Federal judges who last week found the new Assembly districts 8 and 9 in southern Milwaukee unconstitutional may now have to redraw the lines themselves.
A three-judge panel ruled Thursday in favor of a consolidated lawsuit brought by democrats and Voces de la Frontera, an immigrant rights organization, challenging the redistricting lines created by the Republican controlled legislature last summer.
The panel found the current line divides Latinos living in the area and ruled a new line must be drawn to concentrate the Latino population into one district, creating a Latino majority. The ruling specifically said the change should occur without changing any other proposed district lines.
But Republicans said Friday the legislature, currently not in session, would not reconvene to pass changes to the districts, a move that would leave the redrawing process up to the court.
“I have asked the Court to promptly undertake a proceeding to draw the line consistent with its opinion,” Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said in a statement Friday.
The panel approved all of the new maps except the two Milwaukee districts.
State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, and his brother, Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, released a joint statement after the ruling Thursday calling the redistricting successful since most of the lines were found constitutional.
“It’s vindicating to have a ruling that finds 130 out of 132 districts constitutional, in addition to all eight Congressional districts,” the Fitzgeralds said.
However, Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, said the panel’s decision provided evidence of the Republican’s “flawed” redistricting process.
“Federal judges found that Republicans broke the law. We all knew the process for redistricting was flawed,” Barca said in a statement.
