Produced by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
WisconsinWatch.org (https://www.wisconsinwatch.org/series/undemocratic-secrecy-and-power-vs-the-people/page/2/)
Cameron Smith/Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Marla Stephens, center, and Kris Lennon, center right, attend Maps Madness: Voters vs. Politicians, a March 7, 2018 rally organized by the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition held outside the Wisconsin state Capitol. The rally was aimed at pressuring lawmakers to hold a special session to enact a nonpartisan redistricting system. Stephens, a former candidate for state Supreme Court justice, says she believes her vote has been diluted by redistricting in the Milwaukee area.
This series examines the state of Wisconsin’s democracy in an era of gerrymandering, secret campaign money, restrictive voting laws and legislative maneuvers that weaken the power of regular citizens to influence government. The series was reported by University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism students Cathleen Draper, Nicole Ki, Pawan Naidu, Cameron Smith, Teodor Teofilov and CV Vitolo-Haddad as part of an investigative reporting class led by Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism Managing Editor Dee J. Hall with assistance from Coburn Dukehart, the Center’s digital and multimedia director.
A class led by the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism explores the role of citizens in this post-Citizens United, voter ID, gerrymandered world