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Follow on Google News | Gerrymandering A Threat To DemocracyIn Wisconsin and many other states, Congressional districts are Gerrymandered to swing the majority of voters to one political party or the other.
By: Palzewicz for Wisconsin "I am for the 'Fair Maps' initiative," Partisan Gerrymandering is a sophisticated process. Legislators in the majority will "pack and crack" voters of the opposing party. By "packing" the opposing party voters are put into as few districts as possible. By "cracking" means the rest of the opposing party's voters are scattered into other districts, thus giving that party no chance of winning. It is used to create partisan districts and protect the interests of the incumbent. The practice is not new. The first successful gerrymandering effort came in 1812, when the governor of Massachusetts broke up the districts in his state to favor the Democratic-Republican Party, as it was then known. In the 20th Century, the courts determined that extreme cases of gerrymandering are unconstitutional, but the types and standards of gerrymandering are not clearly defined. In 1995, the United States Supreme Court ruled that racial gerrymandering was in violation of constitutional rights, but partisan gerrymandering remains in play. The issue is left to the states. "Simply stated, gerrymandering takes the power away from the people and hands it over to an exclusive few," said Palzewicz. "Wisconsin deserves a level playing field." Some people look to term limits to solve the issue, but Palzewicz says that is a secondary concern. "It takes years to learn how to navigate the Congress," said Palzewicz, "so term limits isn't the immediate answer. Term limits, for example, would not stop a Congressman/ Palzewicz promises to work to level the playing field in Wisconsin and the nation. Visit TomForWI.com (https://click.ngpvan.com/ End
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