By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Plaintiff in a redistricting lawsuit to speak in Genoa
Vernon Cty DP

GENOA - A plaintiff in Wisconsin’s lawsuit challenging the state’s 2011 redistricting plan will speak at a Community Supper in Genoa Wednesday, July 19.

“I’ve always voted, and with the last redistricting suddenly I felt I have no voice,” said plaintiff Emily Bunting of Viola. “It’s one of a lot of upsetting things happening in Wisconsin that are affecting my community.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case in October, following a lower court’s 2-1 opinion that the state’s 2011 Assembly redistricting plan was a partisan Gerrymander, which guarantees a Republican majority in the state Assembly “in any likely electoral scenario.”  

“We are really excited that the U.S. Supreme Court has decided to hear the case,” Bunting said. “The lawyers are working at getting seats for many of us (plaintiffs) who want to be there.” 

Packing and cracking are Gerrymandering methods used to skew elections to one party or another, she said, noting that she lives in a strip down the edge of western Richland County that got ‘cracked’ into Grant County, skewing the vote to favor Republican candidates. Packing voters of one party into homogenous areas limits the scope of their votes; cracking disperses the vote thinly and widely so they don’t count, she said. “When we were cracked, our voting influence was dispersed.”

Betty Kruck, Vernon County Democratic Party Issues Committee chair, will present information on the state’s 2011 redistricting.

“Done in secret by the Republican-controlled Legislature, it annexed and isolated Democrats into fewer and illogically contorted districts, resulting in state elections skewed toward Republicans….,” the committee’s report says. 

Redistricting reform bills, calling for a fair and open process based on a non-partisan model used in Iowa since 1981, were introduced in the state legislature this January, according to the report.  “If enacted, Wisconsin’s future state legislative and congressional district boundaries would be drawn by a nonpartisan legislative state agency without any regard to partisan political considerations.”

The Community Supper, held by the Vernon County Democratic Party, will be at 5:30 p.m. in Genoa Village Park. The park is located between Highway 35 and Water Street, with entrance on Water Street, one block east of Highway 35. If coming west on Highway 56, cross Main Street, which becomes Water Street. The supper is free and open to the public. Burgers, brats, lemonade, salads and desserts will be provided. Those attending may bring a dish to pass if they wish.

It was quite an election
On April 1
Election Results_April 1, 2025 Crawford County

Politics-weary Wisconsin citizens mustered the verve to once again go to the polls in Wisconsin’s April 1 spring election. With record spending, a barrage of campaign literature in mailboxes, chaos on the federal level, and an endless stream of divisive TV advertising, voters on both sides turned out in record numbers to support the candidates of their choice.

Happy or sad, it’s likely the vast majority is just glad it’s over. While most spring elections draw much lower turnout than a presidential election, voter turnout in this year’s race was on par with last November’s contentious election in which Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris for the office of President of the United States.

Of course, the Wisconsin Supreme Court election took top billing, garnering record amounts of spending. Conservative versus liberal control of the court was on the line with the retirement of liberal justice Ann Walsh Bradley. Contending for the 10-year term were Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel and Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.

The race was called for Crawford around 10 p.m. after Schimel called her to concede. The unofficial results show Crawford winning with 55% of the statewide vote to Schimel’s 45%.

Crawford County voters bucked recent electoral trends, carrying for the liberal candidate. In the county, Crawford took 51% of the vote, defeating Schimel with 49%. Crawford’s candidacy also prevailed in Vernon County with 54% of the vote, Richland County with 52% of the vote, La Crosse County with 63% of the vote, Sauk County with 57% of the vote, Iowa County with 62% of the vote, and Green County with 58% of the vote. Crawford’s victory was propelled by massive turnout and majorities in Dane, Milwaukee, Rock, Eau Claire and Bayfield counties. Voters in Dane County cast 82% of their votes for Crawford, in Milwaukee County 75%, in Rock County 61%, in Eau Claire 63%, and in Bayfield 61%.

Schimel’s campaign prevailed locally in Grant, Lafayette and Monroe counties, earning 52%, 51%, and 55% of votes cast respectively.

Incumbents prevail

It was also a night for incumbent candidates to prevail in races pertaining to public education in the state. Incumbent Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly won her race against charter school advocate Brittany Kinser, taking 53% of the statewide vote to Kinser’s 47%.

Locally, Underly outperformed Supreme Court candidate Susan Crawford, winning her contest in counties that carried for Waukesha County judge Brad Schimel. Those counties include Grant and Lafayette counties, where Underly took 52% of votes cast. Kinser held on to votes cast for Schimel in Monroe County, taking 56% of votes cast.

Underly’s candidacy prevailed in Crawford, Vernon, Richland, Iowa, Sauk, and La Crosse counties. In those counties, Underly took 53%, 54%, 56%, 61%, 57%, and 61% respectively.

Mirroring the results in the statewide Superintendent of Public Instruction race, incumbent candidates Jerry Coleman and Charissa Richter prevailed against challengers Jesse Swenson and Melany Jelinek winning two three-year terms on the North Crawford School Board.

Coleman was the top vote-getter, with 660 votes, followed by Richter with 532 votes. Richter and challenger Melany Jelinek ran neck-in-neck for much of the night until results came in for the villages of Gays Mills and Bell Center, which pushed Richter over the finish line ahead. Jelinek finished with 502 votes, and Swenson with 412 votes.

Coleman took the most votes in the towns of Clayton, Haney, Scott, Utica, and in the villages of Bell Center, Gays Mills, and Soldiers Grove. Richter took the second most votes in the towns of Clayton, Haney, Scott, and Utica, and in the villages of Gays Mills and Soldiers Grove. Jelinek took more votes than Richter in the town of Freeman, and in the villages of Bell Center and Mt. Sterling.

Voter ID

Voters across the state voted to amend the Wisconsin Constitution to require photo identification to vote. The measure failed only in Dane and Milwaukee counties. Wisconsin had already required voters to show identification, but passage of the Republican-backed ballot question will make it harder for that requirement to be removed by the courts or the state legislature.

Statewide, the measure passed with 63% of the vote, with 37% of the voters voting against it.