Wisconsin state Rep. Jimmy Anderson poses outside of a condominium complex that is disconnected from the rest of his Madison-area legislative district. A lawsuit contends that such disconnected sections of land violate the state constitution and that the current districts should be redrawn before the 2024 election.
If Wisconsin state Rep. Jimmy Anderson wants to visit residents in some of the northern neighborhoods he represents, he first must leave his own district — twice.
From his Fitchburg home in suburban Madison, Anderson must exit his 47th Assembly District, pass through the 77th District, reenter the 47th District, then head north through the 48th District to finally reach a cluster of homes assigned like a remote outpost to his district.
Unusual? Yes. Inconvenient? Yes.
Unconstitutional? Perhaps.
Though the Wisconsin Constitution requires legislative districts "to consist of contiguous territory," many nonetheless contain sections of land that are not actually connected. The resulting map looks a bit like Swiss cheese, where some districts are dotted with small neighborhood holes assigned to different representatives.
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