UW-L’s Chergosky on with Hayes discussing consultants’ potential burden of choosing new election maps for Wisconsin

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has promised to veto a redistricting proposal that the Republican-controlled Assembly passed on Wednesday and that largely keeps maps he proposed, but with changes that would reduce the number of GOP incumbents who would have to face one another in November.

UW-La Crosse political scientist, Dr. Anthony Chergosky, said Thursday on WIZM’s La Crosse Talk that critics have accused Evers of changes that might put two GOP lawmakers in the same district against each other, in several parts of the state.

“If there are two incumbents running for one seat, that means that one incumbent is gonna be out of luck,” Chergosky said, “so it’s no surprise that the intensity of this issue has ramped up” in Madison.

The liberal-controlled state Supreme Court tossed the current Republican-drawn maps as unconstitutional and said it would draw new maps unless the Legislature and Evers agreed to ones first.

The governor’s veto would leave it to the court to choose new maps.

Chergosky added that much of the burden for choosing new maps will rest with six consultants, who were brought in to study the plans.

“They can pick one of the maps,” he said, “they can make adjustments to proposals. They can also draw their own maps. So, right now, things are a bit unpredictable because we don’t quite know how the consultants are going to come down on this.”