Testimony overwhelmingly opposes GOP redistricting plan
By Ruth Conniff
The Wisconsin Legislature held an eight-and-a-half-hour public hearing on voting maps for legislative and Congressional districts on Thursday — the first such hearing in more than a decade and the only one planned. Hundreds of members of the public packed the hearing room and spilled into two overflow rooms to give testimony and watch the proceedings in the Capitol, many wearing purple “fair maps” T-shirts.
The hearing of the Joint Committee on Government Operations and State Affairs began with testimony from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, who introduced the Republican legislative leaders’ proposed maps, and continued with testimony from citizens, advocates and experts who overwhelmingly opposed them.