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. Credit: Cameron Smith / Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
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Gerrymandering dilutes the power of individual voters as they are “packed” and “cracked” into uncompetitive districts.
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. Credit: Cameron Smith / Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Residents feel increasingly powerless as legislators ignore their protests when pushing through unpopular proposals.
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Your donation helps us train the next generation of investigative journalists. The Undemocratic series was reported and written by University of Wisconsin-Madison journalism students in a class taught by me with assistance from Coburn Dukehart, the Center’s digital and multimedia director. It was picked up by 125 news organizations, reaching more than 5 million readers, viewers and listeners in Wisconsin and 18 other states.
Nicole Ki, a student in J420, an investigative reporting class at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, listens to former Wisconsin Democratic state Sen. Tim Cullen on Feb. 13, 2018. Also speaking to the class were former Republican state Sen. Dale Schultz and Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin. The class, led by Dee J. Hall, managing editor of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, is investigating the state of Wisconsin’s democracy. Credit: Coburn Dukehart / Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
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Help us help democracy; support investigative journalism in Wisconsin!
by Dee J. Hall / Wisconsin Watch, Wisconsin Watch November 6, 2018
Dee J. Hall, a co-founder of Wisconsin Watch, joined the staff as managing editor in June 2015. She is responsible for daily news operations. She worked at the Wisconsin State Journal for 24 years as an editor and reporter focusing on projects and investigations.
A 1982 graduate of Indiana University’s journalism school, Hall served reporting internships at the weekly Lake County Star in Crown Point, Ind., The Gary (Ind.) Post-Tribune, The Louisville (Ky.) Times and The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times. Prior to returning to her hometown of Madison in 1990, she was a reporter for eight years at The Arizona Republic newspaper in Phoenix, where she covered city government, schools and the environment. During her 35-year journalism career, Hall has won more than three dozen local, state and national awards for her work, including the 2001 State Journal investigation that uncovered a $4 million-a-year secret campaign machine operated by Wisconsin’s top legislative leaders.
