The Democratic Party of Wisconsin announced Monday it will intervene in a Republican lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to require recall elections for members of the state legislature to be held under new districts.
Every 10 years, the state re-draws Wisconsin legislative and congressional maps to account for population changes according to the census. The Republican-controlled legislature passed the redistricting law over the summer, but some argue the new district lines unfairly favor Republican senators by making districts less competitive.
"It is interesting to me that the new lines have drawn Fort Atkinson out of Scott Fitzgerald's district," said Lori Compas, treasurer of the Committee to Recall Scott Fitzgerald. "I happen to live in Fort Atkinson, and I am the one who initiated the recall effort against Scott Fitzgerald."
The Government Accountability Board, the state agency that oversees elections, decided the new districts would not apply to elections until November 2012. Therefore, any potential recall election that would take place before the date would be conducted via the old districts.
A Republican group represented by Michael Best & Friedrich filed a lawsuit Nov. 21 arguing the new districts are constitutional.
Michael Best & Friedrich is representing two claims-one that argues the new redistricting plan is "constitutionally valid" and another challenging the GAB decision that a potential recall election would be conducted in the old districts "superseded" by the new law, according to Eric McLeod, an attorney for the firm.
The law firm had given the state legislature legal advice when creating the new district maps.
"We are aligned in interest with the legislature, in that we are seeking decision from the court that the legislative map adopted by the legislature is valid," McLeod said.
But the DPW said they would intervene in the lawsuit because they see it as an effort to stifle the recall drive of four Republican state senators.
Groups file to intervene in legal cases if they argue the case affects their interests. If the court grants DPW the intervention, they would be permitted to defend their argument as a third-party in front of the court before they make a decision.
"Republicans are right to fear the democratic tool of recall. It shows their true conviction that ... they would try to change the rules and engage in frivolous lawsuits that amount to little more than power grabs," Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said in a statement.
