Redistricting beginning in city, county
Voting maps will change due to population shifts
Now that the U.S. Census Bureau has released population figures from the 2020 census, the redrawing of congressional, state legislative and local electoral district maps begins — a process known as redistricting.
In Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee, as in local governments across the state, time is of the essence as they seek to redraw their maps ahead of a Nov. 23 deadline to publish election notices for the spring elections.
The time crunch is the result of a significant delay in the releasing of 2020 census figures due to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as other factors.
And while the process is expected to draw scrutiny at the local level, Wisconsin residents should expect to hear a lot about redistricting at the state and congressional levels as well. Here is a look at the process at the local level:
What is redistricting?
Every 10 years, the nation redraws its electoral district maps after the release of new population data by the Census Bureau.
The process involves adjusting the lines of voting districts at the local, state and federal levels to account for population shifts. The aim is to make sure communities across a given area are equally and fairly represented.
Which entities are overseeing redistricting at the city and county?
At the city, the Milwaukee Common Council’s Judiciary and Legislation Committee, with support from trained staff at the city’s Legislative Reference Bureau, will redraw the district boundaries.
Final election wards and aldermanic districts will be adopted by the Common Council.
For the first time this year, redrawing maps for Milwaukee County supervisory seats, in addition to the districts in six of the county’s 19 municipalities, will be spearheaded by a nonpartisan, independent redistricting committee of six retired judges.
The County Board adopts the maps proposed by the committee. If the board does not adopt the first proposed map within 30 days, the map returns to the committee for review and redrawing with public and elected officials’ input, the ordinance states.
If the board does not adopt the third proposed draft map, the board will develop and adopt a map without further consulting the committee.
Technical assistance and map drafting will be provided to the committee by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (SEWRPC).
Fox Point, Glendale, Shorewood, South Milwaukee, Wauwatosa and Whitefish Bay will use the county’s redistricting services, according to the county. The county offers the redistricting services to its 19 municipalities at county expense.
The independent redistricting committee was created with the aim of taking incumbent county supervisors, who have a personal stake in the outcome, out of the redistricting process. Its creation followed controversies during redistricting in 2011 that tainted the results, according to comments in 2016 from then-Supervisor Steve Taylor, one of the co-sponsors of the legislation that created the committee that year.
Current Supervisor John Weishan Jr. was the co-sponsor of the legislation.
Controversies included the board’s violation of the state open meetings law, criticism from municipal officials who felt their input was missing, and the appearance to some that the board had purposely eliminated the district of a conservative North Shore supervisor who wanted to see the board downsized, the Journal Sentinel reported previously. The County Board dropped from 19 to 18 seats in the 2011 redistricting process.
Also in 2011, Milwaukee’s branch of the NAACP, a nationwide civil rights organization, sounded the alarm, saying proposed redistricting plans for the county were rushed, lacked transparency and sufficient public input.
The retired judges nominated to the independent redistricting committee by County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson and confirmed by the County Board are Charles Clevert, Jean DiMotto, James Gramling Jr., Charles Kahn Jr., Frederick Kessler and Mary Kuhnmuench.
What is the timeline for local redistricting
The county and its municipalities are on a short timeline when it comes to redistricting this year, and dates by which parts of the process are expected to conclude are subject to change.
“Our timeline here is very much tentative and does rely on a lot of things going well,” Kevin Muhs, executive director of the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, told the redistricting committee at its first meeting Aug. 16.
At the county level, SEWRPC and the new IRC are expected to review and modify tentative and proposed plans for redistricting. The County Board adopts or rejects the plans.
According to the tentative timeline laid out by SEWRPC:
• Between the end of August and mid-September, after obtaining the 2020 census data, SEWPRC will create a tentative supervisory district plan to present to the IRC for review, modification and approval. The committee will then present the approved plan to the County Board. Once adopted, the tentative supervisory district plan will be sent to the municipal clerks.
• Between Sept. 16 and Oct. 18, municipalities will create ward plans following the tentative supervisory district plan provided by the County Board. Municipal clerks will then send the ward plans back to the county.
• Between Oct. 19 and Nov. 23, SEWPRC will finalize any supervisory district boundaries based on municipalities’ feedback. These final maps will then be presented to the IRC for any reviews or revisions and, ultimately, acceptance. The IRC will then provide the final plan to the County Board, which can adopt or reject the supervisory district plan. Once approved, County Board Chairwoman Marcelia Nicholson will file a copy of the supervisory district plan with Secretary of State Doug La Follette.
At the city, the Judiciary and Legislation Committee and the Common Council oversee reviewing, modifying and adopting proposed district plans:
• Throughout October, the Judiciary and Legislation Committee and the Common Council will review the proposed ward plan, which, once presented, reviewed and adopted, will be sent back to the county.
• Much like the ward plan, the Judiciary and Legislation Committee and the Common Council will review and adopt an aldermanic district plan. The Common Council is expected to adopt the final district plan on Nov. 2.
• The final district plan must be sent back to Milwaukee County by Nov. 10.
How could a potential challenge of census results by the City of Milwaukee affect redistricting?
The day after the census released its new population estimates, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said the city would potentially challenge the results that showed the city had lost about 3% of its population in the last decade, down to 577,222.
City officials are skeptical, believing the figure may reflect an undercount.
The Census Bureau’s timeline for reviewing governments’ census results is scheduled to last long after the local redistricting process will have concluded.
The Census Bureau will begin accepting governments’ requests for review of the official results in January 2022, with a June 30, 2023, deadline for governments to send their cases to the Census Bureau and a Sept. 30, 2023, deadline for the Census Bureau to provide results of the review.
At the first meeting of the county’s redistricting committee, Clevert asked how the redistricting process could proceed if Milwaukee were to challenge its census results.
State law allows alterations to the redrawn maps if the census is revised, such as through a municipality’s formal appeal, Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel Margaret Daun said.
“This committee may have further work if there are in fact significant revisions that would throw your recommended maps into question,” she said. “When that happens — not under our control — what we do have and what SEWRPC will use are the current official census data numbers unless and until officially revised.”
The city is expected to proceed with redistricting under the schedule it has laid out.
What are the factors considered in redrawing district boundaries?
Districts must be drawn from “substantially equal” populations, though the number of people in each district does not have to be exactly the same, and the districts must be contiguous, according to guidance from the Wisconsin Counties Association.
The 1965 federal Voting Rights Act protects racial, ethnic and language minority groups. Districts cannot be drawn so as to illegally dilute the voting strength of groups based on race, color or membership in a language minority group.
How can residents weigh in?
The public will have opportunities to weigh in at the city and county.
Throughout the fall, the county redistricting committee will be holding regular Friday meetings. The meetings will be open for public comment.
Residents can sign up to speak at the meetings at Milwaukee.gov/Public CommentAdHoc.
The city’s Judiciary and Legislation Committee is expected to hold a formal hearing for the public on Nov. 1, and the city is also expected to separately provide informational sessions on redistricting for residents. It is also likely the council, committee or individual council members will hold meetings that will address redistricting.
“This will be a transparent and public process involving feedback and review from the public at key junctures. All voices with input into the details will be heard,” Ald. Ashanti Hamilton, who chairs the committee, said in an August statement on redistricting.
What about redistricting for Milwaukee school board seats?
Milwaukee Public Schools doesn’t have elections for board seats until 2023 and is on a slightly longer schedule to redraw the MPS board’s eight geographic seats.
Board President Bob Peterson expected an item detailing the school district’s redistricting process to come before the board in November, with a final vote on new districts expected Jan. 27.
The Office of Board Governance, which he said is independent from the administration, will oversee the redrawing of the district boundaries by an expert who has yet to be hired. The board must approve the maps.
The redistricting of eight of the school board districts is dependent on the availability of 2020 census data from the city, he said. His seat, the ninth on the board, is citywide.