There is a better way to draw political boundaries

There has got to be a better way. And there is. But Wisconsin lawmakers continue to ignore more fair methods for creating legislative boundaries that determine in which district people vote. The fight over legislative boundaries, which are rigged to keep incumbents in power, dates back to 2011 when Republicans in control of the state legislature redrew the boundaries to make it easier for members of their party to win election. It worked, as the republican stronghold of the legislature increased even though more people voted democrat. The case is now before the U.S. Supreme Court, which is trying to determine whether, as lower courts ruled, the gerrymandering of legislative districts was unconstitutional. 37 Wisconsin counties, including La Crosse, have passed resolutions calling for moving the process to an independent, nonpartisan agency. That is the way they do it in Iowa, and it largely removes politics from the process, and ends up with boundaries that give members of both parties a fair chance of getting elected. Instead, in Wisconsin, republicans are banking on a victory from the Supreme Court. But they could lose. And even if they win, that doesn’t mean there aren’t better ways to draw these boundaries. When lawmakers return to work in Madison next week, they should work to adopt a process of drawing maps in a nonpartisan way.