People’s Map Commission Hearing on Feb 25, 2021

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 23, 2021
CONTACT: DOA Communications, DOACommunications@wisconsin.gov
 
Sue Ertmer and Sachin Chheda to testify at People’s Map Commission   Hearing Feb. 25 Featuring 6th Congressional District   Commissioners to hear testimony on the impacts of redistricting on local communities  
 
MADISON – Today, the People’s Maps Commission announced Winnebago Co. Clerk Sue Ertmer and Sachin Chheda from the Fair Elections Project will provide expert testimony to the Commission during the online virtual public hearing on Feb. 25, 2021, beginning at 5:30 pm.  

Ertmer has worked in the Winnebago Co. Clerk’s Office since 1979, and serves as a member of the Wisconsin Election Administration Council as well as Past President of the Wisconsin County Clerks Association. Chheda is director of the Fair Elections Project, a nonprofit, nonpartisan campaign to make American elections meaningful again. He also chairs the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition. 

Following the experts’ presentations, Wisconsin residents have the opportunity to provide public comment to commission members regarding how they have been impacted by legislative redistricting and share their ideas for how Wisconsin can work together to achieve fair maps. 

Anyone wishing to testify at a hearing must register in advance by visiting the People’s Maps Commission website HERE. The deadline for registering to comment during this hearing is 5:30 p.m. Tues., Feb. 23, 2021. Each speaker will have three minutes to speak. Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis, with priority to residents of Wisconsin’s 6th Congressional District.   

Although the Feb. 25 hearing will focus on the 6th Congressional District, all Wisconsin residents are encouraged to watch and participate. The hearing will be live-streamed on the Department of Administration’s YouTube Channel HERE

For anyone unable to join online, written comments are strongly encouraged. All written comments can be submitted at any time using the feedback form available on the People’s Maps Commission website HERE. Written comments will be reviewed by the commissioners and are public record.  

Selected by a three-judge panel, the Commission is a nine-member nonpartisan redistricting commission charged with drawing fair, impartial maps for Wisconsin. More information about the Commission, its members, and its activities is available HERE.   

Every 10 years, each state redraws their legislative and congressional district maps using data from the decennial census. In addition to the data from the 2020 U.S. Census, the Commission will use the information gathered during the public hearing process to prepare new maps. It is then up to the Legislature to take up and approve the maps created by the Commission.  

Due to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the People’s Maps Commission will host the public hearings online for each of Wisconsin’s congressional districts. Agendas and additional details will be announced in advance of future meeting dates. The hearing dates are as follows:   

Thursday, February 25th - 6th Congressional District 
Thursday, March 11 – 2nd Congressional District    

Individuals interested in watching previous hearings can find the recordings HERE.  
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