Least Changes

The new redistricting maps proposed by Republican leaders in the state Legislature are based on the old maps approved in 2011. And while it may have been obscured by the partisan bickering that greeted the proposal, an important question emerges: Can the map that helped Republicans cement their majorities for the past decade be reused for the next 10 years?

How It Might Go

In Wisconsin, it's the job of the Legislature and the governor to handle redistricting every decade, and pretty much no one thinks they're actually going to do it this time around. With split control of state government, things are likely headed to court, but which court and when are still open questions.

Locked In

It's one thing to talk about the power of political redistricting in the abstract, but what does it look like in practice? Over the last decade, Wisconsin's map has let Republicans pass landmark conservative policies, keep a tight grip on the state budget, reshape government agencies and mothball issues despite public support.

Courting Anthony Kennedy

The legislative maps that Wisconsin Republicans drew a decade ago are still standing. But an effort that started in a Milwaukee teahouse and snowballed all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court very well could have changed the whole game of redistricting — in Wisconsin and nationwide.

The Mousetrap

Some districts split towns apart. Others packed all the votes in a city together, or stretched to join urban with suburban. But taken together, Republicans' 2011 legislative maps did one thing: changed the game in Wisconsin politics.