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Dear Editor:
Most of us believe in fair play, whether in sports or in the rules that govern how we are represented. In Wisconsin, there is strong support among Republicans (63%), Independents (76%) and Democrats (83%) for a nonpartisan commission to create voting districts (according to a Marquette Law School poll 1/24/19). Less than 30% of Wisconsinites prefer the maps be drawn by the legislature and governor.
Gerrymandering is not fair play. The party in power uses political data to put as many opponents as possible into as few districts as possible, scattering the remaining opponents into districts where they will have little influence. It's been done for many years by both Democrats and Republicans, but today, the data is much more robust and accurate and the tools for creating new districts is much more sophisticated. Thus, the winner of most voting districts in Wisconsin is determined not by the character and ideas of the individual running, but by their party affiliation. In many cases, there are no challengers in an election because it is so hard to win against a gerrymandered district. Iowa has shown us there is an answer to partisan gerrymandering - ban political data from being used to drawn the maps and use a nonpartisan commission, not politicians, to create Fair Maps.
In November in Iowa County, you can vote to oppose gerrymandering. Show your support for a system that allows voters to choose their representatives fairly. We wouldn't tolerate predetermined winners in our sporting events, and we shouldn't tolerate it in our political contests. Vote YES on the referendum to create a nonpartisan procedure for the creation of voting districts.
Myra Enloe
Dodgeville, WI