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Dear Editor;
I would like to comment on Kathie Swanson's February 18 LTE titled, We Deserve Fairness. She was advocating that new maps be drawn by a fair process unlike the previous heavily gerrymandered maps.
I thought about the issue of "fairness" and how I tried to teach my children, as I'm sure you do with your children, grandchildren and students, that to win by manipulation or cheating is not OK whether in sports' contests or academic tests. When I learned about gerrymandering, I was shocked that manipulation of the boundaries to favor the party in power was the practice of choice used by both parties. Gerrymandering is used to essentially rig the system and win by creating an unfair advantage.
When 74% of Iowa County voters supported the Fair Maps referendum, they were saying "cheating to win" is not OK. But our vote did not ensure that a new, fairer process would be put in place. A People's Map commission has been formed to draw Fair Maps and is currently gathering citizen input. Go to ...Peoples Map Commission @govstatus.egov.com/people'smaps and register your opinion either by oral or written comments for the March 11 meeting. Then stay vigilant for the next step because it will be an uphill battle to get Fair Maps passed in the State Legislature.
To me, voting is a sacred right and whether it is gerrymandered maps, restrictions on voter registration or absentee ballots, or any form of voter suppression...it is NOT FAIR! We deserve to have a system that ensures that the winner win "fair and square", as children would say.
Christine Tsubokura
Mineral Point, WI