Federal Judges: Republicans Must Redraw Maps for Latino Assembly Districts Only

Top state Republicans were ordered to return to the congressional and legislative district map drawing board by three federal judges Thursday morning — but only for Milwaukee’s southern, Latino-heavy voting districts.

The court ruled new lines defining Assembly District 8 and 9, drawn last summer by the Republican-controlled Legislature, violate the federal Voting Rights Act by breaking the Latino community on Milwaukee’s south side into two districts, failing to create a majority-minority district.

However, the judges also ruled all other maps will remain in intact, , and dismissed other challenges.

Lawmakers will need to quickly redraw the districts on Milwaukee's south side with elections approaching.

Legislators are constitutionally required to redistrict every 10 years based on new census population figures and demographic changes. With other legal challenges aside, the maps go into effect in November.

North Shore changes hold

The new legislative district lines , which covers much of the North Shore and is represented by Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills). The new district eliminates liberal-leaning Shorewood and creates a more suburban, conservative constituency stretching north into Grafton and as far west as the town of Erin in Washington County.

Under the new maps, Shorewood would shift to the 4th Senate District under Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee). It would also move out of the 22nd Assembly District under Rep. Sandy Pasch of Whitefish Bay and into the 10th District under Democratic freshman Rep. Elizabeth Coggs from Milwaukee. Shorewood resident and Darling recall effort leader .

Redistricting could make it more difficult for Pasch to win re-election to her Assembly new seat. She will be in a district represented by Republican Jim Ott of Mequon, a district that has traditionally voted Republican.

Saga began last summer

Upon approval of the new boundaries by Republicans last summer, Democrats immediately labeled them unfair and a product of gerrymandering and two challenges emerged.

because nearly 300,000 people wouldn't be able to vote in state Senate races next year as they now live in a different district. The group said the maps disenfranchised those people by moving them to different district and forcing them to wait six years, not just four, for the next opportunity to vote again for their state senator. Senators serve four-year terms.

In the other challenge, a Latino community group filed a complaint arguing Republicans violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and that the maps are unfair to Latino citizens because they moved hundreds of thousands of people into new districts. Eventually the two suits were merged and judges rejected all but the Latino claims.

In early February, detailing legal agreements instructing state Republican leaders to ignore public comments and instead concentrate on information from secret sessions as new maps were drawn. The documents also included a set of talking points for GOP legislators.

The three-judge panel later ordered Republicans to turn over the documents to a group of Democrats, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.