Results of the Wisconsin Gerrymander

Along with voter suppression, gerrymandering is in the news because of the election this week. Here's a really great example of its most recent effects in one state. I hope any American reading this will recognize how wrong this is:


This graphic (by Brian Evans) is from the blog of Politico writer Josh Klemons. It shows clearly that while Democratic candidates got 1.3 million votes for the State Assembly, vs. 1.1 million for Republican candidates (or 54 percent vs. 45 percent), the Democrats won just 36 percent of the seats.

Democratic candidates won every statewide race, where there are no districts, which better reflects the will of the majority.

You've probably already seen this graphic, explaining how gerrymandering is done:


It's called "packing" (putting as many of the out-party's members into one district as possible), and the Wisconsin Assembly's urban districts are clearly packed just like this. Computer-aided mapping has made gerrymandering much more precise in recent years, especially since the last redistricting after 2010. These boundaries in Wisconsin (and in other states) have been and are still being contested in court.

Who thinks this is fair? I hope no one.