Redrawing Political Maps Requires Transparency and Citizen Involvement

They've done it again.

The Wisconsin Legislature is rushing through bills that will have huge long term negative impacts on Wisconsin democracy.

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted on July 15 to pass three redistricting bills that will redraw the lines of our electoral districts to favor incumbents and further polarize Wisconsin.

The maps were drawn in secret and will be rubber stamped by the Governor's allies in the legislature.

The proposed maps were released on Friday July 8th and voted on by the State Senate and Assembly less than ten days late, after only one public hearing.

This is not government that works for everyone...this is government by the special interests to protect their hold on power.

Legislative leaders have also proposed a bill to reverse the redistricting process and force local municipalities to draw their lines to conform to those drawn by the state, reversing the traditional process of encouraging citizen input at the local level, drawing the municipal maps first, and then drawing the new state legislative and congressional district lines.

This is anti-democratic and unconscionable.

We must speak out against this attempt to lock in one-party rule for the next decade. We must insist on transparency in the redistricting process and demand new maps that don't further polarize our state and disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters.

The Wisconsin Values Budget

Wisconsin Voices played a lead role in bringing together some of the top budget experts in the state to examine whether it is possible to balance the state's budget without making crippling cuts. Participants in this process included the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, the Institute for Wisconsin's Future, and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS).

The result is a new proposal we call the Wisconsin Values Budget, which has been endorsed by 34 non-profits (and counting) from across the state.

The Values Budget starts with the painful health care and pension concessions already made by Wisconsin's public employees, which we estimate to be worth just over $1 billion. The fundamental difference between the Governor's budget and the Wisconsin Values Budget is that we also ask the wealthy and large corporations to make a similar shared sacrifice. By raising the income tax rate for the wealthiest Wisconsinites, reinstating the estate tax for the wealthy, and bringing the share of the state budget paid by large corporations up to the national average, we raise an additional $1 billion.

As a result of this more balanced approach, the Wisconsin Values Budget only cuts $640 million out of Wisconsin's public infrastructure, much less than the devastating $2.4 billion in cuts proposed by Governor Walker. This demonstrates conclusively that the Governor's budget only requires devastating cuts because he refuses to ask the wealthy and large corporations to pay their fair share.

Click here to download the four-page PDF of the Wisconsin Values Budget.

Lead sponsors of the Wisconsin Values Budget:: the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, the Institute for Wisconsin's Future, and the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS).

Co-sponsors include: Wisconsin Alliance of Retired Americans, Wisconsin Coalition of Independent Living Centers Inc, 9 to 5 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Alliance for Women's Health, Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters, Milwaukee Latino Health Coalition, United Council of UW Students, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, Equality Wisconsin Education Fund, MTI, Midwest Environmental Advocates, Reproductive Justice Collective, the Water Table, the Madison Institute, Wisconsin Apprentice Organizers Project, Voces de la Frontera, National Association of Social Workers Wisconsin, WISDOM, Wisconsin League of Women Voters Education Fund,  I Love My Public School, Mental Health America Wisconsin, Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP), League of Young Voters Education Fund, Madison-area Urban Ministry, South Central Wisconsin Building Trades Council, Urban Underground, Center for Progressive Leadership, Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals, and Wisconsin Jobs Now.