State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and other legislators received subpoenas to appear in an ongoing investigation into discriminatory redistricting of certain Wisconsin districts.
Immigrant advocacy group Voces de la Frontera and its Democratic partners began a lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin last year, saying district borders the state drew in summer 2011 discriminated against Latino communities in Milwaukee.
The subpoenas order legislators to present three computers used by aides in the redistricting process that have not been investigated previously, according to Peter Earle, an attorney for Voces de la Frontera.
Earle said documents are known to have been withheld from the investigation previously, and the computers in question may contain indications that officials redrew legislative boundaries with the intent of discriminating against Latinos.
In February 2012, districts were again redrawn after Voces de la Frontera won a trial on the basis of a federal law that declares it illegal to redistrict if it weakens a protected minority group’s vote, according to Earle.
Earle said Voces de la Frontera, however, lacked evidence at the time to prove intentional discrimination.
“There may in fact be some of that evidence,” Earle said. “We won’t know until this process runs its course.”
This step of the investigation will bring about increased transparency, he added.
“The quality of our electoral process depends in large part on the quality of that redistricting process,” Earle said. “If it’s done secretly…the people cannot have confidence in the mechanisms by which they exercise their democracy.”
Rep. Vos’ office was unavailable for comment Monday.
