MILWAUKEE — The Wisconsin Supreme Court will soon decide whether the state's legislative maps are constitutional.
The shape and size of the current maps were created by Republicans. Despite the state's 50-50 political divide, the GOP holds near-super majorities in both the Senate and Assembly.
As that case makes its way through the courts, one researcher is searching for a way to take humans out of the redistricting process.
"I really like complex systems,” he said. “That's what I do."
From university course scheduling to optimizing seaport shipping terminals, UW-Milwaukee industrial and manufacturing professor Matt Petering uses his computer coding skills to solve complicated problems that are often too difficult for people to efficiently answer.
For the past four years, Petering has dedicated countless hours to coming up with a new algorithm he believes would take human bias out of the legislative redistricting process.
"In 1997, Deep Blue became the first computer program to beat the world champion in chess and I believe in 2023 or early '24, perhaps my algorithm FastMap, or another algorithm, might become the first algorithm to really make a statewide legislative map for a whole state,” Petering said.
Petering submitted a brief to inform the court that if a majority of justices rule it’s time to start from scratch, he has a formula to create more competitive districts.
"Are we going for a map that's somewhat fair or fairer or one that is strictly fair and I would be of the opinion that we should go for one that is strictly fair,” he said.
His algorithm starts with averaging the results of the last six statewide elections.
51.5 percent of the total vote from those elections went to Democrats whereas 48.5 percent sided with Republican candidates. Petering’s formula also analyzes the breakdown in roughly 7,000 individual voting wards.
"My algorithm is in making a fair map, it is attempting to make a proportional map,” he said. “One that does give those parties that percent of districts that they are expected to win. But of course, we have candidates, we have issues, things come up, so the expectation isn't necessarily going to be realized."
Petering says the most difficult part of drawing legislative maps is all of the criteria that need to be met in order for the districts to be considered constitutional.
From keeping legislative districts contiguous, meaning municipalities and counties are kept intact whenever possible, to satisfying the Federal Voting Rights Act which gives minority voters a chance to elect their candidates of choice.
“This is enormously difficult to find even one legally acceptable map is a challenge,” Petering said.
Petering showed TMJ4 some of the biggest changes in southeastern Wisconsin under his algorithm. He pointed out notably different district shapes in Racine and Kenosha counties.
"This is not something I told it to do," he said.
The map also kept the City of Sheboygan intact rather than split in half.
"This is a slight D-leaning district,” he said. “52.5 to 47.5 percent.”
If the Supreme Court were to use his algorithm or something similar, Petering says far more districts would be considered toss-ups.
“The algorithm looks globally at the map and it does make local tweaks, but it tries to make them so as to achieve the global, should I say harmony, among the different criteria you need to consider,” he said.
Petering thinks it’s a potential opportunity to create a scenario where either Republicans or Democrats could hold a majority in the assembly and senate in what’s considered a ‘purple state’.
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