Sheboygan held a Democratic Assembly seat almost continuously from 1959 to 2011. Over fifty years. Then the 2011 redistricting happened. Republicans were in charge of drawing the maps, and they split the city in two — half into one district, half into another — each packed with enough rural conservative voters to flip both seats.

The city hadn't changed. The people hadn't changed. The only thing that changed was the lines on a map. And just like that, fifty years of representation disappeared.

This is what gerrymandering looks like up close. Not an abstract political concept. A community, divided with surgical precision, so that the people who live there no longer get to choose who represents them.

Sheboygan isn't the only place this happened. But it's a good reminder that when politicians draw the maps, it's real people who pay the price.

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Sheboygan's redistricting history: Democrats held Sheboygan's Assembly seat almost continuously from 1959 to 2011 — over 50 years. During the 2011 redistricting, Republicans split the city between the 26th and 27th Assembly Districts, each drawn with enough rural conservative voters to ensure Republican wins. In 2022, Governor Evers won the city of Sheboygan by 11 points, but lost Sheboygan County by 16 — illustrating how the cracked city was diluted by surrounding rural areas. (Wisconsin Watch / WPR, December 2022)

The 2011 redistricting process was conducted by Republican legislative staff in secret, with the assistance of a private law firm. Democratic legislators were given no input. The maps were designed using sophisticated voter data to maximize Republican advantage. This process was challenged in federal court in Gill v. Whitford (2018), which reached the U.S. Supreme Court but was dismissed on standing grounds. (UW Applied Population Lab)

"It just verifies for me that gerrymandering is a highly effective way of destroying democracy." — Mary Lynne Donohue, former Assembly candidate from Sheboygan and plaintiff in the Gill v. Whitford lawsuit. (Wisconsin Watch)

New maps changed the picture. Governor Evers signed new legislative maps in February 2024 after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled the old maps unconstitutional. Under the new maps, Sheboygan is no longer split between two Assembly districts in the same way. The 2024 elections were the first under the new boundaries, and Democrats flipped 10 Assembly seats statewide.

General gerrymandering resources: See CM-5 (Packing and Cracking) for links to PlanScore, Princeton Gerrymandering Project, MIT Election Data + Science Lab, Brennan Center, and Dave's Redistricting App.

Related Civic Minute segments: Packing and Cracking (CM-5), What Gerrymandering Is (CM-7), The People Already Agree (CM-9)