>>> FOR YEARS NOW, FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, DEMOCRATS IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN HAVE BEEN TRYING TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD IN WISCONSIN POLITICS. EVEN WHEN WISCONSIN DEMOCRATS HAVE WON STATE-WIDE IN RECENT YEARS, TURFING OUT THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR, SCOTT WALKER IN 2018, EVEN WHEN WISCONSIN DEMOCRATS HAVE GOTTEN WAY MORE VOTES FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, SAY IN 2018, WHEN THEY GOT 54% OF THE VOTE OF STATE ASSEMBLY VOTES. EVEN WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN OUTVOTING REPUBLICANS, THAT CLEARLY, DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN GETTING WAY LESS WHEN IT COMES TO SEATS IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE. IN THAT 2018 RACE, DEMOCRATS WON THE TOTAL VOTE FOR STATE ASSEMBLY BY A MARGIN OF MORE THAN 200,000 VOTES. BUT REPUBLICANS STILL GOT MORE SEATS. DEMOCRATS WON 54% OF THE VOTES FOR STATE ASSEMBLY, BUT THAT 54% OF THE VOTE ONLY EARNED THEM 36% OF THE SEATS. EVER SINCE WISCONSIN REPUBLICANS GOT CONTROL OF THEIR STATE GOVERNMENT IN 2010, THEY HAVE REDRAWN THE POLITICAL MAPS, THE STATE LEGISLATURE AND THE CONGRESSIONAL MAPS SO THAT REPUBLICANS EFFECTIVELY CAN'T BE VOTED OUT OF POWER. SO THEY CAN WIN MORE SEATS FROM WISCONSIN DESPITE GETTING FEWER VOTES FROM WISCONSIN. IN WISCONSIN, IT'S THE DEMOCRATS WHO HAVE WON 14 OUT OF 17 OF THE LAST STATE-WIDE ELECTIONS, BUT REPUBLICANS CONSISTENTLY WIN MORE SEATS EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE FEWER VOTES. THE STATE CONSISTENTLY VOTES OVERALL FOR DEMOCRATS, MOST RECENTLY IN THE 2022 ELECTION. BUT REPUBLICANS NEVERTHELESS GOT NEARLY TWO-THIRDS OF SEATS IN THE STATE ASSEMBLY AND A FULL TWO-THIRDS OF THE SEATS IN THE STATE SENATE. FOR THE PAST 13 YEARS IN WISCONSIN, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT DEMOCRATS CAN BASICALLY WIN AS MANY VOTES AS THEY WANT, BUT THOSE VOTES WILL NOT PUT THEM INTO POWER IN THE STATE. AND FOR YEARS, WISCONSIN DEMOCRATS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO FIX THAT, HAVE BEEN TRYING TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD, AGAIN, SO THAT WHAT PEOPLE VOTE FOR IS WHAT THEY GET IN TERMS OF STATE GOVERNMENT. IN 2017, WISCONSIN DEMOCRATS BROUGHT A LEGAL CHALLENGE TO THE REPUBLICAN DRAWN MAPS, ALL THE WAY UP TO THE U.S. SUPREME COURT. THAT GOT SWATTED DOWN. IN 2022, FOLLOWING HIS RE-ELECTION, DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR TONY EVERS WAS ABLE TO PUSH THROUGH REVISED MAPS, NOT QUITE UNGERRYMANDERED BUT A STEP IN A LESS GERRYMANDERED DIRECTION. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT THREW THOSE OUT TOO. FINALLY, IT WAS WHAT HAPPENED LAST YEAR THAT CHANGED THE COURSE IN WISCONSIN. AFTER DOGGED CAMPAIGNING AND ORGANIZING BY THE DEMOCRATS, WISCONSIN VOTERS ELECTED A NEW LIBERAL JUDGE TO THE WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT. AND THAT EFFECTIVELY FLIPPED CONTROL OF THE COURT TO THE LIBERALS. AND WISCONSIN VOTERS THEN FILED A NEW LAWSUIT ARGUING THAT THE REPUBLICAN MAPS WERE ILLEGAL, THE STATE SUPREME COURT AGREED. AND THEY ORDERED NEW MAPS FOR WISCONSIN. NEW, FAIR, UNGERRYMANDERED MAPS THAT MEANT THE PLAYING FIELD WOULD NOT BE TILTED IN EITHER PARTY'S DIRECTION. TODAY, JUST TODAY, 13 YEARS AFTER THIS ALL STARTED, GOVERNOR EVERS HAS SIGNED NEW STATE MAPS INTO LAW. MAPS THAT WILL EFFECTIVELY END REPUBLICAN GERRYMANDERING AND GIVE EQUAL PARTY A FAIR SHOT AT TRYING TO CONTROL THE LEGISLATURE IN THAT STATE. IT TOOK 13 YEARS OF PERSEVERANCE BY WISCONSIN DEMOCRATS. BUT THOSE OLD, UNBELIEVABLY OUTRAGEOUS REPUBLICAN MAPS ARE FINALLY GONE, WHICH MEANS WHEN REPUBLICAN OR DEMOCRATIC VOTERS GO TO THE POLLS IN WISCONSIN, HOWEVER THEY VOTE WILL NOW BE REFLECTED IN THEIR STATE GOVERNMENT. SHOCKING, I KNOW. NOW FOR NOW, THESE MAPS APPLY JUST TO THE STATE LEGISLATURE. ON THE CONGRESSIONAL LEVEL, IT'S STILL THE WAY IT WAS. THERE'S A FAIRLY EVENLY SPLIT ELECTORATE IN WISCONSIN. IT IS A PURPLE STATE. BUT EVEN SO, BECAUSE THE CONGRESSIONAL MAPS ARE STILL GERRYMANDERED UNDER THE OLD SYSTEM, OF THE EIGHT SEATS THAT WISCSIN HAS IN CONGRESS, SIX OF THEM ARE HELD BY REPUBLICANS. NOW, THE WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT HASN'T YET DECIDED WHETHER THEY'RE GOING TO TAKE UP A LEGAL CHALLENGE TO THE CONGRESSIONAL MAPS AS WELL AS THE LEGISLATIVE MAPS THEY JUST DID TAKE UP THE CHALLENGE FOR. BUT YOU CAN EXPECT THAT TO BE THE NEXT BATTLE AND YOU CAN
