By David Foust
Dear Editor: I recently saw an alarming op-ed written by Jay Heck about some GOP proposals surrounding how electoral votes are counted in Wisconsin. Apparently, there is a new proposal to apportion them by congressional district in the state Legislature. This would give each party’s’ candidate at least some electoral votes in every presidential election.
Sounds OK, right? It’s not. Wisconsin has gerrymandered congressional districts. This is another attempt to legally game the system and the GOP is attempting to use its geographical (not population) advantage.
It’s an attempt to bring gerrymandering to presidential elections. They would have voters’ voices diluted or concentrated in the same way they are for the House of Representatives and the state legislative elections. If the GOP was serious about good government reform perhaps they would consider pairing the proposal with a nonpartisan redistricting plan to eliminate gerrymandering and make it a transparent process that is fair to voters as well. This will not happen though because it is not really about the voters having their voice truly count. It is yet another naked partisan power play because they have learned nothing. The poisoning of the electorate continues despite the true need for unity.
David Faust, Poynette