Gov. Evers Delivers Radio Address, Doubles Down on Call to End Partisan Gerrymandering For Good.
MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered his weekly radio address, doubling down on his call to end partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin once and for all. This comes as, earlier this week, Republicans in the Wisconsin State Assembly and State Senate indicated they plan to leave Gov. Evers’ special session call to ban partisan gerrymandering in the state open indefinitely, providing no indication of why they are refusing to vote to add a straight-up ban on partisan gerrymandering to the state constitution.
Gov. Evers last month, as promised during his 2026 State of the State address, called the Wisconsin State Legislature into a special session that was set to convene at noon on Tuesday, April 14, urging lawmakers to take up a constitutional amendment banning partisan gerrymandering in Wisconsin. Wisconsinites and Americans have watched in recent months as President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration have pressured Republican Legislatures across the country into passing maps that are rigged to benefit Republicans, forcing Democratic Legislatures in other states to respond by attempting to restore balance to national elections.
Since the governor’s special session announcement, Republican and Democratic lawmakers had expressed reservations about the governor’s effort to ban the practice, with each party hedging for the potential that, by securing legislative majorities, they can retain the power to draw the state’s maps in favor of their political party. Similar sentiment prior to the 2010 U.S. Census being conducted resulted in a decade of Wisconsinites living under some of the most gerrymandered legislative maps in America until it was remedied in 2024 when Gov. Evers signed fair maps into law.
With no ban on partisan gerrymandering and no nonpartisan and independent redistricting process permanently in place, Wisconsinites could see a return to partisan map rigging just years after Gov. Evers enacted fair maps, which ushered in a historic era of bipartisan work and accomplishments in the battleground swing state, including a bipartisan state budget, a comprehensive plan to fight PFAS statewide, expanding postpartum coverage for new moms, and ensuring eligible Dreamers can receive credentials for certain occupations, among other key legislative accomplishments.