UW-Madison political science professor Ken Mayer testified in the ongoing redistricting lawsuit Thursday that the Latino vote would be significantly diminished under the new state election maps drawn by Republicans.
In the federal trial over the constitutionality of the new maps, Mayer said the changes to the 8th and 9th Assembly district boundaries “would simply overwhelm the voting power of the Latino community” by splitting up certain Latino areas in Milwaukee, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Mayer said the districts were “radically reconfigured,” noting that only about half of the current residents in the 8th district would remain in their district under the new maps.
Mayer’s testimony came the day after Republican lawmakers declined the court’s request to redraw the election maps set to take effect in November.
The Milwaukee-based Latino rights group Voces de la Frontera filed the lawsuit earlier this month, claiming the maps violate the Voting Rights Act.
Republicans claim the maps signed into law last year cannot be altered, because the constitution states legislative voting lines can only be redrawn once every ten years.
