Low turnout Tuesday could give your vote greater impact

Alex Fischer by Alex Fischer

UW-La Crosse political science professor Joe Heim said voter turnout on Tuesday could be less that 15%.

Heim said that while the Wisconsin Supreme Court race will likely dominate Wednesday’s headlines, some referendums might motivate people to vote. That includes an advisory referendum on redistricting on the ballots in La Crosse and Vernon counties.

“This is an issue which for a long time the public, frankly, didn’t care much about, but the public’s become increasingly concerned that redistricting has resulted in gerrymandering in favor of one party or the other. By the way, it’s a non-partisan issue. It just happens to be, in Wisconsin, the Republicans are the party that get the advantage from it,” said Heim.

The referrendum lets voters voice whether or not they want a non-partisan group to divide districts.

Heim said computer modeling and better data collection create redistricting lines that have led to more partisan state governments from both parties.

“Where they draw the lines is kind of an ‘inside baseball’ kind of a thing. It has become more of an issue because gerrymandering’s become far more sophisticated,” said Heim.

Heim said voters in West Salem and Holmen could be drawn out by education referendums on the ballot Tuesday.

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