Dear John,  our next 350 MKE monthly meeting is on gerrymandering. Why? Because, to reach net zero by 2050 Wisconsin will need a massive transformation from fossil fuels to renewables on a personal, commercial and industrial scale. This will require major governmental action.

This past January confirms that we still live in a democracy. Yes, our vote does count but not in Wisconsin. Because of gerrymandering, we live in voting districts that have been drawn to guarantee dominance by one party. Statewide, one party always holds 60% of the legislative seats while the other party holds 40%. Consequently, Wisconsin has fallen dramatically from its leadership in environment and renewable energy.

We need to restore leadership at the state level. We need to elect legislators who share an agenda to protect our environment and fight climate change. This requires getting out the vote. But this will only work if our election districts are drawn to ensure all votes count—one  person one vote. Thus, to protect our environment and fight climate change we need to redraw our election districts so we have a fair chance at securing the necessary legislation that will get us to net zero emissions by 2050.

If you'd like to learn more about gerrymandering before the meeting, we've included video links (after the meeting info) that explain what gerrymandering is, how it’s done and the impact it has on our lives locally and statewide.

350 Milwaukee's "2nd Tuesday" meetings are an open forum - everyone is invited and anyone can drop in.  Please forward this invitation to your climate/environment mailing list and your friends.

350 Milwaukee Meeting
Tuesday, February 9, 7 - 8:30pm
Zoom Virtual Meeting

Wisconsin Fair Maps
Speaker: Matt Rothschild

After each Census (i.e. 2020) the state's congressional and senate districts (both federal and state) are redrawn based on the census population numbers so that each district includes the same number of residents - equal representation.  2021 is the year those district boundaries will be redrawn.

"Partisan gerrymandering is a practice that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan or incumbent-protected districts." - Fair Maps Coalition

Gerrymandering -
Why should voters choose the representatives
when the representatives can choose the voters?

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Gerrymandering Resources
Get some background before the meeting