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ley. The local rally was one of 16 taking place simultaneously across the state, organized by the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition.

Fair maps supporters held up signs along Main Street, garnering honks and cheers from passing motorists. Bundled up in mittens, parkas and masks, the crowd exuded a cheerful, hopeful, and earnest atmosphere.

River Falls resident Doug Margolis, who waved signs saying “Fair Maps Now!” and “End Gerrymandering,” said whether people are Republican, Democrat, liberal or conservative, the founding principle of the United States is fair representation.

“It hurts our communities if we don’t have fair elections,” Margolis said. “I’m okay with whoever wins as long as it’s a fair process.”

Helen Sadee, River Falls, was in agreement. “Efficiency,” she said when asked why she supports fair maps. “It’s not efficient to go back and forth. It’s a waste of time. A big thing in my life is efficiency.”

Another supporter, Jean Poole, of River Falls, believes ending gerrymandering is crucial to preserving the founding principles of the nation.

“I think if we want to keep our democracy, which is shaken now, you have to have fair elections,” Poole said.

Master of Ceremonies Bob Maline, a WWNVD volunteer, said the River Falls location was chosen due to its proximity to both St. Croix and Pierce counties courthouses.

“Ironically because we refuse to be left out in the cold, we demand fair maps and fair representation,” Maline said.

Federal judges in November 2016 ruled Wisconsin’s legislative map as illegally partisan, meant to entrench the Republican Party in power, Maline said.

“And now they’re trying to have us live with these for another 10 years,” he said. “The people of Wisconsin in overwhelming numbers at the polls, in county resolutions, have said they want fair maps.

“We are putting the Wisconsin Supreme Court on notice that the people of Wisconsin will hold them accountable. We will continue until we the people will prevail.”

In November 2021, the state Supreme Court ruled 4-3 (along ideological lines) that new voting maps should take the “leastchange approach,” using the 2011 maps as their baseline.

Dr. Don Leake, UW-River Falls Professor Emeritus and rally speaker, was one of 36 Wisconsinites called the “Concerned Voters of Wisconsin” who on Jan. 4 filed a friend of the court brief with the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Johnson v Wisconsin Election Commission.

Members of the Wisconsin Maps Assessment Project (WIMAP) performed redistricting map assessments leading to the brief. Led by Leake, WIMAP is a group of everyday Wisconsin voters from across the state and the political divide who believe that fair redistricting is an essential foundation of a representative democracy.

According to David Fodroczi of Western Wisconsin Nonpartisan Voting Districts (WWNVD) and WIMAP, WIMAP spent more than a year learning about redistricting principles and mechanics, consulting with experts on the legal, political and mathematical aspects of redistricting, and listening to the concerns of ordinary citizens.

The group used sophisticated, publicly available software developed by national experts to draw and submit their own maps earlier in the redistricting process.

“The WIMAP team spent countless hours conducting their own independent assessment of the maps and related documents under consideration by the Wisconsin Supreme Court,” Leake said in a WWNVD news release. “We concluded that the Legislature’s Assembly map was the worst of the maps submitted, including many dubious, unnecessary changes to Assembly District 30 right here in River Falls and Hudson.”

Leake argued three points: 1. The Legislature’s proposed map is not a least change map. District 30 is worth preserving as its only fault is a 5% population surplus. The current district is contiguous and continuous. The new map would split the district and the city of River Falls at Division Street, creating “four tentacles that reach out to Republican- leading townships,” Leake said.

2. Protecting the incumbents from either party shouldn’t be a priority for anyone. Leake said he has no problem with incumbents if they’re representing their constituents.

3. The Wisconsin Supreme Court must clearly articulate how to prioritize its redistricting criteria in reaching its decision. “If it’s not fair, we will know it and we will not forget,” he said.

“I never saw myself as an advisor to the court, but their terrible decision last November required a call to action,” Leake said.

Former District 30 Assembly Candidate Sarah Yacoub (DHudson) took the mic next. She used an analogy describing football players taking the ball and running out-of-bounds down the sidelines through the cheerleaders to reach the end zone.

“Why do we have more of a tolerance for cheating in our elections than in our sports?” she posed. “We cease to be the beacon of the world for democracy as long as we cherry pick voters. We are no shining light.”

It’s not a Democrat, Conservative, Liberal, or Republican issue, she emphasized.

“Our country is on the line and our stakes have never been higher,” she finished.

Rally attendee Thomas Smith, River Falls, said he chose to speak up because our democratic rights as voters has been eroded over the last 10 years in Wisconsin.

“I want to keep us from losing them altogether,” he said. “As active participants in a democracy, it’s our duty and obligation to be speaking now.”

Jenelle Ludwig Krause, Baldwin, said she refused to have the community divided and its voices silenced.

“WE know that getting fair maps is so important because our communities won’t have a seat at the table to get the resources we need,” she said. “We’re not giving up because we care so deeply and will not be ignored.”

Resident Linda Vivoda-Sadee pointed out that 72% of Wisconsinites have voted in referenda state-wide that they want the maps to be drawn in a nonpartisan way by a nonpartisan group.

“The legislature doesn’t want that and it shows they know it will not work for them,” Vivoda-Sadee said. “They don’t need to listen to voters. Every community in Wisconsin deserves all the resources they’re allowed by the state. Resources are not being distributed equitably.”

Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls), Sen. Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) and former Sen. Patty Schachtner (D-Somerset) were invited to speak but did not attend.

Learn more about WIMAP’s work at https://piercecountygro.org/WIMAP/.

Volunteer Bob Maline with Western Wisconsin for Nonpartisan Voting Districts holds up two maps Friday, Jan. 21. One shows the current voting districts, the other shows the changes proposed by the Wisconsin Legislature. Photo by Sarah Nigbor

The frigid cold didn’t deter supporters from congregating downtown River Falls Friday, Jan. 21 for the Fair Courts End Gerrymandering Rally. Photo by Sarah Nigbor

Dr. Don Leake, UW-River Falls Professor Emeritus and one of 36 Wisconsinites who filed a friend of the court brief with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Jan. 4, was the featured speaker at the fair maps rally Friday, Jan. 21 in downtown River Falls. Photo by Sarah Nigbor