Fred Kessler: How to draw fair maps in Wisconsin

By Fred Kessler

As a Wisconsin legislator, I was one of the people who sued the state in 2011, arguing that maps drawn by my Republican colleagues amounted to an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander.

It was the case that prompted the Supreme Court to decide last year that federal courts have no role in refereeing such disputes — setting the stage for another set of partisan brawls across the country next year, over the contours of congressional and legislative districts for the rest of the decade.

The Republicans in the Nov. 3 elections retained their solid hold on the state Legislature, so they will have the power to unilaterally take the first shot at drawing the new Wisconsin maps. Then the Democratic governor, Tony Evers, will have the power to reject those maps.

In the middle stands the People’s Map Commission, created by the governor this year to come up with new lines “free from partisan bias and partisan advantage.” The nine people have no authority, but Evers hopes their work becomes a compromise acceptable to him and the GOP lawmakers in Madison. If he’s wrong, the stalemate would be broken by maps drawn by the conservative-leaning state Supreme Court.