the event which is being cosponsored by the League of Women Voters of Sheboygan County. It is free and open to the public.

The Sheboygan meeting will be moderated and introduced by Jay Heck, the Executive Director of Common Cause Wisconsin and the panel will feature Heck as well as Kristin Booth, the Co-Chair of Voter Registration for the League of the Women Voters of Sheboygan County, former Sheboygan area state Senator and State Representative Cal Potter of Sheboygan Falls and former Assembly candidate and state representative, Chet Gerlach of Elkhart Lake.

After brief presentations by Heck and the panelists, those in attendance will be able to ask questions about the new voting maps and about prospective redistricting reform proposals for Wisconsin.